Football players will not return next season
Since the end of the 2007 football season, five players have decided to leave the program and move on to other ventures.
Junior defensive lineman Christopher Perri, freshman place-kicker Tyler Cope, redshirt freshman Wes Palazzi, senior wide receiver Alvin Barnett and sophomore wide receiver Jarrell Yates are all leaving the team.
Many CU fans remember Perri not for his on-the-field football skills but rather for his off-the-field legal troubles.
In mid-June, Perri and sophomore linebacker Michael Sipili were involved in an off-campus fistfight with two other CU students. Two weeks later, Perri was arrested for involvement in another fistfight between him and fellow teammate Taj Kaynor.
Although in more legal trouble news than football news, Perri’s departure adds to the lack of defensive end strength on the team.
As for walk-on Cope, he has transferred to Oregon State to play football for the Beavers. Throughout the season, there had already been speculation that the Portland native was struggling with out-of-state tuition.
The freshman has already left Boulder, and he is expected at the OSU spring football camps and training sessions.
There is no word about the future endeavors of Palazzi, Barnett and Yates. For now, the three men are still on campus attending CU as regular students.
It is common for some players to leave each season’s end. This year the Buffs have not been hit as hard as they were at the end of the 2006 season, when 12 players left the team. For now there are only five players leaving and no word of other players thinking about leaving the program.
Coaches could not be reached for comment.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Philip Fisher at Philip.Fisher@colorado.edu.
