Maybe Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson and former Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil are friends, and maybe they aren't.
After all, the Rebels have upset the Crimson Tide each of the past two seasons, and though Robinson and Tunsil were never on the football field at the same time, bad blood would be understandable, especially from Robinson's end.
But after Robinson and teammate Laurence "Hootie" Jones were arrested at 4 a.m. Tuesday in their hometown of Monroe, La., while sitting in a car that contained both marijuana and a stolen gun, Robinson best hope that Tunsil is the hardest-working, best-behaved, most productive rookie offensive lineman out there if he takes the field for the Miami Dolphins this season.
That's because Tunsil - with size and skills similar to the immensely talented 6-foot-6, 329-pound Robinson - watched his NFL draft pick fall as many as 10 spots below what was projected after a video surfaced of him wearing a gas mask and puffing a bong in the minutes just before the draft began last month. It's estimated that video cost Tunsil at least $8 million in contract money, and he wasn't caught with a stolen gun, which is a felony unless it can be proven Robinson didn't know it was stolen.
And because of all that, while Robinson still deserves to be viewed as innocent until proven guilty, he'll now be linked to Tunsil in every way every day until the draft next spring, if not beyond.
In fact, NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt already mentioned Robinson and Tunsil in the same tweet Wednesday afternoon, writing: "Cam Robinson arrest is confounding to me. Everything in front of this player. He's as good if not better than Laremy Tunsil at this point."
It certainly is confounding. When will these kids learn? And what steps should be taken to teach them?
Regardless of their ages, they are still kids, of course. They are sheltered by the big-time college money machines for which they play, fans who forgive them for almost anything and coaches who are understandably reluctant to boot them - not only for what they mean to their teams but what could happen to them in the cruel, unforgiving world from which most of them came.
Or as Tide coach Nick Saban told the Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday, "What everybody has to ask, like you would with your own children, is the guy better off with us, with the structure and direction he's going to get and the opportunities he can take advantage of and be someone other people can emulate with his leadership, or are we better off throwing him out with the bath water?"
Yes, that's a self-serving view, especially for anyone wishing to see the Tide falter this season. Show a little tough love. Toss the bum. Especially if Robinson knew the gun hidden under his seat was stolen, which could cost the player a year in prison under Louisiana law.
But what if he didn't know that? What if the pot, however illegal, was for recreational use only? What if Jones and Robinson, however wrongheaded their decision, were just enjoying their three weeks off from the Bama football factory before returning for summer school?
It is not an easy decision for Saban, who must deal with the court of public perception, which tends to be - outside the school's own fan base - quite condemning in these situations.
But athletes such as Robinson often have but one path to financial success. While some NFL team will certainly give him a tryout down the road, Robinson's most certain path to a multimillion-dollar contract is to be allowed to remain with the Tide, play at least a sizable portion of his senior season, wrap himself in contrition and remorse each time he speaks to the media or an NFL representative and hope the pros are as forgiving as his coach.
But one also wonders if throwing Robinson and so many other knuckleheads just like him out with the bath water isn't needed to reverse this behavior.
Back to Brandt's tweet. Because Robinson, not a month ago, watched Tunsil lose at least $8 million due to past behavior that didn't include possessing a stolen gun and still couldn't avoid the temptation to torpedo the glistening career he had in front of him, maybe it's time to jettison him in hopes it will help someone else down the line.
"One thing I always tell players: three bad things," Saban told Finebaum. "Nothing good happens after midnight, nothing good happens when you're around guns unless you're going hunting, and you don't want to mess around with women you don't know, because a lot of times bad things happen.
"In this case, a couple of those things were violated, and I think it's going to be a learning experience for everybody on our team."
You hope. But a lot of folks probably thought Tunsil's draft drama would be a learning experience for every player in college football, especially those with NFL dreams. Instead, Robinson actually went Tunsil one better in the three bad things department.
Yet unless he winds up in jail, it's doubtful anyone expects Saban to cut him loose. But until some coach somewhere does, we're likely to see more of these situations instead of fewer, because until you have $8 million actually ripped from your hands, it's apparently quite easy to let the potential for $8 million go up in smoke.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.