FAYETTEVILLE -- Missouri Coach Barry Odom announced Monday that freshman tailback Damarea Crockett of Little Rock will be suspended for Friday's game against Arkansas in Columbia, Mo., following his arrest early Sunday.
Crockett, a graduate of Little Rock Christian, was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana a few hours after he rushed for a career-high 225 yards and a touchdown during Missouri's 63-37 loss at Tennessee. Crockett was spotted in a vehicle in a campus parking lot at 4:17 a.m. on Sunday and was found with less than 35 grams of marijuana, according to media accounts based on the police report.
Crockett, 5-11, 220 pounds, leads all FBS freshmen and ranks 31st overall with 1,062 rushing yards. He owns Missouri freshman records for rushing yards in a season (1,062) and game (225), and rushing touchdowns in a season (10) and a game (4).
"With all the disciplinary issues, I'll address it internally and handle it that way, but if you have an arrest during the season they're suspended for at least the next game," said Odom, the first-year Missouri coach.
"Damarea's done a lot of great things. He's going to have a tremendous future. He realizes one decision obviously affects this football program and it affects him. The discipline of doing everything right every day, that's where we're at."
Crockett has been a big addition for the Tigers and one of the best freshmen in the SEC this season.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said the Razorbacks had Crockett in camps and that he was impressed.
"We evaluated him," Bielema said. "It's tough. In recruiting, you only get X number of scholarships and to be quite honest, he was a guy that ... I really liked him. I really felt strong about him.
"We obviously signed two running backs in that class with Devwah Whaley and T.J. Hammonds, another in-state player. You just can't take all of them, all the running backs."
Crockett has posted five 100-yard rushing games, including three against SEC opponents. He rushed for 145 yards against Florida, and 154 yards and a touchdown against Vanderbilt in addition to the record-setting game at Tennessee.
Ish Witter, who has 738 rushing yards and six touchdowns, will likely carry more of a workload on Friday against Arkansas.
Sports on 11/22/2016