Ohio State Football: NCAA Suspends WR DeVier Posey an Additional 5 Games

The Nebraska matchup was supposed to provide new hope for Luke Fickell and the Ohio State Buckeyes, having been circled on the calender since last December when five players were suspended five games for receiving improper benefits.

Now it's just giving OSU fans another headache.

Earlier this week we learned that wide receiver DeVier Posey, running back Daniel Herron and offensive lineman would not be active for the Week 6 battle in Memorial Stadium for being overpaid during summer jobs.

However, while it was Herron and Hall who received one-game bans for accepting less than $300 in unearned wages over an extended period of time, the NCAA decided to go a different route with Posey.

It was announced just four days after that the senior WR will be suspended an additional five games for receiving approximately $720 from Cleveland-area booster Bobby DiGeronimo for work he did not perform. Posey, last year's second-leading receiver, also accepted $102 in golf fees from another individual.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith holds a strong opinion against the NCAA's most recent action to the troubled program.

“I am extremely disappointed with the NCAA’s decision regarding DeVier Posey," Smith said, according to the Columbus Dispatch. "This penalty is harsh considering the nature of the violation and the five-game suspension already served by this student athlete.”

Posey will miss five more games this season, including contests against three currently ranked opponents—No. 14 Nebraska, No. 19 Illinois and No. 4 Wisconsin—and will only be eligible for the final two games of the season against Penn State and Michigan.

Posey caught 53 balls for 848 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010. The Buckeyes are ranked 111th in passing passing offense, averaging a mere 154.0 yards per game.