OMAHA, Neb. — Washington Redskins draft pick Cody Glenn has admitted that he lied when he told reporters that his suspension at Nebraska last season stemmed from his selling football tickets.

Glenn told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he made up the story about selling his tickets, which would have been a violation of NCAA rules. The fifth-round pick said he wanted to satisfy reporters and get them to quit asking him about the suspension.

"It was me being dumb, just trying to have people leave me alone," Glenn said. "It's something I said that I probably shouldn't have, looking at it now."

The university athletic department said Monday that it had no knowledge of Glenn selling tickets.

Glenn spoke with department officials Tuesday morning to clear things up. Gary Bargen, assistant athletic director for compliance, said Glenn was contrite.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini suspended Glenn in November for the last three games, saying the linebacker violated team rules.

Glenn on Tuesday refused to disclose the real reason for his suspension, saying it was confidential between him and Pelini.

The suspension spawned numerous rumors on fan message boards. Glenn said he went with the ticket story because he knew that was one of the rumors circulating about him.

"So many people kept asking me about it, everywhere I go," Glenn said. "That was the rumor out there, so I just said, 'OK, yeah, I sold tickets.'

"It was just so people would kind of leave me alone, just to get them an answer, for people who had to have an answer. There's so much I'm going through, trying to finish up school. And to have people constantly nagging in my ear about 'What did you do?' blah, blah, blah. I got tired of that. That's all that is. I didn't mean to confuse anyone."

After the Redskins selected him Sunday, he told reporters covering the team: "I got caught up with selling some tickets I wasn't supposed to. I did it, and I got caught up in it. Coach Pelini had to do what he had to do, but it wasn't nothing really big. It was just something where they didn't want to hurt the team."

Bargen said Tuesday there has never been any evidence of ticket selling by Glenn. The player assured Bargen that he had never sold tickets in his four years at Nebraska.

"We're going to follow up a little bit," Bargen said, "but I don't anticipate he's telling us anything but the truth."

Bargen said Glenn will leave Nebraska on good terms.

"I've known him for four years, and I always thought he was a person of integrity, and I know people make mistakes," Bargen said.

Glenn said he didn't think his original comment would create such a stir. He said he got caught up in the excitement of the moment after being picked surprisingly high by the Redskins.

"I'm trying to enjoy everything that happened Sunday with the draft," he said. "All of a sudden, I can't win for losing. I want to put this behind me and start clean in Washington and start playing football."

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On the Net:

University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletics: http://www.huskers.com

Washington Redskins: http://redskins.com