It was just a small bit at the end, unrelated to the article (which I will get to in another post), but it is significant for the upcoming years.
Cornerback E.J. Banks, a 2009 Montour High School graduate, has left Notre Dame and enrolled at Pitt where he will sit out the 2011 season in compliance with NCAA transfer rules. Banks was a four-year starter at quarterback and safety at Montour. … Backup center Brandon Sacco, who would have been a redshirt freshman, has left the Pitt football team. He joined the Panthers last season from Don Bosco (N.J.) Prep.
My first impulse on seeing that Pitt was losing a very promising offensive lineman who plays at a position of definite need for Pitt and picking up yet another transfer for the secondary. Not the trade I would like to see.
Gonzalez, 20, waived his right for a preliminary hearing Monday in front of District Justice Nancy Matos Gonzalez in Bethlehem.
The marijuana charge is a misdemeanor and the others are summary violations, according to court papers. Gonzalez was cited May 20 while he was a passenger in a car that was stopped by police in South Bethlehem.
Pitt coach Todd Graham suspended Gonzalez, one of only three quarterbacks on the roster, at the time of the incident. His status with the team hasn’t changed, a spokesman said.
That means Gonzalez very likely won’t have this settled until after training camp. The season opener is September 3. While I have stated that I do not feel these charges do not merit a dismissal from the team or even much more than a game suspension, there is no way Pitt will reinstate Gonzalez to the team until after the case has been settled — if it takes until then.
