Down and out in Gainesville, Florida

The credit card case that’s surrounded a number of Gator football players appears to have legs.

The nine University of Florida football players who have been suspended indefinitely by the school for misuse of school funds, are also under investigation for credit card fraud, by two separate police departments in the Gainesville area, relating to an additional credit card fraud allegation.

Jordan Smith, a freshman defensive end, was suspended from all team activates after a report from The Read Optional that Smith had used stolen credit card information to pay rent at an apartment complex — around $1,000 dollars.

The credit card company blocked the charge, leading to an investigation by the Gainesville Police Department. Only one other player was initially connected to the Smith case — a separate case from the student aid fraud investigation (though the second player was involved in both).

Now, The Read Optional understands that several players have been linked to both cases.

Big, hairy legs.

The nine University of Florida Football players who are facing allegations of having misused school funds, could be arrested as early as the end of this week, sources have told The Read Optional.

Antonio Callaway, Jordan Smith, and one other player are likely to be arrested on charges of felony grand theft, with the possibility of further misdemeanour charges being tagged on, according to a lawyer representing one of the players. It’s anticipated that the other six players will also be arrested, but only three players have hired legal counsel thus far.

Man, has Antonio gone back to the Huntley Johnson well again?  If so, at least he hasn’t been high enough to lose that number.

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Zero tolerance from the school of second chances

Well, now.

Auburn quarterback Sean White, who was arrested early Sunday morning for public intoxication, has been dismissed from the team, a source told AL.com.

Is that supposed to send a message to someone?

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UPDATE:  Oops.  Forgot that White was already on his second chance.  Still seems like kind of weak sauce for a dismissal, though.

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UPDATE #2:  This seems a little cold, Gus.

Full statement from Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn on the dismissal of QB Sean White: pic.twitter.com/obW637QNsp

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) September 18, 2017

The face when you’re tired of watching Gus’ Heisman Trophy candidates flop

Auburn quarterback Sean White was arrested for public intoxication early Sunday.(Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

We’ve all been there, brother.

I guess they could punish him by making him watch Auburn’s offense, but wouldn’t they have to let him off for time served?

“Please understand these types of investigations do take some time to complete.”

I bet they’ll give it their best shot to wrap things up before the Cocktail Party, though.

Thursday morning buffet

So many nuggets, so little time.

• For Florida, it takes a village to raise a mediocre offense.
• Distraction time:  Brian Kelly’s been sued by a former player.
• The Jarrett Stidham hype train didn’t exactly burst out of the station in Auburn’s opener.  Eh, it’ll probably kick in against Clemson’s defense this week…
• Strong mid-majors performance in this year’s recently concluded Fulmer Cup standings.
• A few SEC Network insights on Georgia’s defense and Jake Fromm after the opener.
• It sounds like the 1980 Georgia squad is as frustrated about the title drought as the rest of us are.
• You know your program is a finely tuned machine when you first learn about your injury status on Twitter.
• Here’s a look at our fan base from a Chicago perspective.
• Trent Thompson is coming on like gangbusters.  “Thompson also added two tackles for a loss and a sack. In his last two games (counting last season’s bowl game) he has had 14 tackles, 5 ½ tackles for loss and four sacks. He had just two sacks in the first 12 games last season, before three in the bowl game against TCU and one on Saturday.”

A Huntley Johnson’s work is never done.

I’ve reached the point where football player weed busts are frequent enough that it’s not worth the bandwidth to blog about them, ordinarily.  However, I’m gonna make an exception in this case, because I really love this side note:

Robinson has previously had issues with marijuana. He was cited for possession while on an official visit to Ohio State earlier this year.

Coach Jim McElwain went to bat for him, defending the player and saying he deserved a second chance with the right people around him to help him learn and grow.

Who knew Antonio Callaway was mentoring freshmen?

Huntley Johnson can’t save you now.

Welp, this is an interesting development, to say the least.

Seven Florida players — including leading WR Antonio Callaway — suspended for the Michigan game. pic.twitter.com/OpFpXXHLUv

— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) August 13, 2017

This one’s not related to drugs, apparently.

Florida’s press release did not specify a reason for the suspensions, but sources informed GatorBait.net that they stem from a misuse of school-issued funds intended for specific use.

Some of the players involved used the funds from part of their scholarship agreement to buy electronics equipment, then later reported the cards stolen. Some players sold the electronics equipment purchased with the school-issued funds.

On the bright side, this takes care of one potentially tough decision McElwain was supposedly facing.

Callaway’s involvement is noteworthy because he had already faced internal discipline stemming from a misdemeanor marijuana citation in the spring. Coach Jim McElwain has never explicitly stated that he wouldn’t be suspended for the Michigan game, but said at the team media day that it would be “all hands on deck” and had previously said Callaway has already faced internal consequences.

Prior to the spring citation, the star receiver hadn’t previously been charged with any form of marijuana offense, but he did admit in a Title IX investigation of an alleged sexual assault in 2015 that he was too high to have sex.

He wasn’t going to commit bank fraud, but then he got high.