It was not a chamber of commerce football weekend for the University of Alabama.
After defensive back Geno Smith was arrested early Saturday morning on a second DUI charge in less than two years, defensive tackle Jonathan Taylor was arrested Saturday night and charged with domestic violence third degree assault and domestic violence third degree criminal mischief. Taylor was dismissed from the team Sunday afternoon.
"This will still need to go through the legal process," coach Nick Saban said in a release, "but when he was given an opportunity here, it was under strict guidelines. We made it clear there was a zero-tolerance policy."
Taylor was dismissed from Georgia last July following an arrest on felony aggravated assault and family violence. The 6-foot-4, 335-pounder was among eight midyear enrollees for the Crimson Tide and the only one whose arrival was accompanied by a statement from the university defending his acceptance.
Alabama athletic director Bill Battle said in January that Taylor's background was "thoroughly investigated" and that he had a lengthy visit with Taylor before he was allowed in school. Battle had to send out another statement Sunday.
"Representing this university is a privilege that none of us can take for granted," he said. "As I noted in my comments when the decision was made to allow Jonathan Taylor to attend the university on a football scholarship, I believe in second chances. I still do. However, being successful in that second chance requires responsibility and accountability.
"Jonathan was afforded a chance to successfully overcome the difficulties that resulted in his departure from the University of Georgia. Unfortunately, it appears he was unable to do so, in spite of extensive efforts to assist him. All of us hope Jonathan and the young lady involved can deal constructively with the issues that led to this situation."
According to the Tuscaloosa Police Department report, the female victim Saturday night was 24 years old and had minor injuries to her neck. There was also a hole punched through a door to a bedroom closet.
Taylor was a 2012 signee for Mark Richt's Bulldogs and redshirted that year. He played in 10 games and tallied nine tackles in 2013 but first ran into trouble last spring when he was among four Georgia players arrested on a theft by deception charge after trying to cash stipend checks twice.
This past season at Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Community College, Taylor tallied 44 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
"We recruited this young man out of high school," Saban said last month. "We felt that from what we knew about him and from what his high school coaches said about him and from what people at the school he was at said about him and where he came from in junior college that he was the kind of guy who deserved a second chance. With that chance, we also have stipulations and things that he needs to do from a personal-development standpoint so that he won't make any kind of mistake like this again.
"That's an ongoing process with him. That's something that we continue to monitor, and it's something he's done a very good job with."
Richt said in January that he never was personally contacted by anyone at Alabama regarding Taylor.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.