Texas Longhorns players cleared after accepting meal from agent

Whatever happens with the ongoing Purge currently underway with the Texas Longhorns football team, the two players who accepted a meal from an agent will not be suspended when the season gets underway, the school announced Friday afternoon.

Though the school has not identified the players, a report from Orangebloods when the allegations surfaced said that the players in question were linebackers Jordan Hicks and Steve Edmond.

The agent involved had also tweeted about having meals with senior defensive tackle Desmond Jackson and senior defensive end Cedric Reed, but those players are believed to have paid for their own meals or are otherwise not involved in the now-resolved situation. Reed confirmed as much personally at Big 12 Media Days, at least in regards to his own status.

Both players have been determined to be immediately eligible for competition by the NCAA, meaning that the NCAA looked at the three factors it considers -- value, awareness of the agent's status, and the player's involvement in obtaining the benefit -- and determined that the players had little culpability in the matter.

The typical punishment when a student-athlete receives a benefit of up to $100 from an agent is repayment and 10% withholding, which equates to a suspension of between one and two games.

It may be that the university self-reporting the violations helped make up the difference between the directives handed down to the reinstatement staff and the resolution of the matter without involving suspensions.

However the NCAA came to the ruling, it all amounts to the same thing -- all four players who were involved with the agent will be available when Texas hosts North Texas in late August.