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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina has dismissed tight end Weslye Saunders from the football team.

Athletic director Eric Hyman said in a statement Wednesday that Saunders was no longer part of the team. Hyman says he would make no other comment.

Saunders, a 6-foot-6, 270-pound senior, has been at the center of South Carolina's NCAA problems this summer. He talked to NCAA investigators about potential agent contact and was among several Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier encouraged to leave a local hotel where they had stayed.

Saunders was suspended by Spurrier on Aug. 23 for violations the coach has said were not connected to the NCAA probe. Saunders has not been with the team since.

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