Former Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama had just come home from a night out with his friends early Monday morning when he made the decision to go out and get some food.
It was a decision Tuitama, 21, probably wishes he never made.
Instead of bringing back food for him and his friends, including running back Nic Grigsby and linebacker Xavier Kelley, Tuitama was arrested at 2:20 a.m. on a charge for an extreme DUI, according to reports.
“”I was with him that night and we just got back home and everything and he decided to go get something to eat with (Kelley) and it happened that easily,”” Grigsby said. “”They were just at the house chilling and the next thing we know they wanted to get something to eat and come back and we had to pick them up.
“”We seriously live like five minutes away and he could have walked over there but it was drive-thru (only) at midnight,”” Grigsby added. “”We just told them to bring back stuff. We called them and we’re like, ‘Yea man, where’s our food at?’ And (he) was like, ‘Come get us.'””
Grigsby acknowledged that Tuitama had been drinking, but didn’t seem to be overly intoxicated before living the house.
“”To me, he wasn’t really drunk or anything, he just had alcohol in his system,”” Grigsby said. “”That’s just the way it is … Willie had no intentions, I mean he had been working out hard and doing everything hard, and talking how he is ready for (workouts) and all this and all that.
“”He was doing good. We came home,”” Grigsby added. “”He went to go get something to eat and he got pulled over.””
Unfortunately for Tuitama, the incident probably couldn’t have occurred at a worse time, given he is scheduled to work out on campus Saturday in front of professional scouts after not being invited to the NFL Combine.
The quarterback from Stockton, Calif., who is predicted to be a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent, was hoping to raise his stock before April’s NFL Draft after not being able to show his ability at the combine.
Arizona head coach Mike Stoops was disappointed in Tuitama’s decision, especially after all the good ones he made as a player at Arizona. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound quarterback is the record holder at Arizona in yardage (9,216) and touchdowns (67).
Tuitama, however, has a history with infractions involving alcohol after being cited for a minor in possession two years ago.
“”I feel bad that he made such a poor decision and it reflects negatively, obviously, on our program and himself and his family,”” Stoops said. “”You can’t make those decisions, we talk about it pretty much daily, and a guy that’s been around that long you would think would make better decisions.
“”That’s a mistake you can’t make and I am sure Willie is remorseful about it,”” he added. “”Hopefully he will learn from this mistake and it will never, ever happen again.””
