Duke announced Tuesday that three players had been dismissed from the team.
Wide receivers Johnell Barnes and Terrance Alls and linebacker Chris Holmes were kicked off the team for what he termed was a violation of program standards. Duke coach David Cutcliffe said in a team statement that the dismissal did not come as a result of a recent incident.
“This is, without doubt, the most difficult thing teams and coaches face. This is not a reaction to anything that has occurred during the last couple weeks. This has been something that we have worked very hard with these young men to continue to understand what's expected of them," Cutcliffe said. "We have standards in this program that we’re committed to."
"With this circumstance, it had reached a point where it was in their best interest, and certainly the program’s best interest, to move forward somewhere else. We appreciate and thank them for their contributions to the program. We wish them well in whatever they choose to do. I will not go into any other details about this issue.”
Barnes, a junior starter at wide receiver, has 34 catches for 411 yards and two touchdowns. He's second to WR Max McCaffrey in all three categories. Alls, a redshirt sophomore, has six catches for 56 yards. Holmes, also a redshirt sophomore, has four tackles, including one for a loss, in six games.
For more Duke news, visit DevilsIllustrated.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!