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Monday, November 12
 
Green returns to team, plays down draft report

Associated Press

BOSTON -- Boston College running back William Green, who had emerged as a Heisman Trophy contender before he was suspended for the Eagles' game against No. 1 Miami, rejoined the team and said Monday he has no plans to leave school for the NFL draft.

"The NFL is the last thing on my mind right now," Green said in his first comments since he was suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules. "In December, after the season is over, I'll sit down with coach O'Brien and we'll weigh our options and we'll figure out what's best for me."

Green leads the nation in rushing at 145.5 yards per game, and has 14 touchdowns. But just before the team's biggest game of the year, the school announced Green would not play. He also missed last year's Aloha Bowl under similar circumstances.

A report in The Boston Globe on Saturday, citing two senior school officials it did not name, said Green was chafing under coach Tom O'Brien's discipline and had made up his mind to leave school. After losing to Miami 18-7 on Saturday, O'Brien called the report "bogus," and on Monday Green agreed.

"Nobody spoke to me at all about it," he said. "I found out like you did. I was watching the game Saturday and I looked up and they said I was entering the draft. I never told anybody I was entering the draft."

Although he did not say what rule he had violated, Green said he understood the suspension.

"The punishment fit the crime," he said. "Coach sets the rules here for everybody and we all have to follow those rules.

Green also said there was no lingering tension between him and O'Brien. He also said he apologized to his teammates.

"When I ran on the field yesterday, the first thing coach O'Brien said was, "Hey, No. 1, it's good to have you back,"' Green said.

"It's great to be back. It was hard Saturday. I want to be out there supporting the team. I couldn't be out there, and they played well. I feel like my suspension let them down, but it's something I'm going to learn from."




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