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The Texas Longhorns suffered another blow on Tuesday afternoon with the report from Orangebloods that sophomore wide receiver Cayleb Jones has been charged with aggravated assault for fracturing the jaw of a Texas men's tennis player.
Inside Texas broke the news on Monday evening that a Longhorns wide receiver could be in trouble ($) for such an incident, but did not mention Jones by name. Here are the specifics:
Jones alleged to have punched tennis player Joseph Swaysland over his relationship with v-ball player Katherine Bell #hookem #longhorns
— Carter Strickland (@ESPNStrickland) March 12, 2013
It also appears that this was not the first incident involving Jones and Swaysland:
Jones had threatened Swaysland in the past, according to court documents #hookem #longhorns
— Carter Strickland (@ESPNStrickland) March 12, 2013
Jones and Bell in a relationship that ended badly. Bell told police Jones' carried jealousy and anger #hookem #longhorns
— Carter Strickland (@ESPNStrickland) March 12, 2013
Bell said Jones told her: ``I don't like the way you are happy and I don't want you talking to {Swaysland].'' a week prior to alleged punch
— Carter Strickland (@ESPNStrickland) March 12, 2013
In Texas, it appears that aggravated assaults are considered felonies, with the elevation of the charge from a misdemeanor simple assault likely due to the fact that Jones caused the tennis player serious bodily injury in the form of his fractured jaw. A later report from Horns Nation confirmed that the charge is indeed a second-degree felony and that a warrant has been issued with the arrest of Jones.
In an instance like this, the school will likely respond by suspending Jones indefinitely until resolution of the judicial process, which could well include some type of plea deal by Jones to get the assault charge reduced to a misdemeanor. A significant suspension could also be in the works in such a scenario if Jones is found guilty or does take a plea deal, perhaps in the range of five games, though that is all obviously speculation.
For the immediate future, the incident will at least slow the development of Jones if it doesn't get him kicked off the team, and will certainly put him behind in the battle to win the third wide receiver spot that has been vacated by the departure of Marquise Goodwin.
Fellow sophomores Marcus Johnson and Kendall Sanders and junior Bryant Jackson have been considered the primary competition for Jones, who has a different skillset than the other three as an outside receiver with excellent hands capable of winning in jump ball situations.