The debut of LB Lynn Katoa will have to wait as ruling has come down from the Office of Judicial Affairs at CU that he will not be allowed to play this year due to being arrested and charged with felony assault in connection with an off-campus incident. He is appealing the charge but won't have enough credits to be academically eligible to join the team in the fall even if he won. It will be interesting to see if Katoa will transfer now as that has been a rumor in the past. You can't argue with the decision at all. It's hard to defend a guy who breaks into two apartments and then bashes one guys head into a wall and punches out another with a rock in his hand. If there is a positive to the story, and there aren't many, he is a true freshman so his redshirt is still available but still we would have liked to seen Katoa's first hit be on the football field, not with a rock in his hand.
Based on Katoa's ruling, TE Riar Geer's season looks to be in serious jeopardy as well considering he was also charged with assault in the spring session. With dwindling depth at both the TE and LB positions, the suspensions of these two players could really hurt the Buffs chances this year. LB Jake Duren, who was starting most of the spring at one of the LB positions, was also booted off the team this year on suspicion of first-degree criminal trespassing. In January, LB Nate Vaiomounga and Kai Maiava (who is no longer with the team for personal reasons and due to a change in his position from OL to FB) also had run-ins with the law. Not the best way to start the 2008 season for the Buffs. Expect two incoming freshman, Ryan Deehan (TE) and Jon Major (LB), to be given every opportunity to fill the voids left by the off-season issues. CU would have liked to redshirt these two players but the odds are that they will be seeing action early in there career.
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