SALT LAKE CITY — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham announced Monday that wide receiver Donte Banton and linebacker Sione Lund have been suspended from the team indefinitely while working through some things.
“Whether they get reinstated or not will be determined at a later time,” said Whittingham, who later noted that the suspensions followed a violation of team rules.
The Utes, Whittingham added, will also be without senior defensive end Maxs Tupai. He’s getting some personal things squared away.
“We hope for his return but that’s in question right now,” Whittingham said. “So those three guys you won’t see, potentially, for the entirety of spring. But we’ll see what happens.”
— Banton, a sophomore, played in 11 games last season (eight on offense) and made one catch for 10 yards.
— Lund, a junior, saw action in 13 games and made six tackles. The Stanford transfer started in Utah’s win over UCLA.
— Tupai was on the field for all 14 games in 2019. In 31 career games for the Utes, he’s made 55 tackles, including 9.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage with four sacks.