UNC football player charged with assault

Linebacker Garrett White will be disciplined internally by North Carolina coach Butch Davis after White's arrest on a misdemeanor simple assault charge early Sunday morning.
White, 20, was arrested after an incident in a downtown Chapel Hill parking lot, said Chapel Hill police spokeswoman Jane Cousins.
Paul Britt of Chapel Hill alleged that White struck him in the face after a verbal altercation, then left the scene in a vehicle with two other people.
Police later located the vehicle, and Britt identified White as the person who struck him, according to Cousins. White was released on a written promise to appear in court April 10, Cousins said.

Ohio University and Frank Solich

I spoke too soon... while UNLV has a lot to be proud of... a little digging by a Local Ohio newspaper reveals a lot more of Dirt on the Ohio University Football program. The following are exerps from an article in "The Athens News".

Off-field troubles involving Ohio University football players during the past 13 months roughly parallel those of the 1998 and 1999 teams, court records show, but the checkered disciplinary record of head coach Frank Solich's players stretches back further than that.
Solich emphasized Wednesday that he's doing what he can to compel and promote good behavior among team members, and that good citizens compose the vast majority of his team.

An Athens NEWS review of past rosters and court records found that the OU team's legal difficulties spiked in 1998 and 1999 before falling and then increasing markedly under Solich.

The coach's former employer, the University of Nebraska football program, the review also found, provides a lesson in what OU surely hopes to avoid in terms of player conduct, despite many individual successes.

In the interview on Wednesday, Solich flatly declined to discuss disciplinary issues at Nebraska, saying he's now totally focused on building a strong program in Athens.

Solich's own drunken-driving conviction in November 2005 only served to trigger greater scrutiny of off-field incidents in Athens and foreshadowed the cluster of OU football players who have been arrested in the months since.

Solich has steadfastly denied culpability in his own case, saying he was drugged, but his attempt to withdraw his plea failed last August.

Already this year, local authorities have briefly jailed football players Kris Luchsinger, Ernie Hodge and Horace Hubbard -- all Solich recruits -- on charges that followed alleged violence uptown.

In Athens County Municipal Court, six team members last year were convicted of assault or disorderly conduct by fighting, and Luchsinger and Hodge have become the latest in a string of Bobcat footballers to get chased by local police.

At least 14 team members have been arrested since late January 2006 on original charges of assault, vandalism, DUI or for fleeing. That's 12.2 percent of the team, and does not include citations without arrests.

FBI and U.S. Census data show a 4.8 percent nationwide arrest rate in 2005, although the FBI does not break down the arrests by age, and arrests would almost certainly be higher in the college-age population.

UNLV Shoots to the Top of the Thug Factor

When the next Thug Factor is issues, UNLV will be the new champion. Five UNLV football players were arrested in a Theft Ring dating back to 2006. Congrats UNLV!

Arrest Warrants For UNLV Athletes in Theft Ring
Arrest warrants have been issued for eight people accused in a theft ring involving UNLV athletes.
In November 2006, the Channel 8 I-Team learned that five football players, two members of the women's track team and a cheerleader were being investigated for stealing merchandise from the Abercrombie and Fitch in the Forum Shops in Caesars Palace.
Police say Channing Trotter worked at the store and allowed several students to leave the store with hundreds of dollars of merchandise for the price of one item.
Metro police say the thefts totalled about $3,400.

Thug Factor Update

T1 - Colorado State 9
T1 - Tennessee 9
T1 - Texas Tech 9
4 - Washington 7
T5 - Louisville 6
T5 - Maryland 6
T5 - Michigan State 6
T5 - Texas 6
T9 - MTSU 4
T9 - USC 4
T9 - South Carolina 4
T12 - Iowa 3
T12 - Kansas 3
T12 - Northern Colorado 3
T12 - San Jose State 3
T12 - Uconn 3
T17 - Auburn 1
T17 - Kansas State 1
T17 - Marshall 1

Gamecocks Garcia Suspended After Arrest

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina quarterback recruit Stephen Garcia was suspended indefinitely Wednesday from participating in team activities less than a week after he was arrested and charged with drunkenness.
The decision by coach Steve Spurrier means Garcia will not be allowed participate in team weightlifting and running sessions until further notice, athletic department spokesman Steve Fink said.
Spurrier would not talk about the arrest or the suspension, Fink said Wednesday.
Garcia, 19, was arrested early Saturday morning in a restaurant and nightclub district near the university and charged with drunkenness and failure to stop for a police officer.
An officer responding to an altercation said Garcia ran away from him and tried to hide in an alley, then turned toward the officer "in a threatening manner," according to an incident report.
Police say Garcia had been at a private party at a club when the incident occurred. Garcia was released from jail on a personal recognizance bond Saturday evening. A hearing on the charges scheduled for Wednesday was postponed until March 7.
The highly touted recruit out of Jefferson High in Tampa, Fla., enrolled at South Carolina last month.
Last year, South Carolina's starting quarterback Blake Mitchell also was charged in an incident in the same area near the campus. He was accused of punching a bouncer -- an assault charge that was later dropped -- and spent a few hours in jail.

Washington RB Charged with Stealing a Cab

Prosecutors have charged suspended Washington running back Michael Houston with stealing a cab last October.
Houston was charged this week with second-degree taking a motor vehicle without permission -- a Class C felony -- and driving while intoxicated, a gross misdemeanor. Houston is scheduled to be arraigned in King County Superior Court on Monday; it was not immediately known if he had obtained a lawyer.
Houston was suspended indefinitely following his October arrest. According to police reports, Houston, two other men and a woman were picked up by an Orange Cab at a strip club early one morning. After stopping at a fast-food restaurant, the woman spit on the cab window. When the driver stepped out to call 911, Houston jumped into the front seat and drove off, the police report alleged.
Seattle police found the cab a short time later and saw a man getting out of the vehicle. Houston was arrested and booked into jail.
Houston came to Washington in August after playing as a freshman at Texas. He played in two games for the Longhorns then transferred following the season.
Houston, listed at 5-foot-11, 238 pounds, was not eligible to play last season for Washington as he was required to sit out a year after transferring. He would be eligible for the 2007 season.
Earlier this month, coach Tyrone Willingham said Houston is being included in team activities, but his status for the 2007 season would be determined after criminal proceedings play out.