Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DECEMBER 2016 13 UNDER THE DOME Two of the five Notre Dame football players ar- rested in August were in Indiana's Fulton County Courthouse court Nov. 22 with their attorney and reached a plea bargain agreement with their pros- ecution. Sophomore running back Dexter Williams and sophomore cornerback Ashton White were ar- rested on Aug. 19 during a traffic stop in Fulton County and faced a class B single misdemeanor for possession of marijuana. The plea agreement allows both to enter a diver- sion program that, if completed successfully, would dismiss their cases after serving a one-year proba- tion period. If they don't meet conditions of their probation, then they could be sent to jail. Among the reported conditions are getting subjected to drug tests and not patronizing establishments where alcohol is the primary product sold. White and Williams were arrested with three other teammates: sophomore wide receiver Kevin Stepherson, sophomore linebacker Te'von Coney and senior safety Max Redfield, who was dismissed from the team. The sophomores have remained and been ac- tive with the team since their arrests. Through 11 games, Coney was fourth on the team in tackles made (60), while Stepherson was third in receiv- ing yards (428) and had four touchdown catches. According to The South Bend Tribune, the three other players arrested still have civil cases pending, although they were cleared earlier this year by the university to remain enrolled and play football. In other personnel news: • Junior nose guard Daniel Cage (concussion protocol) was likely to sit out the finale after miss- ing the last three contests from his injury suffered against Miami Oct. 29. "I don't expect him to play, but his symptoms have now gone away in the sense that he's passed his cognitive testing," head coach Brian Kelly said. "Now it's just simply more of the subjective: How do you feel, and getting back to the point of confi- dence to go out there and begin to play." • Freshman wide receiver Chase Claypool, who also has excelled on special teams, is one of many players who will be evaluated as to where his best position could be. "We have to define and refine with a number of players," Kelly said. "We're still lacking that big play when we need it on both sides of the ball, so I think a lot of it in the offseason will be defining roles and refining some of the more athletic play- ers that we think can help us close out games and be more effective in those pressure situations, and I think he's one of them." SHOP ONLINE AT NDCATALOG.COM holiday gifts FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL TICKETS ALL COLLEGE AND NFL GAMES AVAILABLE 1-800-925-2500 www.NotreDameTickets.com Dexter Williams And Ashton White Reach Plea Agreements Williams, a sophomore running back, was among the players arrested in August. He and three others that were involded have seen action this season, while senior safety Max Redfield was kicked off the team. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS