Thirteen North Carolina football players have been suspended and will miss at least one game this season after the discovery that they sold school-issued Jordan brand shoes, which is considered a secondary violation under NCAA rules.
Nine of those players, including quarterback Chazz Surratt (who started seven games last season), will miss four games leaving Tar Heels coach Larry Fedora no option but to name Junio Nathan Elliott as the starting quarterback.
Surratt threw for 1,342 yards eight touchdowns and three interceptions as a redshirt freshman last season.
The other players suspended for four games are starting defensive end Malik Carney, offensive lineman Brian Anderson, wide receiver Beau Corrales, defensive end Tomon Fox, defensive end Tyrone Hopper, offensive lineman Quiron Johnson, linebacker Malik Robinson and offensive lineman Jordan Tucker.
Defensive backs Greg Ross and Tre Shaw will miss two games, and quarterback Jack Davidson and offensive lineman Jonah Melton will miss one.
Since several of the same suspended players share the same position the NCAA approved a request by the school to stagger some of those suspensions.
Back in January, the school learned that several players sold team-issued sneakers for up to $2500. After the illegal activity by the players was discovered the school self-reported the allegations to the NCAA back in February, which then processed the report as a secondary violation back in March.
The Tar Heels start their season on the road against the California Golden Bears on September 1.
