Spurrier suspends Geathers

It had been a quiet offseason for Steve Spurrier and South Carolina - until this past weekend, when some of the same off-the-field troubles the Gamecocks have dealt with in past years sprang up again.

Spurrier suspended starting defensive end Clifton Geathers on Monday following his Sunday morning arrest by Columbia police for fighting outside a nightclub. Geathers was charged with public drunkenness, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, a police spokesman said.

Geathers, a junior from Georgetown, is the brother of Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers Jr. and the nephew of former NFL standout Jumpy Geathers.

"We are disappointed in the actions of Clifton Geathers the other night," Spurrier said in a statement. "He has been suspended indefinitely from the team until all the facts come in."

One of Spurrier's most promising freshman, tailback Jarvis Giles, also was involved in a dispute Sunday with a woman in a dorm lobby. Security called campus police, and Giles, a former Tennessee commitment, and his companion told authorities it was a misunderstanding, university spokeswoman Margaret Lamb said.

Stay Away: Alabama has asked an Athens, Ala., man to stay away from two Tide players he took on a Gulf Coast fishing trip, though the university didn't report any NCAA violations or penalize itself.

The university investigated the trip that Curtis Anderson took last spring with star receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram and forwarded its findings to the SEC.

In other news:

n LSU recruit Craig Loston, a defensive back, has been cleared to play by the NCAA.

Police officers allegedly saw Auburn running back Eric Smith knock a fellow student unconscious outside a hotel near campus. Smith turned himself in to police on a third-degree assault charge for the incident early Friday.

n Oklahoma linebacker Mike Balogun will try to settle his eligibility issues out of court. A Cleveland County judge had been set to hear arguments on whether to extend an injunction and allow Balogun to play for the No. 3 Sooners, but NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said the hearing "was postponed to allow for the existing eligibility certification process to be completed by the NCAA Eligibility Center."

n More than 24 Tulane players are back at practice after coming down with flu-like symptoms last week.