MADISON, Wis. — Five men roughed up Wisconsin star running back Montee Ball near campus early Wednesday, sending him to a hospital, authorities said.
Ball was walking on a street about 2:15 a.m. after "socializing" with friends, police said. Two friends walking ahead turned around and saw Ball on the ground. The men had surrounded him and were kicking him in the head and chest, police said.
A motive remains a mystery.
Ball, a Heisman Trophy finalist last season as a junior, was taken to a hospital and released soon after. He tweeted that he expects to be ready in plenty of time for the Sept. 1 opener. (His status for practice, which opens Monday, has not been determined.)
"I appreciate the support and thank you for the concerns," he tweeted. "I will be okay! See you guys in September!"
Decorated war veteran to play for Clemson
CLEMSON, S.C. — The NCAA cleared Daniel Rodriguez, who has received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal of Valor, to walk-on at Clemson.
Rodriguez played receiver at Stafford (Va.) Brooke Point High. But when his father died four days after graduation, he chose to enlist in the Army. He served in Iraq in 2007. In October 2009, he was in Afghanistan when Taliban combatants overwhelmed a U.S. outpost. Eight Americans died, and he wound up with shrapnel in his leg and neck and a bullet fragment in his shoulder.
"I'm using the hardships, the horrors, the killing, the friends that I've lost as my fuel to get where I want to be," he said. "If you can turn and manipulate anything negative in your life and use it as something good, that's what I've taken into my life."
Penn St. loses another: Linebacker Khairi Fortt transferred from Penn State to Cal. Fortt, a projected starter, had 50 tackles over the past two seasons. He can play right away because of the sanctions the NCAA levied against the Nittany Lions.
LSU: Quarterback Rob Bolden, who announced his plans to transfer from Penn State shortly before the NCAA's sanctions, enrolled. He started in 2010 before falling to No. 3 on the depth chart.
Notre Dame: Starting linebacker Carlo Calabrese entered a diversion program that calls for a misdemeanor charge of intimidation to be dismissed if he stays out of trouble. As Irish quarterback Tommy Rees was being arrested during an off-campus party May 3, Calabrese told an officer, "My people will get you."
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