Washington star Austin Seferian-Jenkins has been suspended indefinitely following the NCAA football player’s DUI arrest on Saturday evening in Seattle.
Seferian-Jenkins, who is one of college football top tight-ends, suffered minor injuries after police found his car in a ditch . The police report stated he had, “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, thick-tongued speech and watery, blood-shot eyes.”
The news comes as a big blow to Washington Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian, who was counting on the towering tight-end to provide much of the offensive firepower for the team this season.
Sarkisian revealed that Seferian-Jenkins will be suspended until an investigation can be completed and released a statement to the press that read:
“We are aware of an incident that occurred on Saturday evening involving Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Austin made decisions that fall short of our expectations for student-athletes who represent the University of Washington. He will be disciplined internally in accordance with team and departmental policies. We will continue to support Austin throughout this process, while also holding him responsible for his actions.”
Seferian-Jenkins had a breakout season as a sophmore in 2012 and was named to the All-PAC 12 second team last year after hauling in 69 passes for 852 yards and seven touchdowns.
The potential first-round pick was one of the three finalists for the prestigious 2012 Mackey Award, which is handed out annually to the nation’s best tight-end. He also holds a number of Huskies records at the position and was expected to better his numbers from one season ago.
Seferian-Jenkins will be suspended for remainder of spring football at the least for the Huskies but it is not known whether his arrest will keep him out of the high-profile season opener against the Boise State Broncos on August 31 in Seattle.