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Trial for FSU RB Cook starts Monday; Gators suspend three for opener

 
Published Aug. 22, 2015

The trial for suspended Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is scheduled to begin Monday in Tallahassee following jury selection Friday.

Six jurors — four men and two women — and an alternate were selected for the misdemeanor battery trial. Cook is accused of punching a woman outside a Tallahassee bar in June.

"We have an innocent football player who is being accused of attacking another person and there's nothing else except testimony," said Cook attorney Ricky Patel. "Hopefully the jurors will be open, they'll listen to testimony and they'll make the right decisions."

Gators suspend three for opener: Florida defensive back Marcus Maye, defensive lineman Alex McCalister and receiver Latroy Pittman won't play in the season opener against New Mexico State on Sept. 5 for violating program policy. No details were given.

Maye and McCalister, both juniors, are considered starters heading into coach Jim McElwain's first season.

"Some strikes might have been against them obviously before we got here," McElwain said after a scrimmage Friday night. "And yet at the end of the day, we all have those freedoms and those choices, and you know for us there will be some guys that will get some valuable playing time obviously losing some guys like that. … They'll serve their suspension and be ready and roll."

Last year McCalister was second on the team with six sacks, Maye started nine games and led the secondary with 62 tackles, and Pittman started nine times at slot receiver.

This is the second season opener Pittman will miss due to suspension. The senior sat out the first three games of the 2013 season for violating program rules.

Ex-USC QB to Arkansas: Former USC quarterback Ricky Town, who left the Trojans after one week of fall practices, is transferring to Arkansas. Town also had considered Florida and Alabama. Town told ESPN that Arkansas coach Bret Bielema "is a great person" and that he fits into the Razorbacks' offensive system.

Baylor: Defensive end Sam Ukwuachu was convicted of sexually assaulting a former Baylor women's soccer player last year and sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years of probation. The school said it would investigate its handling of the allegations against Ukwuachu, 22, who was allowed to transfer into the program from Boise State despite a history of disciplinary problems, including allegations of violence against women.

Coach Art Briles said in a statement that he spoke with then-Boise State coach Chris Petersen about Ukwuachu when the player was looking to transfer in 2013 but was never told of his problems. Petersen, now the coach at Washington, responded in a statement that he "thoroughly apprised" Briles of Ukwuachu's disciplinary record and dismissal.

Ukwuachu has never played for the Bears. He was ineligible in 2013 because of NCAA transfer rules and was suspended in 2014 for reasons Baylor did not disclose.

UCLA: Offensive line coach Adrian Klemm was suspended for the first two games of the season, and the school imposed additional recruiting restrictions after its investigation into Klemm's recruiting practices. UCLA reported the violations this year and suspended Klemm. He was reinstated in June. The NCAA continues to investigate.

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Oklahoma State: Tyreek Hill, an All-Big 12 all-purpose player last year, pleaded guilty in Stillwater, Okla., to domestic assault and battery by strangulation in an altercation involving his then-pregnant girlfriend last year. Hill is on probation until August 2018. He was dismissed from the team after the arrest.

Times staff writer Matt Baker contributed to this report.