Tennessee receiver Von Pearson catches a pass during the Volunteers' practice on April 18, 2015, at Neyland Stadium.KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee football coach Butch Jones defended the character and discipline in his program in the wake of wide receiver Von Pearson's indefinite suspension on Friday.
The rising senior was identified as a suspect in an ongoing police investigation into an alleged rape that occurred in the early-morning hours on Friday and thus missed the Orange and White Game on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium.
After the Volunteers wrapped up spring practice with Saturday's game, Jones said he hoped Pearson's situation wouldn't overshadow Saturday's event or become an obstacle to Tennessee's offseason momentum.
The coach didn't mince his words, either.
"I don't want that to take away from all the great things that are going on in this football program," he said. "That's an ongoing situation. He's suspended indefinitely. There's consequences for choices and actions, and we constantly educate our players.
"It's not an illustration of our football program. We have tremendous, tremendous kids in our football program. I'm disappointed, but we have to move forward. We have a lot of great kids and a lot of things going on here.
"I know people will try to use that against us, but we have great kids. I think that's been proven with our community service, our academic excellence. We'll continue to move forward. But there are consequences for actions."
No charges have been filed against Pearson in the ongoing investigation.
Former Tennessee players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams have had an August trial date set after they were indicted on two counts of aggravated rape by a grand jury in February for an alleged incident that occurred in November after Tennessee's win against Kentucky.
Both Johnson and Williams pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Pearson caught 38 passes for 393 yards and a team-high five touchdowns in 2014, his first season with the Vols.
As part of Tennessee's "Fourth-and-1 Wednesday" program, the Vols had speakers come in and talk to them about various off-field topics, including domestic violence and sexual assault.
"We're not going to tolerate it. It's inexcusable," Jones said. "I think you guys know how we run our football program. We have tremendous kids in this program, and it's not an indication of what we have. It's unfortunate. That's all I'm saying."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.