Murchison in limbo

Published 11:22 pm Thursday, August 9, 2007

SEATTLE – University of Washington cornerback Jordan Murchison was out of jail Thursday, but not back with the Husky football team.

Murchison, arrested Wednesday for failing to appear at a July 16 arraignment for second-degree assault charges, spent a night in jail before being released Thursday morning.

Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said he is still waiting for more information to make a long-term decision, but that Murchison “will do nothing with the team at this time.”

A junior college transfer who didn’t play during the 2006 season, Murchison was expected to compete for a starting cornerback spot. Instead, his future with the team is up in the air.

Murchison practiced for three days with the team earlier in the week; his coaches were unaware of the warrant issued for the missed arraignment. Once Willingham became aware of Murchison’s situation on Wednesday, he “talked to him about the process that needed to take place, how he needed to turn himself in, what he needed to do, etc.”

Murchison turned himself into University of Washington police Wednesday.

Murchison faces second-degree assault charges from an incident that occurred on March 31. According to the certification for determination of probable cause issued by the county, Murchison is alleged to have assaulted a man he believed had been “hitting on” a woman he was dating. The victim sustained damage to several teeth, lost at least one tooth, and will need several surgical/dental procedures to fix the damage.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on those charges on Aug. 16 at the King County Courthouse. If convicted as charged, he would face a sentence range of three to nine months in jail, said a spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Murchison also faces charges in Seattle Municipal Court stemming from a June 5 incident. He is being charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault and one misdemeanor count of harassment. He is scheduled to appear in court on those charges on Sept. 24.

While he was aware of the March arrest, Willingham said he did not know about the June incident.

“That will be a factor when I talk to him,” Willingham said. “Because I do feel like I do need to be aware of what’s going on with the problems and things that are happening in their lives. So we will at some point get together and discus that.”

In the meantime, Willingham plans to gather more information before making a final decision on Murchison.

“As soon as I get sufficient information, I’ll make the decision based on what his participation will be with the football team,” said Willingham.