"We excused Ramonce Taylor for the rest of the semester so he can spend more time with his academics," Brown said. "He will not be involved in team functions for the rest of the semester."
Taylor did not participate in Saturday's scrimmage at Royal-Memorial Stadium. He logged five starts in 2005 (four at RB, one at WR) on the way to second-team All-Big 12 honors. RT accounted for 513 yards rushing and 12 TDs on 76 carries while adding 265 yards and three TDs on 27 receptions during his sophomore campaign.
Taylor's dismissal means that sophomore Henry Melton's audition at DE will be limited. In fact, Melton's chain-moving effort at RB was one of the highlights of Saturday's scrimmage.
"Henry Melton made some really good, physical runs today and has a couple of other days as well," Brown said. "It will be a hard decision to see how much he plays defense compared to offense because we liked the way he looked (on offense). He's in better shape. He's running with lower pads. He made a couple of really key runs today."
Brown has all but named Selvin Young the starting RB for next season.
"Selvin looks better than at any time last year, even the championship game," Brown said. "He had a couple of great runs at the end of the scrimmage. We all know that Jamaal is really fast so that, when he touches it, he has a chance to go. Jamaal didn't play quite as much (in the scrimmage) as Selvin or Henry simply because we want to make sure that we're sensitive toward (his participation) in track. He is putting so much energy into track that we do not want to deplete that energy in a scrimmage if we think it might wear him out."
Charles accounted for 1,035 all-purpose yards (878 rushing, 157 receiving) and a UT-freshman record 13 TDs) on the way to 2005 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors. Young ran for 487 yards and eight TDs during a junior season hampered by nagging ankle injuries. He logged five starts last season, including the Rose Bowl national championship.
"One of the great things about this school is you can catch up fast, especially at skill positions," Brown told Inside Texas. "Chris Ogbonnaya made some really good runs, and he's playing both fullback and tailback. We feel like we're in pretty good shape at the running back spot right now."