STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Anwar Phillips returned to the Penn
State football team after his acquittal on sexual assault charges
and could play as early as Sept. 7 against Boston College.
Phillips was not allowed to join the team until after Tuesday's
verdict, and NCAA rules require players to practice at least five
days before they can play.
"I don't see any reason not to have him on the team and see
what he can do," coach Joe Paterno said on his radio show Thursday
night. "I'd like to put this behind everyone, but I don't know if
that's possible."
Phillips was acquitted of sexually assaulting a female
acquaintance in her on-campus apartment.
Phillips, a defensive back, played in all 13 Penn State games as
a redshirt freshman last year, earning his first of two starts just
four days after the assault accusation.
He was expelled from the university for two semesters during a
Dec. 12 campus judicial proceeding. He was allowed to play in the
Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1 because his expulsion didn't start until
the semester began in mid-January.
Because the two summer sessions count as a semester, Phillips
was allowed to enroll again for the fall.