A Putnam County court dropped a felony charge of aggravated assault against Tennessee defensive back Marsalous Johnson on Wednesday.

Johnson, a redshirt freshman from Smyrna, still faces a misdemeanor charge stemming from his July 31 arrest for allegedly pointing a toy gun at off-duty Putnam County Sheriff's deputy Michael Hoover while the two were driving on a stretch of I-40 near Cookeville.

"I'm glad that's turned out that way. It's a great lesson for him," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said of Johnson. "It's a shame he had to go through that. Hopefully it's a good lesson for our football team or anybody that's out there."

Johnson served a four-game suspension to start the season and played for the first time in Tennessee's sixth game of the year, a 51-33 victory at Georgia.

He played each of the last two weeks and saw significant playing against South Carolina.

He returned two kickoffs for 40 yards against the Gamecocks and played some in the secondary.

"We handled it the way we thought we had to at the time under the circumstances," Fulmer said. "The young man is a great person, and I'm really glad for him."

Johnson's arraignment on a misdemeanor simple assault charge is set for Dec. 19.

"I think Marsalous will be vindicated," Johnson's attorney, Jacky O. Bellar, said Wednesday.