Michigan’s Harbaugh: PSU’s Franklin ‘ringleader’ in scuffle

Associated PressOct 25, 2022, 10:35 AM EDT

Detroit Free Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Penn State coach James Franklin acted as a “ringleader” when the No. 4 Wolverines and No. 13 Nittany Lions clashed nearly two weeks ago, dismissing Franklin’s claim that a policy change was needed to keep things orderly beneath Michigan Stadium.

Harbaugh said Monday it wasn’t the lack of a policy that caused a problem between the teams.

A lot of heated words were exchanged and Michigan players reportedly said Penn State players threw peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at them as the teams headed to the locker room at halftime of a close game that the Wolverines won in a 41-17 rout on Oct. 15.

“Like you saw, pretty clearly, that (Penn State players) completely stopped. They weren’t letting us get up the tunnel,” Harbaugh said. “And it just seemed like such a sophomoric ploy to try to keep us out of our locker rooms. And (Franklin) looked like he was the ringleader of the whole thing.”

Franklin said there should be a policy in place to prevent teams heading to the locker rooms at the same time and suggested the need for some sort of buffer to separate the teams.

“All there has to be is a two-minute or minute buffer in between the two teams,” Franklin said. “We’re not the first team that’s had issues like that. To me, under the current structure, we won’t be the last.”

There were no reports of any physical confrontations.

Alabama suspends freshman defensive back after drug arrest

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 10:32 PM EDT

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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.