Captain for No. 6 Tennessee charged with aggravated assault

Associated PressOct 11, 2022, 7:54 PM EDT

Kevin Langley/Getty Images

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee starting safety and captain Jaylen McCollough has been arrested for aggravated felony assault, putting his status for Saturday’s game against No. 3 Alabama in question for the sixth-ranked Volunteers.

Coach Josh Heupel said the team learned about McCollough’s arrest on Sunday night. The Volunteers (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) host Alabama (6-0, 3-0) on Saturday.

“As they gather information, we’ll have a conversation based on the facts of it and then go from there,” Heupel said.

This is the third arrest for the Vols since mid-August, and the other two players were kicked off the team. Linebacker William Mohan, a Michigan transfer, was arrested on a charge of felony aggravated domestic assault, and offensive lineman Savion Herring was arrested for domestic assault.

McCollough is a four-year starter for Tennessee and is tied for fourth with 23 tackles. He had seven in a 40-13 win over then-No. 25 LSU on Saturday.

The 21-year-old safety was arrested on Sunday. An arrest warrant obtained by Knox News shows police responding around 3:30 p.m. to an apartment complex where they found a man missing teeth with his mouth bloody and swollen.

The man told police he had been drinking with friends and went to get something from his vehicle. The man says he went to the wrong building, knocked and opened an unlocked door to go inside. The police report says the man realized then he had gone into the wrong apartment, apologized and left.

The man told police he apologized again when someone followed him out and allegedly punched him in the face, causing him to fall down stairs and knocking him unconscious.

Police spoke to a woman who called McCollough back to the scene, and the safety had blood seeping through a bandage on his right hand. McCollough did not answer questions and was arrested, police said.

Alabama suspends freshman defensive back after drug arrest

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 10:32 PM EDT

Getty Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama freshman defensive back Tony Mitchell has been suspended from the team following his arrest on a drug charge.

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said Monday after the first practice of spring that Mitchell was suspended from the team “and all team activities until we gather more information about the situation and what his legal circumstance is.”

The Holmes County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mitchell and another man, Christophere Lewis, last week on a charge of possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or deliver, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. Lewis also was charged with carrying a concealed gun without a permit.

“Everybody’s got an opportunity to make choices and decisions,” Saban said. “There’s no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You’ve gotta be responsible for who you’re with, who you’re around and what you do, who you associate yourself with and the situations that you put yourself in. It is what it is, but there is cause and effect when you make choices and decisions that put you in bad situations.”

Mitchell, who is from Alabaster, Alabama, was a five-star prospect rated the 34th-best player and No. 3 safety in the 247Composite rankings.

Mitchell was driving the vehicle during a traffic stop. After deputies smelled marijuana, Mitchell picked up a baggie of marijuana from the passenger floorboard, according to the department’s Facebook post.

Sheriff’s deputies found “an additional significant amount of marijuana, a set of scales, a loaded handgun between the passenger seat and center console, and a large amount of cash,” according to the department’s Facebook post.

Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey suspended after arrest

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 12:05 PM EDT

Saul Young/News Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey was suspended from the team after he was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, the team said.

The 23-year-old, who was a team captain last season, was booked at about 2:45 a.m. and released after posting $500 bond, according to online records from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.

“We are aware of the situation involving Chad Bailey,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’s been suspended according to Department of Athletics policy. We have high expectations for all of our student-athletes, on and off the field, and we will follow all departmental and campus policies.”

Bailey was Mizzou’s third-leading tackler with 57 stops last season. He started all 11 games he played, missing two with an injury. He’ll be a sixth-year senior this fall after opting to return for his final year of eligibility, the Post-Dispatch reported.

The Missouri student-athlete handbook says any athlete who is arrested must serve a minimum one-week suspension.

Bailey was pulled over at about 1 a.m. not far from the Columbia campus for an expired license plate and lane violation, a police statement said. Bailey told the officer he had consumed alcohol and then performed poorly on a field sobriety test, the Post-Dispatch reported.