Longhorns suspend football player after arrest
Marcus Davis: Photo from Pearland Police Department
A University of Texas football player who graduated from Clear Creek High School last year has been suspended from playing in UT's championship and bowl games after getting arrested over the weekend by Pearland police who suspected him of drunken driving.
Pearland police said League City resident Marcus Davis, 18, was charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance, a prescription drug best known as Xanax.
We are very disappointed to hear about the recent allegations against Marcus Davis," UT's Mack Brown said in a statement last night. "We have talked to Marcus and his family and have decided that he will be suspended indefinitely. He will not be involved in team activities in any way at this time, including participating in either the Big 12 Championship or our bowl game, pending the completion of the legal process."
UT will play in the Big 12 Championship game this weekend against Nebraska. One of the state's highest-ranked prospects when he was a star player at Clear Creek, Davis went on to become a cornerback at UT.
Lt. Onesimo Lopez of the Pearland Police Department gave the following account of the weekend's incident:
At 6:48 a.m. Saturday morning, police received a report of a possibly intoxicated driver headed eastbound in the 4000 block of West Broadway with a blown tire, riding on the rim.
Police stopped the SUV in the 1700 block of East Broadway and put Davis through a field test -- which includes tasks like walking in a straight line, turning and standing on one leg -- and felt he was too impaired to drive so they placed him under arrest.
A search revealed he had loose Alprazolam, a prescription anti-anxiety medication also known as Xanax, in his possession.
Police requested a blood sample, which has been sent off for testing, and results are pending.
Bond was set at $1,500 on the charge of driving while intoxicated and $2,000 on the possession charge. He paid the bonds Sunday and was released. The next step will be Brazoria County setting a court date.
