No suspension for Tennessee freshman arrested for assault

Not sure if it’s just me or I’m missing something here but was anybody else surprised to see where a Tennessee freshman was arrested for assault this past weekend and is not going to miss any playing time?

Jacques Smith, a freshman defensive lineman who was rated the No. 1 prospect in Tennessee last year, was arrested Sunday morning for allegedly punching a man in the back of the head and hitting and kicking him while he was on the ground, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. The victim, 21-year-old Brandon Allen, was treated and released from a local hospital for a concussion and cuts that required stitches.

Smith, 18, posted a $2,000 bond and an arraignment was set for Nov. 10 in Knox County. The victim plans to hire an attorney.

None of this is Earth-shattering news. Indications are the young men ended up fighting in a bar over a girl. That has been going on forever at colleges.

But apparently Smith is in the clear with the Vols after apologizing to the team in the locker room on Monday. Head coach Derek Dooley said “barring something unforeseen,” Smith won’t miss any games.

“It was an unfortunate incident, it was an isolated incident, it was an incident where Jacques got a little emotional over a girl and our players did the right thing to defuse the situation,” Dooley said. “It’s not any more complex than that.”

You’ll recall that eight to 10 Tennessee players were involved in a bar brawl this past summer that resulted in two of them being arrested. Atlanta’s Darren Myles, a sophomore defensive back who had been arrested previously, was ultimately dismissed from the team. Calhoun’s Da’Rick Rogers, a five-star freshman wide receiver, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He eventually plead out under first-offender status. Other than Myles, neither Rogers or any of the other players involved missed any games as a result.

One would think after the incident this summer — not to mention the Vols’ sorry season this year — that Dooley would have issued some sort of moratorium on players hanging out in downtown Knoxville bars. Not quite.

Dooley said he doesn’t place limitations on where his players can go or even subject them to a curfew.

“We don’t have a curfew,” Dooley said. “We ask them to use good judgment and he didn’t use good judgment.”

This incident is apparently nothing new for Smith. The Sentinel reported that he was suspended one game during the high school playoffs last year for allegedly punching a teammate.