In January, after Michael Floyd elected to bypass the NFL and return to Notre Dame for his senior season, his coach effusively labeled him a “”six-star”” recruit.
A couple months later, Floyd may be decommitted, involuntarily.
The team’s leading receiver was arrested early Sunday on an “”operating while intoxicated”” charge, a St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department spokesman confirmed to the Tribune this morning.
But Floyd also has a Jan. 2010 citation in lieu of arrest for underage drinking in Minneapolis on his record. As such, his chances to play in 2011 may rest in the hands of Notre Dame’sstudent judiciary arm, the Office of Residence Life, which could issue a penalty as stiff as an expulsion that would cost Floyd his senior year.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is expected to issue a comment on Floyd’s situation Monday afternoon.
Floyd was booked in St. Joseph County jail at 4:06 a.m. on Sunday, according to Sgt. Bill Redman, brought in by Notre Dame police on the OWI charge.
Floyd was released on $500 bond about seven hours later. His next court date is set for May 2, Redman said. Redman said details of Floyd’s arrest, such as his blood-alcohol content, have been forwarded to prosecutors by Notre Dame police.
The St. Joseph County prosecutor’s office said it expects to release a statement on Floyd’s arrest sometime Monday. Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown issued a general statement saying the school was aware of the situation:
“”The University is aware of this incident and is confident that local law enforcement agencies will handle it in a prompt, thorough and professional manner. As for internal discipline, while we do not publicly discuss specific cases, it is well known that Notre Dame has high standards for student conduct, takes these matters seriously, follows the facts where they lead, and, when necessary, institutes appropriate sanctions at the appropriate time.””
Floyd led the Irish with 79 receptions as a junior, and had been named captain along with safety Harrison Smith for 2011. Notre Dame is set to begin spring practice on Wednesday, and Kelly was expected to have a news conference to discuss spring ball sometime Tuesday, when he may or may not expand on the statement he releases today.
Past precedent for Notre Dame players with two alcohol-related legal run-ins does not bode well for Floyd. Will Yeatman, a tight end and lacrosse player, left school and transferred toMaryland after a 2008 arrest for underage drinking and resisting arrest followed an operating while intoxicated arrest earlier that year.
Yeatman missed the 2008 lacrosse season after the first arrest and was suspended from the football team for the balance of his 2008 season following the second set of charges. He was eligible to return to the Irish football team the following spring, but that may not be an option Floyd can or even is willing to pursue.
