Captain for No. 6 Tennessee charged with aggravated assault

Updated Oct. 10, 2022 5:21 p.m. ET

Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee starting safety and captain Jaylen McCollough has been arrested for aggravated felony assault, putting his status for Saturday's game against No. 3 Alabama in question for the sixth-ranked Volunteers.

Coach Josh Heupel said the team learned about McCollough's arrest on Sunday night. The Volunteers (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) host Alabama (6-0, 3-0) on Saturday.

“As they gather information, we'll have a conversation based on the facts of it and then go from there,” Heupel said.

This is the third arrest for the Vols since mid-August, and the other two players were kicked off the team. Linebacker William Mohan, a Michigan transfer, was arrested on a charge of felony aggravated domestic assault, and offensive lineman Savion Herring was arrested for domestic assault.

McCollough is a four-year starter for Tennessee and is tied for fourth with 23 tackles. He had seven in a 40-13 win over then-No. 25 LSU on Saturday.

The 21-year-old safety was arrested on Sunday. An arrest warrant obtained by Knox News shows police responding around 3:30 p.m. to an apartment complex where they found a man missing teeth with his mouth bloody and swollen.

The man told police he had been drinking with friends and went to get something from his vehicle. The man says he went to the wrong building, knocked and opened an unlocked door to go inside. The police report says the man realized then he had gone into the wrong apartment, apologized and left.

The man told police he apologized again when someone followed him out and allegedly punched him in the face, causing him to fall down stairs and knocking him unconscious.

Police spoke to a woman who called McCollough back to the scene, and the safety had blood seeping through a bandage on his right hand. McCollough did not answer questions and was arrested, police said.

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