Three days after Tennessee sophomore tight end Cameron Clear was arrested for possession of stolen property (a laptop computer belonging to a Tennessee baseball player), Derek Dooley has dismissed Clear from the team. Dooley's statement from UT's official release:
"It hurts anytime a player is dismissed from the program, but there comes a time when a player's actions dictate that his privilege of being a part of this team should be removed," said Dooley. "We will continue to support Cam and his family to help him learn from his actions and become the person and player I believe he has the potential to be."
There is still no word on whether this latest theft was connected to earlier reports of football players having electronic equipment stolen from them several weeks ago. Regardless, Clear's time at Tennessee appears to have come to an end. He caught just one pass as a true freshman, but was believed by many to be headed for a breakout sophomore campaign. His 6'6" 283 lbs frame created big matchup problems and was expected to be an additional dimension in Tennessee's passing game. The Vols still return Mychal Rivera and Brendan Downs at tight end, plus incoming freshman Justin Meredith. But Clear's absence is an unfortunate one, much more so for the player than the program. Here's hoping Clear gets things going in the right direction and lands on his feet.