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Ohio State has dismissed starting running back Carlos Hyde after the senior was named as a person of interest in an assault case against a female in downtown Columbus, Ohio, according to areport inThe Columbus Dispatch.
OSU and coach Urban Meyer are also looking into an incident involving junior cornerback Bradley Roby, who was arrested early Sunday morning in Bloomington, Ind., on charges of battery resulting in bodily injuries, according to the Dispatch.
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Hyde rushed for 970 yards in 2012, the Buckeyes' first season under Meyer and his staff, and Meyer had discussed the possibility of Hyde rushing for 1,000 yards as a senior. Despite his success at Utah, Florida and Ohio State, Meyer has never had a 1,000-yard running back.
Losing Hyde robs OSU of its top traditional back; he and junior quarterback Braxton Miller combined for 2,241 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns a season ago. With Hyde gone, the Buckeyes will turn to a younger committee of largely unproven backs, like senior Jordan Hall, junior Rod Smith and sophomore Bri'onte Dunn. February's recruiting class included a pair of four-star running backs.
While OSU could cobble together a running game behind Miller and three or four backs, losing a player of Roby's caliber for any extended period of time would cripple the Buckeyes' hopes for an undefeated season. Roby, a likely All-American, opted to return to Columbus for his junior season rather than enter the NFL draft. Roby was one of three Ohio State players set to attend this week's Big Ten media days in Chicago.
Meyer's past disciplinary issues have become a talking point after a former player, New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, was arrested on murder charges on June 26. According to a report in The New York Times, 41 of the 121 players on Florida's 2008 roster have been arrested, either in college or afterward.