Pender ruled academically ineligible

TALLAHASSEE— Florida State redshirt freshman RB

Mario Pender has been ruled academically ineligible for the 2013 season.

“I found out late last night that Pender is in school, but he received one grade too less, so he cannot play,” coach

Jimbo Fisher said after Thursday’s practice. “He’s still in school, he’s still participating with the team, still practicing. Wewere told that [ grades] would beOK, but he came back one grade short. He had a great camp, too.”

The grade Fisher in reference is from a class Pender took during the summer semester. Fisher held Pender out for the first several days of fall camp whilewaiting to hear about his grades.

Pender ( 5- 10, 192) was redshirted last season after undergoing surgery to fix a sports hernia. He came to FSU as a highly regarded prospect, and expectations were for him to play early in his career.

The loss means true freshman Ryan Green will likely be Florida State’s third- string running back behind Devonta Freeman and JamesWilder Jr. Green ( 5- 10, 190) has impressed Fisher this spring with his explosiveness and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.

■ Pittsburgh hosts FSUonMonday at 8 p. m. in its inaugural game as a member of the ACC. A benefit of moving from the Big East, according to Pitt coach Paul Chryst, is that the Panthers will have exposure in areas theywant to recruit from, like Florida.

Next game: at Pitt, Monday at 8 p. m., ESPN.