Simple assault lands Vols frosh in legal hot water

After a first offseason that was legally embarrassing off the field, Derek Dooley‘s Tennessee squad has been model citizens in the legal arena even as all first-year hell has broken out between the lines.

And then along comes Jacques Smith to break up that Volunteer above-the-law mojo.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, a warrant for simple assault has been issued for Smith in regards to an early Sunday morning “incident” at a local imbibing establishment. The school had the following to say regarding the defensive lineman’s legal pickle:

“We had an incident last night involving Jacques Smith,” UT associate athletic director for communications Jimmy Stanton said before Dooley’s Sunday teleconference. “Based on what we’ve heard from both the police and Jacques, there was an altercation between Jacques and another student regarding a girl. Once the altercation started, members of our team who were present stepped in and diffused the situation.

“All parties then walked out on their own accord and without major injuries. There were no further incidents, and several hours later the other student and his mother decided to press charges. Those are the facts as have been relayed to us.”

Apparently, any punishment for Smith in regard to this misunderstanding will be handled internally by the school.

And, on a separate note, Matt Simms blamed* Smith’s future legal brouhaha for his Saturday benching.

(*no, that’s not true. But it is. Totally.)