Tennessee receiver, former QB plead guilty, avoid jail time.

By

Posted 3:02PM on Thursday, June 9, 2005

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A Tennessee receiver and former quarterback pleaded guilty Thursday to charges stemming from a campus fight in a deal with prosecutors that requires paying restitution but spares them jail time. Receiver Bret Smith and Brent Schaeffer, a former quarterback who announced in April he was transferring, were charged with misdemeanor assault over a fight with another student in a campus dorm. Coach Phillip Fulmer suspended them from the team April 11, a day after they were arrested. Smith and Schaeffer appeared in court to plead guilty to offensive touching, a lesser misdemeanor than the original charge. They said ``yes, sir'' and ``no, sir'' to answer questions from Knox County General Sessions Court Judge Chuck Cerny. They were sentenced to six months of judicial diversion. If they meet the terms of the sentence and avoid further legal troubles, they can apply to have the conviction cleared from their records. Schaeffer agreed to pay about $600 to the victim, student Quantavios Emerson, for medical bills. Smith and Schaeffer agreed to split $700 for Emerson's missed school work. ``This was a good result for all the parties, and we're pleased it's over with,'' Jeff Hagood, Smith's attorney, said after the short hearing. Smith and Schaeffer are among the 11 Tennessee players who have been arrested or cited since February 2004 for crimes ranging from aggravated assault to underage drinking. Six have remained at the school, while the other five left because they either graduated, transferred or were kicked off the team. Last season, Schaeffer became the first true freshman to start at quarterback in a Southeastern Conference opener since Georgia's John Rauch in 1945. Schaeffer, of Deerfield Beach, Fla., and fellow freshman Erik Ainge were considered co-starters until both were injured. Schaeffer broke his collarbone at South Carolina in October, and would have battled to regain the starting job Ainge and senior Rick Clausen. But Fulmer said he and Schaeffer agreed it would best for the player to leave Tennessee. Schaeffer has not decided where he will attend school this fall, his attorney Wade Davies said. Schaeffer declined to be interviewed. Smith, of Warren, Ark., led all receivers last year as a sophomore with five touchdown catches. Fulmer said Thursday he would talk to Smith about his status with the team and make an announcement later. ``Bret is a good young person who made a mistake,'' Fulmer said. Another hearing was set for Sept. 22 to check on their progress in making the payments. Police have said Emerson was arguing with Schaeffer's girlfriend about her cell phone when Schaeffer hit Emerson in the neck. Each then grabbed bats but dropped them before hitting anyone. Next, Schaeffer picked up Emerson from behind and threw him down. Emerson struck his head on the floor. Smith then hit Emerson while he was on the floor, a police report said. Emerson went to University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he got four staples to close a cut on his head, authorities said. Police have said part of the incident was caught on tape by a video camera in the dorm lobby. Emerson told officers interviewing him at the hospital that he did not want to press charges. Several hours later, police talked to him again in his dorm room and he identified Schaeffer and Smith. Emerson attended the court hearing but did not say anything. (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)