GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida backup quarterback Cameron Newton was released from jail Saturday, one day after he was arrested and charged with stealing another student’s laptop computer.
Coach Urban Meyer suspended Newton from the team and, after the third-ranked Gators’ 70-19 win against The Citadel on Saturday, said he was stunned when he heard the news.
“I was shocked,” Meyer said. “Absolutely fell out of my chair, crushed, surprised. He made his bed and he’s got to sleep in it. I don’t know. I know probably less than you guys know about it because our focus was on beating The Citadel. Now it’s over and I’ve got to deal with some issues. People wanted to talk to me about it and I wouldn’t even discuss it with them. That would be an injustice to the seniors, an injustice to our football team.
“I’m not going to spend much time on it because we’ve got to get ready for our rivals.”
The Gators play at rival Florida State on Saturday, and Newton likely won’t return to the program until his legal troubles are settled.
Newton was charged with felony counts of burglary, larceny and obstructing justice.
According to the University Police Department, Newton stole a laptop worth $1,700 in mid-October, used it to log into the school’s network and then threw it out his dormitory window Friday when officers arrived to investigate the theft.
Newton, a sophomore from College Park, Ga., passed for 40 yards as Tim Tebow’s backup last year. He has been slowed by injuries this season.
He was the second Florida player arrested this month. Backup cornerback Jacques Rickerson was kicked off the team after he was arrested and accused of slapping his girlfriend, choking her and then covering her face with a pillow. He was charged with felony battery.
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