Leading off today: West Virginia is giving Jason Gwaltney another chance.
Newsday reports that the former North Babylon running back has returned to Morgantown after a chaotic two-year stretch that had the No. 2 rusher (7,800 yards) in state history bouncing between West Virginia and Long Island.
According to the paper, new coach Bill Stewart has told Gwaltney he must spend this year in the classroom and on the scout team before he can see the field. He will use a redshirt this season, leaving him with one year of football eligibility for the 2009 season.
"As long as he goes to class, does what he's supposed to do, as long as he crosses his Ts and dots his Is, he's part of the family," Stewart said.
Gwaltney ran 45 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns before a knee injury as a freshman in 2005. He ran afoul of then-coach Rich Rodriguez for skipping classes and physical therapy later that fall and left school. He re-enrolled in January 2007 but was stopped by police in the spring for underage consumption of alcohol, speeding and failure to produce an operator's license.
Gwaltney has since spent time at Nassau Community College to get his transcript in order and resumed classes at WVU over the summer.
"He's a tremendous football talent. He has a great future ahead of him," Stewart said.
C-NS awaiting go-ahead: Cicero-North Syracuse athletes hope to have their field back in time to start the fall season.
The turf field was shut down in April amidst safety concerns after the school board heard districts around the country were testing for lead contamination. A report issued this week by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, based on a sampling of fields across the country, showed that lead levels were in an acceptable range.
