The NFL has withdrawn a Combine invite to former Tennessee Vols linebacker A.J. Johnson after he was indicted on rape charges.
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According to Jim Wyatt of the Tennesseean, the NFL has withdrawn its Combine invite to former Tennessee Vols linebacker A.J. Johnson due to a rape indictment. Johnson was suspended from the team last November the day before he were named as a person of interest in the alleged off-campus incident. He never returned to the field, but graduated in December. He was then invited to the Combine and expected to be a mid-round draft choice before the incident.
However, on Thursday, Johnson was indicted by a Knox County grand jury after an investigation and review of the rape charges by the Knoxville Police Department and grand jury. According to his attorney, Johnson is making plans to surrender himself to authorities, but has not been formally booked on any charges thus far. Fellow former Vol and defensive back Michael Williams was also indicted on the same charges stemming from the same incident. Williams has already turned himself in and was released on bond.
A spokesperson for the league, Michael Signora, confirmed on Friday that the NFL has withdrawn its invitation to Johnson for the Combine. Johnson was on the list of invited players that was revealed last week. The Combine starts Tuesday in Indianapolis.
According to USA Today, the two former Vols were indicted on two counts of aggravated rape. Williams was named in the five-page presentment for aiding and abetting another person. That person is presumed to be Johnson, but his name was redacted from the presentment. Williams is still enrolled at the university for the current term, but has been suspended indefinitely from the football team.
The incident allegedly took place at Johnson’s off-campus apartment in the hours after Tennessee defeated Kentucky on November 16. The victim is also a Tennessee athlete and was named on the state’s witness list, along with nine of her teammates and their coach. The attorneys for both Williams and Johnson continue to maintain their clients’ innocence.
The revocation of an NFL Combine invite is relatively rare and league insider and analyst Gil Brandt said he can’t recall it happening in his memory. Brandt worked for nearly 30 years as the Cowboys vice president of player personnel.
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