Tennessee's off-the-field woes continued this weekend with the arrest of walk-on defensive back Vince Faison for driving under the influence.
On Saturday, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer suspended the 27-year-old Faison, a former first-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres, for two games this season.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Faison is the first of five players charged by police since Jan. 11 to be suspended.
"Vince has embarrassed himself and his team," Fulmer said in a statement. "We expect all our players - scholarship or walk-on - to be good citizens.
"Any breaking of a law is serious. DUI is a very serious offense. Vince will be suspended for two games and required to undergo alcohol evaluation and counseling in addition to other internal punishments."
Faison was arrested by UT police early Saturday morning and was booked into the Knox County Detention Center at 6:20 a.m. He has since been released.
No details of the incident were immediately available Saturday, and a UT police report will not be available until Monday. Jimmy Hyams of The Sports Animal, which broke news of Faison's arrest Saturday afternoon, reported that Faison was arrested near the Cumberland Avenue Strip on campus.
Faison enrolled at UT in January after a nine-year career in baseball's minor leagues. He is projected to play defensive back when the Vols begin spring practice March 11.
The Vols have been busy making the police blotter during the past three weeks.
Freshmen wide receivers Gerald Jones and Ahmad Paige were charged with possession of marijuana on Jan. 11 while hosting a recruit on his official visit.
UT police arrested freshman tailback Daryl Vereen on Jan. 21 for public intoxication after responding to a fight call outside a campus residence hall.
Last Saturday, Knoxville police arrested junior All-SEC offensive lineman Anthony Parker for disorderly conduct at an off-campus apartment.
Faison was one of the top-rated football recruits in the South while at Toombs County High School in Lyons, Ga. He signed a football scholarship with Georgia before the San Diego Padres made him the 20th overall pick of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft.
He spent 2007 with the Midland RockHounds, the Class AA Texas League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. He also played with minor-league affiliates of the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners after spending six seasons in the Padres organization.
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Comments » 184
99gator writes:
double dang.
is there something in the water up there?
mattnchatt writes:
Are the cops up there Bama fans or what?
OrangeBlitz writes:
Can't blame this on anyone but Faison. He is old enough to know better. What a way to help the team. I guess CPF will have to baby sit everyone 24/7.
GreenbackMike writes:
oK. He is 26 he SHOULD know Better. You cannot in any way put any Blame on Fulmer for this one!!! This Guy is an adult!
jobrando#216494 writes:
Heck..boys will be boys...all of us that were drinkers at that age ....remember it well...these kids are not book worms they are party animals..give them a break u only live once..
rootin4volz writes:
What an idiot...Like KPD and UTPD aren't out around campus with their eyes peeled and looking for football players...Wake up, guys, and quit being STUPID!
Merv writes:
Hmmm ... "sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning" ... There's not much time between Friday night and Saturday morning.
pupvol writes:
run em phillip.stay the course.
orangebass writes:
of course this is no surprise....coach fulmer doesn't just recruit THUGS he has them walk on....but hey, we're gonna 'work like heck to get better' !!!
DennisVols writes:
Ok It is past time that the university raise the stakes on its policies in regards to punishment handed down. Richt at GA suspended players but that doesn't work because it has happened to 10 different players in the past 12 months.
I want to see a championship team but these kind of stupid mistakes does not show a champion mentality among the players. Distractions such as these which seem to appear every weekend show a lack of focus by the players.
Maybe it is time to put a curfew on the whole team, along with the runs at midnight and 6am. If they break that then something even more sever. Maybe wear a shirt to their classes that states front and back, that they make stupid decisions and are an embarrassment to the university.
seviervol72 writes:
Get out your running shoe's boys. Looks like we might have the best track / football team in the country. I think we are becoming the Florida State of the SEC.
99gator writes:
i am not picking on tenn....because this stuff happens everywhere.....
but, how hard is it to not get arrested? i was in college. i had plenty, repeat PLENTY, of fun. but, we always had a designated driver.....and no one ever got arrested.
i did plenty of dumb things that i would not want on youtube, but none of them were illegal and i was never in danger of getting arrested and having to make a phone call.
RealistVolFan writes:
I wish I could strees how little this really means.
Who cares, they're thugs. UT is known for CONTINUALLY getting thugs with no regard for anything.
thesavageorange writes:
triple dang!
ctownvol writes:
You have got to be kidding me!
Oletdtn- Why the change? What gives? Did I miss something buddy?
ctownvol writes:
I saw on another thread where someone said you got the "death penalty" but I was hoping that was false info. Glad you're back man.
Colliervol writes:
Sayonara Vince. Walk-ons will be sacrificed at dawn. (Not first team all-SEC linemen, starters or promising freshmen.) That's the first lecture at the Houston Nutt School of Discipline.
I'm telling you this is more than a case of "bad timing". I could overlook one or two little issues. But five in one month? Phil is backsliding and I thought 2004 had taught him a lesson. The lack of discipline during that time was a precursor and prime contributor to the 2005 debacle. As I recall, it was 21 incidents in 17 months then. Five in a month is a pretty good start in trying to beat that record.
But aside from Phil, where is the player leadership on this team? Evidently there is none and that concerns me as much as the coach lightening up again.
ksteelescvol writes:
99 gator your cops look out for your boys, just ask Tony Joyner. The cops on the hill get points for busting a football player.
ONUV writes:
football program is a mess
budrhon writes:
That's it everyone to AA mtngs.
99gator writes:
i thought it was ole.....like ole ball coach.
tdtn was just paying tribute to spurrier.
99gator writes:
by the way.... for you folks picking on the "negative" fans.....this stuff is far more damaging than any post on a newspaper's website.
it is hard to be negative in february....but i have to admit.....negative folks have plenty of ammunition.
ctownvol writes:
Well if you need an alibi or somewhere to lay low in Georgia... just let me know brother. I got ya back. Unless, of course, Georgia is one of the six.
ctownvol writes:
99gator- Tribute to Spurrier? C'mon man. Nobody but the great Satan himself does that. I hear he's red and scaly with a bifurcated tail and carries a hayfork. Right tngeoff?
dwolfcreek#397971 writes:
I'LL SAY ONE THING , WE DON'T SWEEP OUR DIRT UNDER THE RUG .
ctownvol writes:
At this point...no rug big enough.
99gator writes:
ctownvol
i thought you were going to tell me that spurrier doubles as the chief of the knoxville police department.
ctownvol writes:
Ole-Remember the alamo! I mean... I hear ya. We'll back you long as you wanna fight my man.
ctownvol writes:
99- You mean he doesn't? Thought that had to be a given.
ctownvol writes:
ole-I was always fond of "18 to 80. Blind, crippled, or crazy." Or is that something else?
99gator writes:
oletdtn
avoid the places where the women wear clear heels....that's the first place the KNS will look
ATLVOL1 writes:
This kid is as retarded as Kelly Washington it seems..maybe he will play like him!
utclassof1992 writes:
El grande padron de futbol americano se gusta tomar donuts. Se gustan los mucho todos los dias.
ctownvol writes:
99- Wish you had told me that a wife ago. Don't look for a wife in those places either! Also, please remember guys..There is only one letter difference between Hooters and Hookers. And that ain't much of a difference.
tennecwingrider writes:
See what happens when we have no recruiting stories to read about.
gohawks1 writes:
Huh?
gohawks1 writes:
No hablo espanol.
99gator writes:
i'll give y'all some good news.
florida got hammered by arkansas.....so a tenn win tonight....gives them sole possession of 1st place in the SEC.
in addition, tuesday....tenn will be able to take out its football frustration out on florida on the hardwood.
utwick writes:
Dude, is this UT football or a poor remake of Bill and Ted's Most Excellent Adventure? Fulmer may not win another national championship like he thinks he might, but I'd say that we are well on the way to reclaiming the title as the biggest party school in the country.
pms151 writes:
Looks to me like KPD is profiling TN football players. Must be an election coming up. You know..law and order..conservative theme.
ATLVOL1 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
CrankE writes:
Vince, you ain't in Lyons, Georgia where you can get away with whatever you want and everyone will just look past you because you're the most talented person on the team. But then maybe that's why you're MLB career didn't pan out and you're walking on at UT. At 26.
Fulmer, dismiss him please. There should be no wiggle room for someone at his age.
ATLVOL1 writes:
what are this d-bags stats? height weight 40 time, ?
bobbyutvol writes:
ANYONE LOOK AT RIVILS.COM TODAY... 4&5 STAR COMMITS.... FLORIDA 17 ALABAMA 19 GEORGIA 16 LSU 12 AUBURN 7 SO CAROLINA 5 ARKANSAS 4 MISS. ST 4 UNIV OF TENNESSEE 3 SEE ANYTHING WRONG HERE WOW HOW FAR HAVE WE FALLEN
ATLVOL1 writes:
bobby u been asleep for 2 months?
gohawks1 writes:
I quit looking at Rivals and Scout - I just get depressed when I do.
ATLVOL1 writes:
suspend faison for only the easy games like meyer does
Hixson_Vol writes:
Next thing you know, Faison will be get caught makin' out with a 18-year-old freshman.
ATLVOL1 writes:
firechavis u pick ur name after the FLA game?
ctownvol writes:
Do not seek the treasure! It's bushwhacked.
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