Players absent from guide out

Wade, 3 others lost their spot

— Arkansas Coach John L. Smith said Wednesday he was disappointed in the actions of three suspended players and that it was time for the Razorbacks to move on without them.

Smith was referring to Marquel Wade, Maudrecus Humphrey and Andrew Peterson, who have pled not guilty to three counts of burglary and one count of theft, as well as linebacker Tyler Gilbert, who was charged with aggravated residential burglary in April.

“As a coach, you don’t want to admit failure in any respect,” Smith said during his appearance at SEC Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel. “That’s the biggest thing, you don’t want to say that I have to move on, but there comes a point in time where, as a football team and as a coaching staff, you just have to move on and do what you have to do.”

Smith appeared uncomfortable speaking in depth about the players.

Asked for an update on the status of Wade, Humphrey and Peterson — who are accused by UA police of walking into unlocked dorm rooms in the Northwest Quad and taking $4,817 worth of items, including laptops and DVDs — Smith replied: “Have you read the press guide? ... Whatever you see in there is what you get. I can leave it at that.”

None of the three, nor Gilbert, are listed in Arkansas’ media guide, which was released Tuesday.

Asked if anything could change regarding the suspended players, Smith replied: “Didn’t that answer the question? They’re not on there.”

Asked if any of the suspended players, including Gilbert, could make it back on the team, Smith said: “I think that answers it. Just read the press guide.”

Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, apprised of Smith’s remarks, was asked about the loss of Wade, who was the team’s leading receiver in the spring.

“It’s tough, because he’s a really, really good player,” Wilson said. “But you’ve got to play with guys you can trust and are going to be there on time and do the right things. If you can’t count on that, then third downs are tough to count on them too.”

Tailback Knile Davis, an offensive captain along with Wilson, said he was disappointed in the suspended players.

“I’ve talked to all of them,” he said. “I’m not going to necessarily say what I said to them, but I feel like it was unnecessary.

“I think they’ve learned from it, and I think they’ll make better decisions from here on out.”

Sports, Pages 17 on 07/19/2012

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