The Penn State football program has been rocked by two separate arrests of current team players for drunk driving.
Senior wide receiver James McDonald was charged with drunk driving July 9th and later dismissed from the team. The initial traffic stop was made at 2:30 am for having expired vehicle registration. McDonald reportedly registered a blood-alcohol content of .096%. The legal limit for intoxication in Pennsylvania is .08%. McDonald appeared 10 games last season. While he played sparingly in the past, his absence could be an issue this year as Penn State lost three multi-year starting wide receivers at the end of last season.
Another Nittany Lion, offensive lineman Ako Poti, was charged with drunk driving after being stopped by State College Police. He was charged with drunk driving with a high rate of alcohol, which according to local drunk driving laws means a blood-alcohol content between .10-.16%. Poti's status with the team has not been released. He is a fifth year senior who was recruited from a junior college in 2007 to add depth to the offensive line. Poti appeared in four games last year and was expected to be a reserve at tackle.
The University of Texas has had it's own DWI arrest in the athletic department this year when UT baseball coach Augie Garrido was recently arrested for DWI in Austin and later plead guilty.
