Coach Petrino statement

University of Arkansas football head coach Bobby Petrino issued a statement Thursday regarding the three players:

"Arkansas has suspended Matt Harris, Marques Wade and Wendel Davis for a violation of team rules."

On Friday, Coach Petrino spoke at a press conference held at the Embassy Suites in Memphis, Tenn., where he followed up on the statement.

"It really hurts. It is something that is hard on me to do that. Those guys have put great commitment and effort into being Razorbacks. They stepped out of their character a little bit. I know they have given a lot to this football team and they have been responsible for helping us win games and build this program. It is really hard in one aspect, in the other aspect it is one of those things where it wasn’t a hard decision because they knew the consequences. Once the players understand what is right and what is wrong they have a decision to make and that is if they are going to do right or do wrong. If they choose to do wrong there are natural consequences. That’s something I always try to tell our football team is that any actions there are natural consequences. I didn’t struggle with the consequence at all. I didn’t sleep well because it hurt my stomach and my heart."

On the impact on the defense:

"We have to have guys step up and we will have to do it by numbers. At the free safety position, Tramain Thomas and Anthony Leon will have to share and do a good job and focus. We will have to get help inside from the combination of Jerry Franklin, Terrell Williams and Freddy Burton."