College football notebook

ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia punter Gordon Ely-Kelso's one-game suspension announced on Wednesday followed a June 29 appearance in Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court, where Ely-Kelso was accepted into a pretrial intervention program for underage consumption of alcohol and paid a $30 fine for being in a park after hours.

Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said he suspended Ely-Kelso for the Sept. 4 season-opener against Georgia Southern for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Ely-Kelso, 20, of Athens, and three others were cited at Memorial Park in Athens on May 25 after a police officer on patrol noticed a vehicle at the park, according to an incident report.

The officer discovered Ely-Kelso, another male and two females using the Memorial Park pool after hours.

The four told the officer they climbed the fence to get to the pool, which is closed at sunset. Citations were issued for being in the pool after hours. When the officer was speaking to each individually, he could smell the odor of alcohol and all four tested positive on an Alco-Sensor test.

FLORIDA: Following a week rife with discipline problems, Florida football coach Ron Zook pleaded for more off-season contact with his team.

Florida's program took a hit last week after two players were benched for the Sept. 4 season-opener against Middle Tennessee State after arrests on charges of disobeying police, and a third was indefinitely suspended after allegedly punching a student at a party, then throwing a beer keg at him. Both incidents occurred earlier this summer.

"The more I'm around our players, the more I have the opportunity to talk with them and be with them. Obviously, that gives me a better chance of having more control, in terms of what they're doing," said Zook, entering his third season at Florida. "Because of NCAA rules and recruiting, you're not able to be with them as much as you'd like to."

AIR FORCE: Coach Fisher DeBerry said two players who will be court-martialed on charges of using steroids have admitted they made a mistake.

Junior running back Matthew Ward, charged with wrongful use and possession of the anabolic steroid methandrostenolone, will be court-martialed Sept. 8. A date hasn't been set for junior linebacker Overton Spence Jr. on charges of wrongful use, distribution and possession of methandrostenolone.

Speaking at the Mountain West Conference meetings in Nevada this week, DeBerry said both players came into his office this spring and told him they made a mistake.

"Based on what they said, they didn't know what they were taking," DeBerry said. "They were told they were supplements, and they have never given me any reason to not believe them. "

Both players have been suspended from the football team. If convicted, Ward faces 10 years of confinement while Spence could receive 25 years. Both face dismissal from the Air Force and forfeiture of pay and allowances.