OL Houston `currently? not on Georgia football tea

Offensive lineman Kolton Houston, who has yet to play in college after testing positive for a banned substance by the NCAA, is no longer listed on Georgia?s official football roster, but his status with the team remains the same.

?I?m still on the team,? Houston said in a message to the Athens Banner-Herald. ?I?m just waiting to get cleared before I start practicing.?

The school still hopes Houston will become eligible to play.

?Kolton is currently not working out with the team which is the same as has been the case since his NCAA eligiblity has been in question,? team spokesman Claude Felton said via email this morning. ?But his status is the same as last fall. He?s still on scholarship and work (is) still being done to restore his eligibility as has been the case the last 2-3 years.?

Houston has remained ineligible for testing positive for a performance enhancing substance banned by the NCAA. Georgia has said that Houston was unknowingly given a substance banned by the NCAA?the anabolic steroid Norandrolone?after sustaining a shoulder injury playing for Buford High School.

Houston, who first tested positive in April, 2010 after enrolling for the spring semester, practiced with the team last fall while trying to reach an appropriate threshold that would restore his eligibility, but was away from practice at times as well.

?It?s been tough on him to go this long and not get a chance to play,? Georgia coach Mark Richt said in December. ?We?re in a situation where whether he plays or doesn?t play he?s part of our 85 (scholarship) number. We can?t medically give him a DQ on this thing. He?s either going to make it or he?s not but in the meantime he counts in the 85. If he ever gets to the point where he reaches whatever threshold they?re looking for and he still wants to play then we want him to play. It will be up to him.?

Georgia last August released 19 pages of documents to the media, including five letters related to his appeal. In a letter of appeal to NCAA president Mark Emmert last July, Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity called it ?very disappointing? that Houston?s eligibility remained in question despite no evidence of re-use.

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Source: http://dogbytesonline.com/ol-houston-currently-not-on-georgia-football-team-68568/

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