Texas' offseason troubles continued over the weekend when freshman defensive tackle Andre Jones turned himself in without incident to the UT police department Friday morning, his 18th birthday.
Jones was wanted by the Austin Police Department for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Police issued a warrant for his arrest on Wednesday.
Head coach Mack Brown has suspended Jones from football team functions indefinitely.
"We are disappointed to hear about the recent allegations against Dre Jones," Brown said in a written statement. "They are very serious charges. We will cooperate with authorities through the legal process and support Dre any way we can."
Brown also commented on the small flurry of Longhorn football players that have been arrested over the summer.
"I am extremely disappointed that four of our student-athletes have had issues with the law this summer," Brown's statement read. "That is not reflective of the high standard of class, character and integrity we have established at Texas for many years."
Former Longhorn safety Robert Joseph has been arrested twice this summer on two counts of vehicle burglary and aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon. His most recent charge is in connection to the same June 27 robbery for which Jones was arrested on Friday.
Allegedly Jones and Joseph entered an apartment off of Elmont Drive, in South Austin, threatened the lives of the occupants and stole various electronics and unnamed contraband, according to police reports.
Jones and Joseph are both in custody at this time. Jones is being held on $40,000 bond at Travis County Jail.
Both are charged with a first degree felony, which carries the possible punishment of five to 99 years in jail and a $10,000 fine
They join linebacker Sergio Kindle and defensive end Henry Melton, who were both arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated over the summer. Both will miss today's practice in order to complete community service handed down from the team in addition to the first three games of the season.
Brown tried his best to direct attention away from the legal troubles players have faced in a Sunday press conference, but it was clear what the biggest topic was.
"I've spent more time lately thinking about things other than football the last ten days and I'd rather get back to football," said Brown.
Brown insisted that his punishments were sending a message to the majority of the players and that a few bad apples are gaining negative attention for the rest of the team.
"We've always told our kids we are the most scrutinized, or among the most scrutinized programs in the country," said Brown. "If you are going to do something wrong in our program, it's going to be public."
Some have criticized Brown and his staff for their handling of the program. Jones is the eighth different Longhorn arrested since the team's 2006 Rose Bowl victory.
"I've been around a long time," said Brown. "I've been doing this 33 years, so I'm not worried about me. It's not about me."
To add to the legal distractions, Brown revealed during the press conference that running back coach Ken Rucker has been recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and will miss time due to treatment.
On the field, Brown acknowledged that the team still has question marks.
"The issues at practice are still who's going to be the back-up quarterback," said Brown. "It's still a wide open race."
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