With the whole nation getting ready for the upcoming college football season, some NC State players seem like they weren’t completely in the same mindset. On Tuesday afternoon it was announced that two freshman football players, Antoine Thompson, a three-star WR, and Kevince Brown, a three-star DE, were dismissed from the team according to the NC State University Police. Additionally, freshman players Isaiah Moore, Erin Collins and Xavier Lyas have been suspended following an investigation into an on-campus party.

School officials came out and said those three players violated the university’s code of conduct by attending a party where alcohol and marijuana were present. The party was held in a football player’s dorm room and was not an Athletics-sanctioned event, this meant the gathering was not approved or known by football personnel.

Previously, N.C. State’s campus police announced on July 23rd it had received three reports of alleged sexual assaults that occurred at Wolf Village Apartments, a student-housing complex on campus. Police later said that the assaults actually happened on July 21st but they didn’t hear about them until two days later.

NC State Police Chief Jack Moorman said the “five players were among ‘less than a dozen’ people at the party plus the three alleged victims” on Tuesday.  Although Thompson and Brown’s dismissals weren’t “regarding the allegations of sexual assault,” it’s hard to think those allegations did not play a hand in their ultimate dismissal from the university.

In a press release, head football coach Dave Doeren said the boys’ actions do not align with the team’s values. He said:

“We have a locker room full of young men committed to representing our University with integrity and respect… We had five freshmen, two of whom have been dismissed, who made poor decisions that don’t align with the values of our program and each has been handled accordingly. Although I’ve disciplined these players for violations of the Student Athlete Code of Conduct. I want to make it clear that I respect due process in the University and legal proceedings. Our players understand that I’m going be firm, but fair when it comes to discipline.”

The players in question are Moore, Collins and Lyas, who were disciplined internally.

NC State’s Director of Athletics Debbie Yow chimed in:

“Thompson and Brown are no longer enrolled at the university and that the school “reserve[s] the right to impose additional sanctions if new violations are discovered.”

This situation doesn’t bode well for the Wolfpack as they try to bounce back from a 7-6 record in 2016. State always surprises people with their tough play and gritty, grind-it-out football, but this still seems like an unexpected knock to a program on the rise. The players who were affected by this weren’t stars, but the team as a whole takes a punch in the gut to their morale. A person convicted of second-degree forcible rape can spend between four and 14 years in prison, according to North Carolina’s general statutes. Someone found guilty of sexual battery can spend up to 150 days in jail.

If the dismissed players end up facing charges and are found guilty, that will affect players mid season. If anyone on that Wolfpack team is friends with them it could get to them mentally and throw them off. Hopefully, these players are innocent and everything gets figured out soon. Regardless, this is a shot at the team’s depth with five of their top 14 recruits not on the roster. The real impact of the discipline is unknown on the football field, but the consequences are being met off it.

Here is NC State official Statement if you would like to read it.