Well, so much for the good news portion of today’s installment of the soap opera that is college football. Time to head back to reality.
According to the Centre Daily Times, two members of the Penn State football program were among the 240 individuals arrested or cited for incidents that occurred on “State Patty’s Day” late last month.
Wide receiver Curtis Drake and defensive back Derrick Thomas were cited for disorderly conduct for their role in a fight involving multiple people, including two members of the PSU basketball program. The involvement of the football players in the fracas wasn’t discovered until police posted still images from surveillance cameras that captured the incident, the Daily Times reports.
It’s unclear what, if any punishment will be levied on the players. This was Drake’s second “legal issue” in the past eight months; in July of last year, he was cited for disorderly conduct following what was initially described as an altercation with a PSU basketball player. Oddly enough, that same player -- Taran Buie -- was cited for the same incident that led to Drake’s latest citation.
All in all, this has been a rather forgettable last few months for Drake. In addition to the off-field stuff, the redshirt sophomore also suffered a season-ending leg injury last summer camp as well as a fractured fibia in the same leg during spring practice this year. His availability for summer camp 2011 is up in the air at this point in time.
Thomas had been suspended for the last nine games of the 2010 season, but the Allentown Morning Call reports that he has reportedly returned to the team.