Hurricanes dismiss two of their best defensive players,

CORAL GABLES — A week before their season opener against FAMU, the Miami Hurricanes have dismissed two of their top defensive players.

Redshirt junior defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad and senior linebacker Jermaine Grace, who have been investigated by Miami for several months in regards to their reported dealings with a local luxury car rental agency, committed NCAA violations, Miami said in a statement released Saturday. As such, neither will play for the Hurricanes this season, though in the statement, the school said it will continue providing financial aid for the two through their respective graduations.

In its statement, Miami said it had reached its decision to dismiss the players from the program after consulting with both outside legal counsel and NCAA enforcement staff.

Some of those discussions were likely necessitated by the fact that Miami remains under NCAA probation stemming from a protracted investigation into the actions of jailed former booster Nevin Shapiro. That probation is set to end in October, three years after the NCAA released its findings in the matter.

“As no staff members or boosters were involved in the violations, the program will not be subjected to sanctions, and, at this time, the University deems this matter closed,” Miami said in the statement.

Linebacker Juwon Young was suspended indefinitely in June for his role in the incident. He was removed from the Hurricanes’ roster ahead of training camp and has since transferred to Marshall, where he is listed on the Thundering Herd’s roster. Receiver Stacy Coley, whom the Miami Herald reported was also investigated by school officials, was not mentioned in the school’s statement.

The losses of Muhammad, Grace and Young mean that the Hurricanes will start the season without their three leading tacklers from last season. Grace had a team-high 79 tackles, Young had 57 and Muhammad 54.