Coleman Thomas practices in this 2014 file photo.KNOXVILLE — Tennessee offensive lineman Coleman Thomas has been “removed from all team activities” after the rising sophomore was arrested Wednesday for selling stolen items to a Knoxville video game store.
The 6-foot-6, 328-pound tackle faces felony charges of theft of items worth between $500 and $1,000.
According to an arrest report from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, an XBox One video game system and three games were stolen out of James Shelton’s dorm room in Reese Hall on Tennessee’s campus on March 13, the Friday before the university’s spring break.
The worth of the items, according to a University of Tennessee Police Department report, was $640.
Authorities discovered that Thomas sold the items for $176 to a GameStop store on Clinton Highway in North Knoxville, and he was arrested and released on $2,000 bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on April 7.
Thomas was absent when Tennessee held its second spring practice Thursday afternoon and has been suspended from team activities, according to Jimmy Stanton, the associate athletic director for communication.
Thomas started five games at right tackle as a freshman in 2014 before missing a couple of games due to an ankle injury. When the Vols opened spring practice Tuesday, Thomas was with the first-team offensive line at right tackle. He was one of seven players to speak to the media after that practice.
Kyler Kerbyson worked with the first-team offense at left tackle on Tuesday. Freshman Jack Jones was the right tackle with the second group, and Brett Kendrick and Dontavius Blair are the other players working primarily at tackle this spring. The Vols like to cross-train their offensive linemen so they can play multiple positions.
Drew Richmond, a five-star offensive tackle prospect the Vols signed out of Memphis in February, is slated to arrive on campus for the summer.