USF's Jenkins, Williams arrested, suspended

USF defensive backs Mike Jenkins and Carlton Williams, two of the team's most experienced returning players, were arrested in Tampa early Friday morning and charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and obstructing or opposing an officer without violence after a large disturbance outside a bar.

USF coach Jim Leavitt has suspended both players indefinitely until he can learn more about the circumstances of their arrests.

"I'm very disappointed," Leavitt said in a statement. "I'm continuing to gather information on the matter, but I am very disappointed in the hour that this took place. Mike and Carlton will be suspended and will not practice while we gather further information."

Williams, 21, and Jenkins, who turned 22 Thursday, were arrested by Hillsborough County Sheriff's officers around 3 a.m. Friday at 1913 Bearss Avenue, which is the address for Bobalouie's Pub, not far from USF's campus. Both were booked and released on $750 bond Friday morning.

USF started spring football practice Tuesday, and Friday was the team's first day off since practice started. Jenkins, from Bradenton, is entering his fourth year as a starting cornerback and briefly considered leaving early for the NFL Draft before opting to return for his senior season. Williams, from Valdosta, Ga., had 43 tackles as a sophomore, starting eight games at free safety after starting 12 as a freshman. He's listed as the team's starting strong safety on the spring depth chart.

Williams and Jenkins could not initially be reached for comment Friday. The only players on USF's roster with more career starts are cornerback Trae Williams (32) and linebacker Ben Moffitt (30).

Comments

[Mark Hobratschk]

>>>>Can anyone name one school in the country that has not has a similar incident? Are there any schools that have not had a scholar athlete arrested?>>>
I can't remember Rutgers ever having a scholar athlete arrested in the last few decades, even after they went pro. If it has happened, it is definitely rare. Some programs like Rutgers try very hard to achieve athletic success without comprising academic standards or relying on low character players who are pretend students. That's why Don Imus' comments were so damaging and offensive to the university, since Rutgers' women basketball players are 3.0 GPA students who do things the right way.

[Mark]

These two young men have been convicted of nothing, they are innocent until proven guilty. They're guilty to people like Jim and Dave.

[A Cub Man]

So, who are the only players on USF's roster with more career arrests?

[nick delray]

Terrific,wonderfull,great job guys! just beat Rutgers at any cost and i will forgive you.!!!!!!!!!

[Jamie]

I'm a current student at USF who also happens to be turning 30 soon. I've been going out to clubs for about 10 years now, and I have never had a run-in with the law. No one is saying that they aren't allowed to have a social life, but the team does have rules, one of which is a curfew. I'm not sure if the curfew is currently in effect, but if it is - then they should be suspended for breaking that rule...end of story. Playing in the NCAA is a priviledge, not a right, and Leavitt has every right to set the standards for the kind of guys that he wants on his team.

I'm as big a fan of USF football as anyone, and I want to win. But I'd rather lose with class and dignity than win with a bunch of thugs (ala Miami). I'm not judging these guys personally, as all the details have yet to be revealed - but it is a disturbing trend. We've already taken enough heat from UCF fans and the like about the character of our atheletes. I don't want to give them any more ammunition.

[Windbane]

Whew, good thing I didn't go out tonight, because some of you are way over the top on how late college students should be out on a Thursday night when they don't have practice the next day and most likely (since it's USF) don't have classes Friday either.

Note: I posted this at 4am (gasp!).

[Ryan R.]

USFcr...

Oh sure, just about every school has these incidents from time to time.

I think what most folks posting here are getting at is the break-neck speed at which these stinkin' incidents are piling up!

The past 2-3 years have been riddled with legal issues, and the like.

And as for all you Bulls fans who suggest nobody got through college w/o an arrest......

That number is somewhere up in the millions.

Time for a reality check, guys.

[usfcr]

Cool it.
Can anyone name one school in the country that has not has a similar incident? Are there any schools that have not had a scholar athlete arrested?

[Thomas]

I think we should wait for the entire details before we jump to conclusions. Who really knows what happened? The explanation wasn't clear enough to judge.

[Adam]

I made it all the way through college at USF without getting into any trouble like this. But, lets just say that on my 22nd birthday, I had gone out and got a little drunk, and got arrested. I wasn't an athlete there, so would it have made the paper? NO.

These guys have already been held to a "higher standard" by being in the media spotlight. I am not justifying anything they did, but I would bet that there is a certain percentage of all USF students that get into legal trouble in a year, and I highly doubt that the percentage of athletes is as high as the overall percentage.

Why do we as fans get to sit back and judge the athletes like we have some sort of right to tell Coach Leavitt how he should deal with this situation. I got my college paid for with an achedemic scholarship, that scholarship was dependent on my performance in the classroom. No where did they say that I couldn't be caught out of my apartment past midnight. These guys are performing on the field, that is what their scholarship is based on. Until we are put in charge, lets let the people that award those scholarships decide what to do about the situation.

"Are we the next miami?"...I will be laughing about that one for a while.

[chris]

I have seen people just asking the wrong questions get an obstruction charge. I am not justifying their actions, but I cannot say I did not have a few close calls myself. They are young adults and should conduct themselves as such; especially since they not only respresent themselves, but their family that supports them, a community that supports them, and a school that believed in them to give them a full ride. Levitt should punish, but a feel anything more than a one game suspension is overkill.

[ryan]

I'm not saying you're going to get in trouble sooner or later, but I don't know anyone who doesn't have at least one story where they found themselves in a bad situation. I keep hearing what are you doing out at 3 a.m. I guess having a scholarship means giving up a social life. When a girl asks you to take her out, just tell her your on scholarship and I'm sure she'll understand. Clubs don't even get busy until 11 at night. Just go sit in Ybor and you'll notice business pick up after the "10 o'clock lights out" that apparently everyone on this board adheres to. They didn't steal anything, they weren't carrying guns and from what I hear there was 200 people out there...so, its clear that they used poor judgement in staying but so did quite a few others. Again, I'm not professing their innocence. I don't know what happened exactly yet. I've been to clubs were a fight broke out and I tried to stop it only to be blamed for starting the whole mess until others came out and spoke on my behalf. But, lets take away their scholarships...no trail, no jury, no second chance because others around them screwed up. I'm guessing you people are the parents who punish all of your kids for being in the same vicinity as the one child who broke your vase.

[Dave]

Just to clarify, I meant to say the first incident for Jenkins and Williams, which should be the warning for each.

[Dave]

C'mon guys, give us a break. We have a reputation for recruiting athletes of questionable character, and for good reason. Wait until Stirrups comes back. I think this is first incident, but Leavitt better send a message- no captaincy, no perks, nothing. He bumbled the J. Julmiste thing, which was just the latest in a string. UCONN cut the players involved down here with some minor infractions. That seemed extreme, but honorable. Leavitt probably won't prescribe the proper discipline, but the point is that as highly visible representatives of USF, these guys (all athletes) need to be held to a higher standard, not given free passes. I don't want to be FSU-II, I want to be Penn State-II (which still has problems, but no consistent felons). Young fellows screw up, but it is unexceptable when they make the same mistakes as the guys before them and expect to get away with it.

I got more and more angry as I wrote this, sorry.

[usf94]

God forbid a kid goes out to celebrate his birthday. I have no idea what happened but I've seen people get arrested for just being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Disappointed that they got in trouble, but stuff like this happens at UF, FSU, miami, USC, Georiga ect.....all the time.

Why should USF be any different?

[Donna]

These young men are apparently attending college on scholarships, while playing football. Why are they out, at 3 am, at a bar? If they had been where they were supposed to have been, home - sleeping or studying, this would not have happened. A certain amount of personal responsibility goes along with getting a scholarship, and staying out until 3 AM and getting arrested does not cut it. They should lose their scholarships and someone who appreciates it should be the next recipient.

[Jim]

Ryan, You make it sound like this is an everyday occurence like going to the movie. There are plenty of kids that won't get arrested their whole lives! Bottom line is there are plenty of kids that keep their nose clean and stay out of trouble that deserve these scholarships. I say give scholarships to those that obey the law and stay out of trouble!

[Ryan]

You can be arrested and booked for driving 20/mph over the speed limit if you're doing it in the wrong area; such as 65/mph in a 45/mph zone in Daytona Beach. Why do people continually jump to conclusions rather than wait to hear everyone's side of the story. And even if they are guitly of "misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and obstructing or opposing an officer" that could be little more than standing outside and saying the wrong thing such as, "I'm aloud to side outside a bar in America and take in the fresh air. What are you going to do, arrest me for that." Is that what happened...I don't know, but why don't we hear their side and allow this obviously fixable situation (people remove things like this and sadly, much much worse from their so-called "record" all the time) to unfold completely before we give away their scholarships and/or cut off their left hand.

[Ryan]

Yeah, you can call stuff like this "nothing" until you're blue in the face.

Here is the fact: They were arrested & booked...mug shots and all.

You've got to hope that one or two of our players will eventually figure out hanging out at bars in the middle of the night may not be the best place to be if you are interested in helping your team/keeping your scholarship to get an education.

[Kevin]

If a non-incident of this "magnitude" happened at UF, more than likely it'd be swept under the carpet by the Alachua county police.

[Jimbo]

Welcome to the big time. If this happened at UF no one would say they did "nothing."

Lets be honest. We're not doing ourselves any favors with the past problems we've had. This isn't an incident - it's a trend.

Are we the next Miami? I hope not.

[Adam]

"disorderly conduct and obstructing or opposing an officer without violence"

Sounds to me like they did.... nothing. Glad to know we have Temple Terrace police to protect us from nothing. Meanwhile a block over there are probably a dozen crackhouses.

[Jim]

Just a couple more of our top notch student athletes on scholarship getting their way through college!! Stop the madness give the scholarships to those who will be grateful for them and keep their nose clean!

[Eric]

Don't these guys know better to stay away from Bobalouie's Pub?

Didn't some player last year or the year before get in trouble leaving Bobalouie's; I think it was a suspected alcohol incident.

The scuttlebutt is that the police love to patrol Bobalouie's for easy college student arrests.

Very dopey behavior of these two players.