OU's Jalen Saunders to play in bowl game, Stacy McGee will not
BY GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Friday, December 28, 2012
12/28/12 at 10:12 PM
NORMAN – Jalen Saunders, Oklahoma's leading receiver since becoming eligible the week of the Texas game, will play in the Jan. 4 Cotton Bowl despite his arrest on a marijuana possession complaint Dec. 2.
Defensive tackle Stacy McGee, who was charged with DUI and driving with a suspended license in the aftermath of his arrest for the two misdemeanors Dec. 24, will not accompany the Sooners to Dallas or play in the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M.
OU coach Bob Stoops clarified the status of both players via a university statement Friday night, a statement that included the wording, "The information and history in each of the individual matters are unique thus resulting in different participation decisions for the game."
McGee encountered trouble in February of 2011 when he was cited on a complaint of marijuana possession in Norman. Then, last August, Stoops announced McGee had been suspended indefinitely for a violation of university policy.
The senior defensive tackle missed the first six games of the season, before making 14 tackles over the final six. He played assertively in OU's season-ending win at TCU, but then ran into more trouble Christmas Eve.
According to an affidavit filed into Cleveland County District Court, Norman police pulled McGee over shortly after midnight Dec. 24, after observing him swerve the Envoy he was driving more than once. McGee was staggering and had "slow thick speech" as well "red and watery" eyes when the officer encountered him.
The officer arrested him for DUI and driving with the suspended license. McGee was transported to the Cleveland County Detention Center, where he refused to take a breathalyzer test before bonding out.
Saunders and OU defensive back Cortez Johnson were arrested just after 2 a.m. Dec. 2.
According to an affidavit filed in their case, Saunders was a passenger in a car Johnson was driving on Lindsey Street in Norman, when police pulled them over for an inoperable turn signal.
The officer noticed the smell of marijuana when he encountered the two players. Saunders admitted smoking earlier that evening in Oklahoma City.
The officer searched the vehicle and found a "marijuana bud" near the emergency brake, a "marijuana stem" in the center console, and "three small burnt cigars that contained a black substance that also smelled like marijuana" in the console.
Saunders and Johnson were booked into the Cleveland County Detention Center, where they were released several hours later.
Saunders, who made 53 catches for 766 yards and three touchdowns in his eight games this season, is scheduled in district court Jan. 8 to face the misdemeanor marijuana possession charge. The NCAA restored his eligibility on appeal after he transferred from Fresno State to OU last offseason.
