As expected, a federal indictment has been handed down to Ole Miss football signee Jamar Hornsby for an aggravated assault.

You know the backstory by now — Hornsby was dismissed from Florida’s team after off-the-field incidents (including using a dead girl’s credit card), he signed with Ole Miss after a year at a junior college, then was arrested in March for allegedly beating a man with a set of brass knuckles and stealing six dollars from his pocket.

The brass knuckles were a part of the initial police report, but they were not mentioned in the federal indictment.

“As we’ve said all along, there were never any brass knuckles involved,” said Hornsby’s attorney, Steve Farese.

The fact that the brass knuckles were not mentioned in the new indictment “semi-vindicates us as far as this was just a fight.”

I’m guessing prosecuting attorneys won’t see it that way, but hey, Farese is speaking on behalf of his client so we can expect some positive spin.

Houston Nutt has refused to take any action with Hornsby (other than holding him out of practice) until the court system wraps up his case.  We’ll see if today’s federal indictment forces Nutt to act further. 

Or maybe he, too, feels this federal indictment is a “semi-vindication” of Hornsby.

The attorney for oft-troubled defensive back Jamar Hornsby expects his client to be indicted on federal assault and larceny charges on Friday.  You might remember that Hornsby was arrested in March for allegedly beating a man with brass knuckles and stealing six bucks from his pocket.  This after he had already blown his chance at Florida by using a dead girl’s credit card.

The truly disappointing thing in all of this is that Houston Nutt did not immediately cut ties with Hornsby after the assault arrest.  The man was already on his second (third, fourth) chance and beat someone with brass knuckles.  That should have been Game Over.

Instead, Nutt said he would decide Hornsby’s fate once his legal troubles were put to bed.  Now it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen for a while.

Perhaps Nutt will finally decide on Friday that a man indicted on federal assault charges probably shouldn’t be a representative of the Ole Miss football program.  We’ll see.

In indicted and convicted, Hornsby could face 20 years in prison.

Hornsby’s attorney denies that brass knuckles were used in the attack. 

University of Florida police have arrested UF linebacker Dustin Doe — again — for — again — driving with a suspended license.

Urban Meyer has suspended Doe from the team indefinitely… presumably for being an idiot.

In late June Doe was charged for “knowingly driving with a suspended license.”  Prior to that he had received two traffic tickets for “unknowingly” driving with a suspended license.

How does someone get popped four times for driving on a suspended license?

For the record, Doe started all 12 games last year.  And his latest brush with the law now counts as the 25th arrest of a Gator player during Meyer’s four year tenure.

So you’re first-year Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen.  You’ve got one real weapon on offense.  He’s a senior.  And he just got arrested last night.

Not exactly the news that Mullen wanted to hear heading into his Wednesday presser at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama.

The Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports that Mullen is aware of the charges and is gathering information before handing out a punishment.  But no one is officially saying what MSU’s workhorse tailback has been charged with.

Unofficially, the speculation centers on a DUI.  We shall see.

Dixon was chosen last week as a second-team All-SEC running back by the league’s coaches.

Our first post of the day and we’ve got two stars beside this item… one, because it’s the first arrest of a Vandy player (that I can recall) since we started this site and two, because it involves someone named “Cabbagestalk.”

Incoming freshman lineman Justin Cabbagestalk was arrested Tuesday night and charged with felony burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

The arrest took place in his homestate of Florida, in Tampa.  A police spokesperson said “It appears as though nothing was taken.”

Sounds more like a breaking and entering charge than a burglary charge to me, but I’m no lawyer.

No word yet from Vandy coach Bobby Johnson.

Florida’s State Attorney’s office offered Florida cornerback Janoris Jenkins a deferred prosecution for resisting arrest during a fight in May… and Jenkins has taken it.

Jenkins will receive six months of probation, have to pay about $200 in costs, and will have to do 15 hours of community service.

You might recall that Jenkins was arrested and tasered when he refused to back down in a fight with five other people.  He was charged with resisting arrest and “affray.”  The affray charge was dropped as part of the deferred prosecution agreement.

If Jenkins minds his p’s and q’s, he’ll face no further charges for the incident.

Jenkins attorney had this to say of the agreement: “The truth is, I feel as though he didn’t really do anything wrong here.  I don’t want to get into a big contest with (the Gainesville Police Department).  Let’s just say this is a compromise as far as I’m concerned.  This is being inside the 20-yard line and settling for three.”

Four players arrested — one of them twice — is enough for Bobby Petrino.  Arkansas’ head coach dismissed reserve linebacker Khiry Battle from the Razorback team yesterday.

Battle was arrested early Sunday for a DUI and two other charges.  He was arrested in May for failing to appear in court over yet another previous charge.

“Khiry has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules,” Petrino said in a UA release.  “Being a member of the Razorback football program requires responsible actions on and off the field.”

Arkansas linebacker Khiry Battle was arrested early Sunday and charged with a DUI.  Battle — who is 20 — was also cited for refusing to take a Breathalyzer test and for violating Fayetteville’s noise ordinances.

This is Battle’s second arrest since May.  His last arrest came for failing to appear in court on a previous charge.

Battle joins defensive tackle Lavunce Askew (theft of property), quarterback Ryan Mallett (public intoxication) and linebacker Ryan Powers (shoplifting) as the fourth UA footballer to be arrested in 2009.

No word yet from Bobby Petrino.

Walk-on punter Eric Davis has paid a traffic fine over an April accident that sent a Columbia parking enforcement official to the hospital with a knee injury.

Davis’ failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk landed him a $236 fine.

Not surprisingly, the 48-year-old he hit wants Davis to help pay for the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent earlier this month.

Incoming freshman defensive back Dennis Thames probably isn’t off to the start that Dan Mullen had hoped.  The future Bulldog (or is he?) was arrested on May 30th and charged with “public intoxication — other substance.”

“Other substance?”  I could be wrong, but I’m guessing this might have had something to do with the green, green grass of home.

At any rate, MSU officials say they’re “looking into the matter.”

Arkansas is having quite the little start to summer.  Yesterday we told you that a pair of football players were involved in some weekend thievery (one was arrested) and that former basketball player Patrick Beverly had claimed someone was writing papers for him during his playing days.

Now current basketball player Marcus Britt has been suspended from the team after he was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated on Saturday.

“He is a representative of the University of Arkansas and our basketball program, and needless to say, we are disappointed.  He is still part of our team, but the expectations of being a Razorback include meeting high standards on the court and off the courts.

Britt will be a junior next season.  In addition to the DWI charge, he was also hit with charges of driving with a suspended license, having no insurance, running a stop sign, and failure to appear in court for a previous speeding ticket (which led to the suspension of his license).

Florida sophomore cornerback Janoris Jenkins was tasered and arrested early Saturday morning and charged with fighting and resisting arrest without violence, according to a police report.

Jenkins, 20, was tasered and arrested after he failed to stop fighting, according to the report.

The report states Jenkins was fighting with five other people on South Main Street in Gainesville when an officer arrived and ordered them to stop fighting. Jenkins then hit another person in the head, according to the report, and the officer used the taser on Jenkins.

The report states Jenkins told police he was fighting to prevent his chain from being stolen.

Jenkins is the third Florida player to be arrested this offseason, joining offensive lineman Carl Johnson and walk-on running back Marquis Hannah. Jenkins is also the 24th player to be arrested during Urban Meyer’s four years in Gainesville.

This isn’t shaping up as a very good morning for Arkansas fans.

Sophomore defensive tackle Lavunce Askew was arrested over the weekend in connection with the theft of a laptop computer… and he was suspended indefinitely by Bobby Petrino yesterday.

(What?  Was Askew hanging out with Cam Newton?)

Razorback defensive back Matt Marshall admitted to taking an iPod Touch from the same residence that Askew took the laptop from, but Marshall returned the item and left it on the owner’s doorsteep.  He was not arrested.

Askew has been charged with felony theft.

Alabama football signee Nico Johnson was acquitted yesterday of a harassment charge file by a private complaint.

Johnson faced “a verbal, non-physical” misdemeanor charge filed by another student at his high school.

“I’m great.  I know that I didn’t do anything.  It was blown out of proportion.”

Last week we told you that sophomore cornerback CC Whitlock had been reinstated to the South Carolina football team.

Apparently he felt the need to celebrate this weekend.  On Saturday night, Whitlock was arrested at a nightclub.  As is university policy, Whitlock is now back ON suspension until the matter is resolved.

The 20 year-old Whitlock had been drinking at the club in Chester, South Carolina and refused to leave when he was asked to do so.  He was charged with trespassing.  He had also been involved in a “disturbance” at the same bar a week earlier according to the club’s owner.

Obviously, at the moment, things don’t look to good for Mr. Whitlock.

No word on whether or not Gamecock fans have taken to calling the oft-troubled young man “Nit” Whitlock.

He was a star high school running back in Manatee County, Florida… until he got high.  (Click that link.  Great song.)

He was committed to play football at South Carolina… until he got high.

Now Benjamin Axon has been arrested on a charge of marijuana possession with intent to sell.  That whole “intent to sell” thing doesn’t look too good.

Axon, who’s already 19 or 20 (depending on the report you read), signed to play for Carolina this fall.

USC officials have made no comment on Axon’s future with the Gamecocks.

A couple of hours ago I posted our latest take on the case of current Tennessee defensive back Brent Vinson.

According to a source, the Knoxville Police Department believes there is some connection between the shooting witnessed at 2am Wednesday by Vinson and the home invasion/robbery that took place about 36 hours earlier.

That home invasion resulted in former UT basketball player Ramar Smith being arrested and released on $15,000 bond.

The Knoxville News Sentinel is now reporting that Smith was charged with stealing $6000 in cash, guns and a half pound of marijuana during the armed invasion.

Question… what type of person has that in his house to steal?  Uh-huh.

Now, it’s believed that Vinson was hanging out a day and half later at the home of another rough-and-tumble fellow when two men entered that townhouse and shot the resident multiple times, leaving him in critical condition.

As we suggested earlier, all of this appears to be tied to drugs.

Smith’s pilfering of $6000, guns and ganja would seem to make that even more apparent.

And if the two situations are connected, even though Vinson was just a witness to the shooting, it’s VERY likely that he’ll be booted from the Vol football team. 

With a history of missteps, it’s unlikely his new coaches will be very forgiving of a young man who once again chose to put himself in harm’s way with some folks who — at the very least — are of “questionable” character.

You think Lane Kiffin might ask, “What were you doing there?”  I’m guessing he will. 

Then again, predicting Kiffin’s actions ain’t exactly an easy way to make a living.

At about 2am Wednesday morning in Knoxville, Tennessee defensive back Brent Vinson witnessed a shooting at a townhouse.  Police have repeatedly said that Vinson is just a witness, not a suspect in the shooting.

But that still might not be enough to keep Vinson on the UT football team.

A quick look at all of the circumstances surrounding the case (and Vinson’s history at UT) all lead back to two words — drugs and trouble.

Let’s recap:

In 2007, Vinson signed to play football at Tennessee.  His friend from Hampton, Virginia, Duke Crews also signed on to play basketball at Tennessee.

Following the 2007-2008 basketball season last spring, Crews along with Ramar Smith were kicked off of the Tennessee basketball team for academic issues as well as violations of UT’s drug policy.

Last fall, Vinson was suspended for the Vols’ season-opener against UCLA for violating Tennessee’s attendance policy.  He was suspended for part of the Vols’ Northern Illinois game after showing up late for a team meeting.

He also served a one-game suspension later in the season (against South Carolina) because Knoxville police had issued him five citations including one for misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

On Monday afternoon, Smith, the former Vol basketball player allegedly took part in a home invasion robbery at a Knoxville apartment complex. 

Then came the shooting across town at another townhouse early Wednesday morning.

Police have not ruled out the possibility of a connection between the two crimes.  As we’ve written previously, we took that to mean that police believe the two crimes are connected.

Indeed, a source tells MrSEC.com that Knoxville police are of the opinion that the home invasion robbery (which involved drugs and cash) is tied to the shooting a day later.

Smith turned himself into authorities this morning for the home invasion and aggravated robbery and was released on $15,000 bond an hour later.

The shooting — which left the victim in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds — appears to have been drug-related as well.

According to a source near the investigation, the fact that Vinson was on-hand at the home of the victim does not reflect well on the current UT football player.

With his history of off-field issues and his connections — in some way or another — to Smith and to the victim in the Wednesday morning shooting, frankly, it would be surprising if Vinson is back on the Tennessee football team next fall.

It is more likely that he will become the 12th member of the Tennessee team to either depart or be dismissed since Lane Kiffin took over the Vols program.

Former Tennessee point guard Ramar Smith surrendered to police today on charges of aggravated robbery in Knoxville.

The home invasion robbery took place on Monday.  Police are still trying to determine if that incident is connected to a shooting on Wednesday night on the other side of town.

Current football player Brent Vinson was a witness to the shooting that left a man in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds.

In other words, Vinson has probably already told the cops that Smith was or was not one of the two men involved in the shooting.

Since the police aren’t stating definitively that one incident is not related to the other, well, you might be able to do some math there.

Smith was kicked off of Tennessee’s team after his sophomore season in 2007-2008 before academic problems and a violation of UT’s substance abuse policy.

UPDATE – Smith has now been released on $15,000 bond after a one-hour stay in the Knox County jail.

He has been charged in connection to an an armed home invasion robbery.  There is still some question as to whether that crime had any connection to the shooting that Vinson witnessed.

All it would take to clear that up would be for Vinson to say, “It wasn’t him.”  Since police aren’t ruling out a connection between the cases, we can probably conclude that Vinson has NOT said, “it wasn’t him.”

And judging from Smith’s hairstyle (and no that’s not his mugshot), the former Vol would probably be pretty hard not to recognize.

Well, this is too complicated a story to do anything but lay out what’s known at the moment.

Current Tennessee defensive back Brent Vinson was a witness to an overnight shooting in Knoxville.  Police have said that Vinson is not considered a suspect.

Police are also trying to find former Vol basketball player Ramar Smith  in connection with a home invasion robbery.

A police spokesperson said, “It is undetermined at this point if the incidents are connected.”

The victim in the shooting is in critical condition as of this afternoon.  He was shot last night.

When officers arrived at the man’s townhouse last night, they found the victim and several witnesses who explained that they had seen two men fleeing the area.  The victim had been shot multiple times.

Vinson was one of the witnesses in the townhouse at the time of the shooting.

How does Smith fit in to this?  Does Smith fit into this?

Well, police want to talk to him about a home invasion that took place on Monday.

Smith was booted from the Tennessee team following the 2007-2008 season due to poor grades and a violation of UT’s drug policy.

As was confirmed over the weekend, Mark Richt has suspended tight end Bruce Figgins from six games this fall and defensive end Justin Houston for two games.

While Richt’s statement could only cover the standard “violation of team rules,” sources have told ESPN that Figgins was suspended for failing the second drug test of his career.

While Figgins was expected to compete for the starting tight end job with two other players, Houston was viewed as a starter at D-end… a position of need for the pass rush-less Bulldogs.

His absence will clearly hurt UGA when they go up against pass happy Oklahoma State in their opener and then follow that up against the mobile Stephen Garcia and South Carolina in Week Two.

I’m telling you, folks, the silly season has begun.

Arkansas linebacker Khiry Battle was arrested late Wednesday night for failure to appear after a university police officer responded to an argument involving him.

He was booked, held, and then released 90 minutes later.

Battle was arguing with another student in a university parking lot when police were called.  The officer ran a check on Battle and found that he had a warrant out for his arrest… for failing to resolve a careless driving ticket.  Thus the “failure to appear.”

Battle is the third Hog to be arrested in the last three months.

Forward Delwan Graham played sparingly on last year’s SEC championship team.  But with five scholarship players (all seniors) already departing and Tasmin Mitchell exploring his NBA options, Graham’s role figured to grow next season.

It won’t now.

“I will not renew Delwan Graham’s scholarship for next season, and he will not be with the team because of a violation of team rules,” Trent Johnson said yesterday.

It Mitchell does not return, LSU is staring down the barrel of a situation similar to what Arkansas and John Pelphrey faced last year.

And we all know how that turned out.

In the SEC there are three seasons:  football season, basketball season, and get-in-trouble season.

The past couple of years, Georgia has excelled during get-in-trouble season.

Now UGASports.com is reporting that some Bulldog football players are in trouble again.

Tight end Bruce Figgins, defensive end Justin Houston and receiver Tony Wilson will be benched for an undetermined number of games for that oldie but goodie — the violation of team rules.

When asked yesterday about the report, Mark Richt said, “At the appropriate time, I will make any announcement that needs to be made — if there is any announcement that needs to be made.”

If true, this is certainly not the start to summer that Richt and Dawg fans were hoping for.

Former Georgia defensive end Michael Lemon will spend the next two weekends in jail as part of a plea bargain stemming from a fight at cookout last summer.

Lemon was charged with felony aggravated battery and misdemeanor battery for punching another UGA student to the ground during an apartment complex cookout.

Mark Richt booted Lemon from the Bulldog team shortly thereafter.

After spending last season at Georgia Military College, Lemon is expected to continue his college career at North Carolina State next fall.