Alabama RB Tyren Jones Dismissed After Third Pot Arrest

After he was arrested for marijuana possession, Alabama running back Tyren Jones was kicked out by coach Nick Saban from the football program of the university.

On Tuesday, ESPN said a police news release indicated that Jones was charged with possession of marijuana second degree and was released upon payment of a $1,000-bond.

The authorities added that Jones was with Brandon Lee Hansberry, 25, and two other passengers when he was arrested insinde a white Dodge Challenger for speeding at around 11 a.m. Monday. It was explained in the ESPN article that the apprehending police officer "smelled marijuana and found the drug and digital scales inside the vehicle, which belonged to Hansberry." There was also reportedly a "small amount" of marijuana in the running back's pocket.

Hansberry was also charged with one counf of marijuana possession first degree and a count of drug paraphernalia possession. Police records revealed that he had an outstanding charge from the Tuscaloosa police and was "sent to the Tuscaloosa County Jail on $20,000 bond."

During the same day, Saban released a statement, noting that Jones was provided with "an opportunity academically and from a team rules standpoint, but he failed to do any of the things necessary to comply with the rules of the Alabama football program."

The coach added that the running back was dismissed from the team "when he refused to follow the parameters given to him for reinstatement."

ESPN said that Jones was initially suspended last Feb. 10 because of "conduct not to the standard of the Alabama football program."

AP Sports noted that Saban also had to deal with several "off-field issues" recently after safety Geno Smith and defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor were arrested on Sunday.

Smith was reportedly caught driving under the influence of alcohol in Alabama while Taylor, who was dismissed from the team due to domestic violence charges, was also apprehended for similar charges but in a separate incident.

For his part, Saban also defended why the team signed Taylor in January, saying that the program wants to provide chances to its players.

''We've created many opportunities for players through the years and sometimes those things have worked out extremely well. We're sad to say in this case it didn't and we all take responsibility for that. We have a good program here at Alabama and we have a lot of good players who have done a lot of good things in this community on our team," Saban said in the AP Sports report.

The coach added in a separate ESPN article that he was not sorry for giving Taylor the said opportunity.

"I'm sorry for the way things worked out. I wanted to try to help the guy make it work. It didn't work. So we're sorry that it didn't work and we're sorry there was an incident and we're sorry for the people that were involved in the incident," he said.