Tanaka Scott and Trevor Wilson arrests shake up the wide receiver room - 7 Days to Kansas Football
Thursday afternoon, Kansas wide receivers Tanaka Scott and Trevor Wilson were arrested after each allegedly confronted a man with separate handguns in a confrontation on Thursday morning.
On Friday, Wilson was formally charged with a single count of aggravated assault with a handgun and was released on a $5,000 bond. Scott had his case dismissed for lack of probable cause.
While there is never a good time for a player to have off-field issues, I would have to assume that after the conclusion of fall camp and just a week before the first game is one of the worst times, especially for a position that already has a lot of questions coming into the season.
In our preview of the wide receivers nearly two months ago, both Wilson and Scott were both projected on the two-deep. And multiple updates since then have indicated that both players were expected to play large roles in the wide receiver rotations.
Obviously that is likely to change due to these arrests, even if its just a small amount. But with so many questions swirling, what are the main concerns?
Kansas' track record of legal trouble
This isn't the first time that the Jayhawks have had to worry about a player getting into legal trouble. And there has been plenty of controversy surrounding how those particular cases were handled.
In 2016, cornerback Eric Rivers and linebacker Kendall Duckworth were arrested after allegedly robbing a fellow student in the early morning hours. While both players were removed from the team pretty quickly, it is worth noting that they were both buried in the depth chart and likely wouldn't have seen the field anyway.
In the summer of 2019, in Les Miles' first season with the Jayhawks, star running back Pooka Williams was arrested on suspicion of domestic assault in the offseason. While he was removed from team activities initially, it didn't take long for him to be back with the team, and he only missed a single game.
In early 2020, cornerback Corione Harris was arrested on drug charges and was ultimately dismissed from the team. He was a prized recruit coming out of high school who played well in his first season but had slipped in his second year under new coach Les Miles.
And of course, there have been plenty of legal issues for Kansas basketball players, including Carlton Bragg (ultimately cleared of his charges), Brannen Greene and many other, including most recently Jalen Wilson last offseason.
All of this is to say that legal troubles have been kind of a mainstay for these programs, and the resulting actions from the school haven't necessarily been considered appropriate by large swaths of fans.
Reasonable Expectations
The first question is what should fans expect to see happen to these two players. The first steps were about what you would expect:
With Trevor Wilson being formally charged, he was indefinitely suspended from all team activities. And while Tanaka Scott had his case dismissed, you shouldn't assume that he will face no further consequences for his alleged role in the incident.
We don't know exactly what the final discipline will be from Kansas, but I think it is safe to say that Lance Leipold will impose discipline consistent with the values and expectations that he has has preached since before he arrived in Lawrence.
And ultimately, the overall theme of the wide receiver room hasn't changed. This is a collection of talented but unproven wide receivers that will all need to earn their spots on the field. And even though the addition and emergence of Douglas Emilien will help to soften the blow somewhat, the Jayhawks will still need multiple players to step up in a big way.
They will just be without two of the more likely options to achieve that.
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