According to multiple reports, Ohio State has parted ways with sophomore football player Najee Murray for a violation of team rules.
A school spokesman told reporters he was not aware of anyone being removed from the team following a report by ElevenWarriors.com Saturday morning, but Ari Wasserman of Buckeye Sports Bulletin confirmed the action via a source in the afternoon.
Murray was a Scout.com four-star recruit and the 20th-ranked cornerback in the nation in 2012. The Steubenville product was among a handful of players to verbally commit to be a Buckeye during the period of time after Jim Tressel was forced out as head coach in May and the day Urban Meyer was hired in late November. He was an OSU Scholar-Athlete who had yet to choose a major.
Murray played in the first six games last season – mostly on special teams – before suffering a torn ACL that knocked him out for the rest of the year.
The 5-9, 186-pounder was still limited by the injury in spring practice, but OSU co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Everett Withers said after spring ball he was looking forward to the return of both Murray and fellow 2012 defensive back signee Devan Bogard, who also spent the offseason rehabbing from knee surgery.
"We need them back for camp because I think if we can do that it will allow us to build some depth at some positions that we need it," Withers said in May.
Wednesday in the only practice open to the media so far this preseason Murray was part of the second-team defense playing "Star" (a.k.a. nickel back).
His exit still leaves a large group of scholarship safeties on the Ohio State roster.
Behind senior starters Christian Bryant and C.J. Barnett at safety are Bogard, seniors Corey Brown and Jamie Wood, sophomores Tyvis Powell and Ron Tanner and freshmen Vonn Bell and Chris Worley. Freshman Darron Lee is listed as an athlete on the roster but could end up at safety or linebacker as well. Earlier this week Ohio State lost freshman safety Jayme Thompson to a broken ankle, though he could return at some point this season.
Powell, Brown and Bell all appear to be in the mix to earn playing time at the Star, a hybrid defensive back/linebacker roll critical to the Buckeyes' nickel defense. They have also spent considerable time practicing a dime package that has a sixth defensive back playing much the same role as the Star.
With the proliferation of spread offenses in college football, the Buckeyes typically spend more time in their nickel defense than the base 4-3 alignment, and Withers said the experiment with the dime defense gives the team more flexibility and speed on the field.
