Saint Louis senior linebacker Jordan Botelho will not be playing in two upcoming nationally televised bowl games as originally planned, according to Crusaders coach Cal Lee.
Botelho is ineligible to play in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series and the U.S. Army All-American Bowl all-star game.
Lee does not know the exact reasons, although he does know it has to do with an off-campus altercation that Botelho was involved in that resulted in a court appearance.
Botelho will not be with the Crusaders (12-0) for a GEICO State Champions Bowl Series game on Dec. 21 in Las Vegas.
Botelho is also out of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 4 in San Antonio, Texas.
Botelho and a group of well-wishers were at the school’s Mamiya Theatre last week when he was awarded his jersey as the only Hawaii player to be selected for the U.S. Army bowl.
At the time, he was excited for both games, calling the All-American bowl invite a dream come true and adding this about the GEICO game: “Stay tuned because we have one more game left and we’re not losing that, too.”
According to Lee, Botelho is still planning to graduate from Saint Louis early and is still planning to enroll at Notre Dame next month to prepare for next fall’s football season with the Fighting Irish.
Lee confirmed that Saint Louis linebacker Nick Herbig is eligible for the GEICO game. Herbig missed the 21-14 ILH championship victory over Punahou on Nov. 1 after being suspended by school for his involvement in the same altercation that Botelho was in at Blaisdell Arena after the girls state championship volleyball match Oct. 26. Herbig was back on the field for the 45-6 state title win over Kahuku on Nov. 29.
The Crusaders’ GEICO opponent is yet to be determined, but sources say it will be St. Thomas Aquinas (13-0) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., if it wins Saturday’s 7A championship game against Edgewater (Orlando, Fla.).
The GEICO game will be televised on ESPNU. The U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be on NBC.
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