Jalen Tabor could make a big impact as a true freshman on the Florida defense this season as a former five-star recruit, but he’s off on the wrong foot after it was revealed he was cited for marijuana possession in May.
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Thomas Goldkamp of 247Sports reports the freshman cornerback was cited for “less than 20 grams” on May 27 after an officer smelled marijuana coming from a car that Tabor was a passenger in.
Goldkamp cites the Gainesville Police Department’s report saying Tabor was stopped near the University House apartment complex at 725 NW 13th St. on May 27 at 1:22 a.m. and a probable cause search resulted in the finding of a small bag of marijuana.
The GPD report states, “A probable cause search of [the defendant] yielded a small baggie of cannabis which fell out of his shorts when [the defendant] exited the vehicle,” the police report signed by officer C.M. Futrell stated.
Tabor was the No. 14 overall recruit and the No. 4 cornerback recruit in the class of 2014, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings and Florida’s highest-ranked recruit. He was mentioned by head coach Will Muschamp as a player who may lineup opposite potential All-American cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III at Monday’s SEC Media Days.
The 6-1, 182-pound corner reached a deferred prosecution agreement and was ordered to pay a $100 fine to the State’s Attorney’s Office and must perform 12 hours of community service or pay a $150 fine to Project Payback while not breaking any laws for the next six months to have the misdemeanor charges dismissed.
With football season occupying the bulk of his time the next six months, hopefully for his sake he will avoid any further run-ins with the law.
What’s the most surprising news is that this was kept under the radar for nearly six weeks. Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall was cited for marijuana possession on Friday afternoon and the news spread so fast that every one was aware of the news by supper time.