Sanders, Cobbins, Caffey cited for marijuana possession
Head coach Joker Phillips confirmed on Monday that three UK football players were cited for misdemeanor possession of marijuana on Thursday by university police, according to documents obtained by Cats Illustrated.
Freshman cornerback Marcus Caffey, freshman wide receiver Bookie Cobbins and junior tailback Raymond Sanders were cited, UK police chief Joe Monroe said through university spokeswoman Kathy Johnson.
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"Kids don't always do all the things right," Phillips said. "The thing we do is hold our kids accountable. We disciplined them right away. We try to get as many of the facts as we possibly can. We got them on Friday and disciplined them right away."
According to the citation, the officer smelled marijuana coming from the Cooperstown Apartments at 700 Woodland Avenue while on patrol at 9:55 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13. All three players admitted to smoking marijuana and were cited. None of the three were arrested.
The news was first reported by WLEX-18 in Lexington.
Sanders is UK's leading rusher. Despite missing Saturday's game, he has run for 153 yards on 16 attempts this year with one touchdown. He also has four catches for 33 yards. Sanders was listed third on the depth chart at running back on Monday.
All three players have since been reinstated to the team, Phillips said. Sanders and Cobbins were suspended for Saturday's 32-31 loss to Western Kentucky for a violation of team rules. Caffey is academically ineligible to play this fall.
"We love Marcus," Phillips said. "A lot of us, this is all we got, OK? This is all we got. We'll go with him until we feel like we can't take it anymore. We've done it with other kids. But this is all he has, and we'll continue to stick by him and help him get through all these things."
All three players are scheduled to appear in court at 1 p.m. on Oct. 9.
Junior linebacker Ridge Wilson was dismissed in February after being arrested on a felony drug charge. He was the first UK player to be arrested since quarterback Mike Hartline was arrested for second degree disorderly conduct on Dec. 10, 2010.