NEWPORT, R.I. Doug Marrone avoided the topics for 180 seconds. He took the podium at the Big East’s annual football media day and delivered a rushed, three-minute opening statement with marked terseness. No mention of Prince-Tyson Gulley. Not a word about Marcus Sales.

His speech was 7 minutes and 37 seconds shorter than that of Connecticut head coach Paul Pasqualoni and by far the briefest of the conference’s eight head coaches.

But as soon as Skip Holtz, the eighth and final coach to speak, concluded his statement, Marrone couldn’t avoid the issues any longer. The open interview session began, and inquiries into the stabbing of Gulley and Sales’ arrest on felony drug charges both of which took place this past weekend were the first few questions he faced.

‘It will be difficult (to regroup) because of what we’ve been preaching to the players about ‘you don’t need any distractions,” Marrone said. ‘And obviously, with the incidents that have occurred, it’s a distraction.’

Gulley, a 19-year-old sophomore, was hospitalized after being stabbed multiple times early Friday morning when a fight broke out at the 300 block of Slocum Drive on Syracuse’s South Campus.

Marrone said Tuesday that Gulley has since been released from the hospital and traveled home with his father to Wisconsin. The head coach was away from Syracuse at the time of the incident, but met with Gulley briefly on Saturday and the two ‘spoke of the situation.’

‘When I get back, I’ll have more of a medical (understanding), but I haven’t spoken to anyone yet,’ Marrone said. ‘I know he was healthy enough to be released and healthy enough to take that trip home.’

Once Gulley returns to campus, he will begin treatment with the team’s doctors, Marrone said. His condition will be evaluated to create a timetable for his return to the field.

Sales, a senior, was arrested Friday night and faces felony drug charges. He and his brother, Michael Sales Jr., were taken into custody after being pulled over for running a red light.

The officer at the scene smelled marijuana emanating from Sales’ car, according to the police report. A search of the vehicle yielded drugs and drug paraphernalia as well as an open cup of alcohol and nearly $1,000 in cash. A green plant-like substance tested positive for marijuana.

The brothers were charged with fifth- and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of marijuana, according to the police report.

Sales was also charged with consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle, driving through a red light and breaking the city’s open container law.

Both were arraigned Saturday and released.

‘Right now there’s obviously investigations going on, and we’re working with the proper authorities,’ Marrone said of the Gulley and Sales incidents. ‘I know I’m the football coach and everyone is waiting for something from me, but you’ve got to remember they’re students first. So I’ve got to work with the proper authorities.’

As of Tuesday afternoon, Marrone hadn’t spoken with Sales since the incident. He said there is no meeting arranged between he and Sales but that he has a ‘long ride back (to Syracuse) to think about a lot of things.’

Sales, a 6-foot, 182-pound senior, was tabbed as a starter on Marrone’s 2011 preseason depth chart after a breakout performance in the Pinstripe Bowl and a strong spring season. Once the second-best prospect in the state of New York coming out of Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, Sales struggled to adjust to college football. In his freshman and sophomore seasons, he caught a combined 42 passes for 484 yards and four touchdowns.

Last season, Sales caught 26 passes for 414 yards and four touchdowns. He caught the game-winning touchdown in the Orange’s upset win over South Florida. And, in SU’s Pinstripe Bowl victory over Kansas State, Sales hauled in five passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns.

Gulley played in 10 games for the Orange last season. He was SU’s kick return man, and his average of 23.7 yards per return ranked fourth in the Big East. He finished with 633 return yards on 29 attempts. He is currently listed as the second-string running back behind Antwon Bailey.

‘I just want to make sure people understand that we’ve done a lot of great things in our program, and things like this, unfortunately, they occur, but it’s not a reflection of the whole program,’ Marrone said. ‘And we still don’t know exactly what’s going on with each of these situations.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on August 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13