As long as Rick Wells is on his best behavior over the next several months, it’ll be as if an embarrassing off-field incident never happened.
According to the Gainesville Sun, the Florida wide receiver has signed a deferred prosecution agreement with the State Attorney’s Office. Last week, Wells reached a plea agreement that reduced a felony charge down to misdemeanor criminal mischief.
Provided Wells finds no further legal issues for the six months of his probation, his record will be wiped clean. Additionally, Wells, as part of the deferred prosecution, will be forced to pay restitution of $979.80, pay $100 for the cost of prosecution and either make a contribution of $150 to the Children’s Advocacy Center or perform 12 hours of community service.
Wells and Tyrie Cleveland were arrested in mid-July on a pair of charges related to a BB gun incident that was caught on surveillance video. Cleveland, who also had his charge reduced last week, is ineligible for deferred prosecution because of a previous petty theft issue in his hometown of Houston. The Sun writes that Cleveland “has a court date of Sept. 22, at which time he is expected to accept a plea agreement that will have sanctions similar to Wells.”
The charge, however, will remain part of his record.
The true freshman receivers were both suspended for the opener last Saturday. Monday, they were reinstated and ruled eligible to play in today’s SEC opener against Kentucky.
A three-star recruit this year, Wells was rated as the No. 8 receiver in the class.
Cleveland was a four-star member of the Gators’ 2016 recruiting class, rated as the No. 2 receiver in the country and the No. 3 player at any position in the state of Texas. The only UF recruit rated higher in this last cycle than the Houston high schooler was defensive lineman Antonneous Clayton.