KNOXVILLE – University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley said Monday that linebacker Austin Johnson would not miss any practice time following his arrest for public intoxication and disorderly conduct last weekend.
“We were all disappointed when we read the news, and we’re disappointed any time a player makes a bad choice that puts a negative light on our program,” Dooley said at a news conference Monday in advance of the Volunteers’ training camp, which begins Tuesday.
“We’re handling that issue internally. There’s several things that we’re going to do with Austin, and I’m comfortable with where we are on that. But he’ll be out there the first day and he’s eligible to play. We hope that we don’t have anymore headlines like that again.”
Johnson is regarded as a leader by his teammates, and he’s made All-Southeastern Conference lists for his academics each of his three years. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder also was the Vols’ most experienced returning linebacker, a position of major concern for UT.
“I think we were all shocked and disappointed when we saw,” Dooley said. “He’s never really given any indication that he would do something like that, and he probably had one of the best summers from a commitment standpoint [and] from a leadership standpoint.