Big boys on small scooters

November 10, 9:33 AMCollege Sports ExaminerJacob Osterhout

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Hope he's had those breaks checked.

Last Thursday, South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier announced that all his players would be required to wear helmets when riding mopeds or risk a one-game suspension.

The new rule came into effect after freshman running back Kenny Miles was involved in an accident that left him with bruises and abrasions.

"His face looks like he slid into second base on a paved road," said Coach Spurrier.

Miles is the third Gamecock to crash his scooter this year. Tight end Nick Prochak broke his leg in a moped accident and defensive end Clark Gaston, who has since decided to transfer, was also involved in an accident.

And South Carolina isn't the only school where football players zip around campus on mopeds.

Articles online show that a large number of football players at Illinois, Wisconsin, Arkansas and Georgia all ride scooters.

As you can imagine with football players riding around on scooters, they're have been a fair share of incidents.

At Georgia last year, two football players, NaDerris Rakeem Ward and Caleb King, were arrested less than two weeks apart for various traffic offenses. At Wisconsin, senior linebacker Jonathan Casillas was arrested in September for driving his scooter while under the influence. And at Arkansas, junior linebacker Wendel Keith Davis was put on probation in September after a moped rage incident in which he injured his hand.

So why are so many college football players riding around campus on scooters?

They're cheap, they get great gas mileage, and you can park them where ever you want without worrying about getting a ticket.

But they're also dangerous, and if you're a football player at a big-time college program, chances are that you're going to need all your appendages if you want to ever see playing time.