A total of six Notre Dame football players were arrested in two separate incidents over Friday night and early Saturday morning.
Senior cornerback Devin Butler was busted early Saturday morning on felony charges of battery to law enforcement and resisting law enforcement after a scuffle outside the Linebacker Lounge, an off-campus bar.
Butler, described by South Bend police as “extremely irate,” according to the South Bend Tribune, shoved a woman who had been involved in a fight with other women outside the bar. When ordered to back away, he allegedly lunged at one of the officers and then began throwing punches.
“Any student arrested on a felony charge also faces dismissal from the university,” a Notre Dame spokesperson said in a statement, via NBC Sports. “The university will determine if additional sanctions should apply to any or all of the students charged.”
Five other Fighting Irish players were arrested on a misdemeanor pot charge after a traffic stop about an hour from campus. Three of those players – Max Redfield, Kevin Stepherson and Dexter Williams – were also hit with an additional charge for possession of a handgun without a license, according to Indiana State Police.
The other two players were Te’von Coney and Ashton White. All five were taken to Fulton County Jail.
Senior CB Devin Butler faces the most serious charges among the Notre Dame players arrested.
(Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
South Bend’s WNDU reported that the players were pulled over for going 73 miles per hour in a 60-mph zone and that the cop then smelled pot coming from the car. A drug-sniffing dog was used to confirm the illegal drugs in the car and a subsequent search found the pot and a loaded handgun.
Butler, a senior cornerback, had played in 37 games in his first three seasons for the Irish, but a foot injury is projected to keep him out of the lineup until early October. Butler suffered a broken bone in his foot that kept him out of Notre Dame’s 44-28 Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State and he then re-fractured the foot during the offseason.
Redfield, a senior safety out of California, started 11 games for the Irish in 2015 and was fourth on the team with 64 tackles. The other players are reserves.
Notre Dame, which finished last season 10-3 and ranked No. 11, opens the new campaign on Sunday, Sept. 4 at Texas. Following a Friday practice, the team had the weekend off. Classes begin on Tuesday.