Pecan Farm Academic Tutorials: The Ramonce Taylor Method

[MavKikiNYC]

Running back Taylor arrested for marijuana possession

Longhorn sophomore jailed after report of fight in Bell County.

By Suzannah Gonzales
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, May 14, 2006
University of Texas running back Ramonce Taylor was arrested early Sunday after Bell County sheriff's deputies found about five pounds of marijuana in a backpack in his vehicle.

According to the Bell County sheriff's office, a live 40-caliber round of ammunition also was found in the center console of the vehicle.

Taylor remained at the Bell County Jail on Sunday afternoon on suspicion of possession of marijuana over five pounds, a second-degree felony. The Bell County district attorney's office was weighing whether to file charges.

Taylor, 20, was a sophomore running back for the national champion Longhorns. He was a part-time starter who scored a touchdown in the Rose Bowl. But Taylor was excused from spring drills with the team in March for unspecified academic reasons.
Sunday's arrest stemmed from an incident about 1:30 a.m. at a pecan farm on Texas 95 in Little River, a community about 10 miles south of Temple and 40 miles northeast of Austin.

According to a statement from the sheriff's department, deputies received a report of a fight involving as many as 100 people at the pecan farm.

While en route, deputies received a complaint from Taylor, who had been at the fight and whose vehicle window was broken, sheriff's officials said. A deputy met Taylor at a convenience store in Little River.

While interviewing Taylor, sheriff's officials learned that Taylor had threatened to return to the fight with a firearm and might be armed.

Taylor told the deputies that he was not in possession of any weapons and gave them permission to search his vehicle, sheriff's officials said.

Two other people with Taylor were released at the scene. Taylor's vehicle was impounded and placed on investigative hold. Taylor was cooperative and did not resist at any time during the incident, sheriff's officials said.

Taylor, who is from Temple and played for Belton High School, gained 513 yards rushing and caught 27 passes for 265 yards last season for the Longhorns. In the national championship game at the Rose Bowl, Taylor scored on a 30-yard run in the second quarter to give Texas a 16-7 lead.

Austin lawyer Ken Oden, a former Travis County attorney who represented Taylor on a previous allegation, said Taylor's mother called him at 7:30 a.m. Sunday to tell him about her son's arrest.

Oden said he suggested that Taylor hire a lawyer in Bell County but did not know this afternoon whether one had been retained.

"She's just trying to figure things out," he said of Taylor's mother, who lives in Bell County.

Taylor was described last year as a possible suspect in a Dec. 10 incident in Austin's Sixth Street entertainment district and an assault involving an automatic handgun on Sept. 4.

Oden said that police told him late last year that they had ended their investigation and that Taylor and fellow football player Cedric Griffin would not be charged.

[capitalcity]

whoops.

[nashtymavsfan13]

What's with all these athletes and marijuana?

[Drbio]

Stupid stupid stupid. Very unfortunate.

[capitalcity]

Originally Posted by nashtymavsfan13

What's with all these athletes and marijuana?

I dunno.

They should just stick to the safe and legal way to alieviate tension. You know - getting drunk and beating their girlfriends.

[chumdawg]

I expect it's going to be hard for the prosecution to prove that the weed was his. You don't typically go calling the cops to come to you if you know you have five freakin' pounds of weed in the car.

I'm sure Taylor didn't drive there alone, either.

[MavKikiNYC]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

I expect it's going to be hard for the prosecution to prove that the weed was his. You don't typically go calling the cops to come to you if you know you have five freakin' pounds of weed in the car.

I'm sure Taylor didn't drive there alone, either.

Two other people with Taylor were released at the scene.

Apparently not.

Still....

[MavKikiNYC]

LONGHORNS FOOTBALL
Return to sender: UT national championship ring no longer on the market

After bids reach $10,000, UT ring lifted from eBay auction

By Suzanne Halliburton
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, May 25, 2006
The mystery involving the potential sale of a coveted University of Texas national championship ring remained unsolved late Wednesday.
In fact, the ring's seller on eBay twice took the Rose Bowl ring off the auction market, first claiming it was improperly listed before finally saying the item was no longer available. By that time, bids had reached more than $10,000 on the ring, which had a wholesale price tag of $350.
Still, the Texas athletic department wanted to know the identity of the player who gave up his ring, which the team earned Jan. 4 by beating Southern California 41-38 in the Rose Bowl.
In fact, athletic department officials even talked about buying the ring to take it off the market.
"We thought about it, but we have other ways to find out who this is," said Texas associate athletic director Nick Voinis. "There are ways to find out."
At issue is whether the player is still on the roster — because as of July, 2003, the selling of an athletic award by a student athlete is forbidden by the NCAA, something which could result in suspensions.
The rule could be named for the Georgia football team, because it was passed after nine Bulldogs sold their Southeastern Conference rings after the 2002 season. The nine players were declared ineligible, then reinstated because the NCAA had no rule on the sale of championship items.
At about the same time, Florida State investigated allegations of players selling rings and other team souvenirs to a business that specialized in sports memorabilia.
The NCAA then passed a rule that a player would be penalized if he or she sold an item. The number of games depended on the wholesale cost of the award. If the item cost between $300 and $500, a player would be suspended for one game and required to repay the cost of the award.
There are no rules precluding former players from selling their rings. They can list them on auction sites like eBay or sell them to jewelry brokers. Rarely is the identity of a player revealed in these auctions. Only the buyer and seller know.
On Wednesday, a seller identified as "TravisTrader" was selling a 1999 Texas Cotton Bowl ring. He was asking for an initial bid of $4,495 for a ring belonging to an unidentified player. In an e-mail to the American-Statesman, he said he had tried to sell the ring in previous auctions, but never received the right price.
A Holiday Bowl ring from 2003 also had been for sale on eBay earlier this month. Again, the broker did not receive the minimum bid of $3,999.99. The broker, identified as championship_sports_rings, has sold rings representing championships or bowl rings originally owned by players from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Miami, Florida State, Auburn, Michigan, Ohio State, Clemson, USC and Georgia Tech.
There was an active auction Wednesday for a 1997 Nebraska national football championship ring carrying a minimum price of $2,999.99. Also, there was bidding for a 1994 Arkansas basketball national championship ring that came with other souvenirs. The bidding was up to $11,500.
The UT compliance office monitors Internet auction sites every day. However, Voinis said this is the first case the office is aware of in which a Longhorn has sold a national championship ring.

[MavKikiNYC]

UT tailback will transfer

By JIMMY BURCH

Star-Telegram STAFF WRITER



TAYLOR, shown here in shirt-dress, leaving a fitting for new pants.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Texas tailback Ramonce Taylor, a multi-purpose threat who scored 15 touchdowns during last year's national championship season, announced Tuesday he will transfer to another school.
In a statement released by school officials during the Longhorns' appearance at the Big 12 media days, Taylor did not specify where he planned to continue his career.

"I've come to the decision to leave the University of Texas...I've had my share of struggles and now it's time for progress," said Taylor, who was excused from spring practices to focus on academic issues, then was arrested May 14 in Belton after Bell County Sheriff's deputies found 5.3 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle.

Taylor, who would have been a junior this season, was charged with a felony count of marijuana possession and released on bond.

His case has not come to trial.

Although Taylor initially expressed a desire to return to the Longhorns after his arrest, Tuesday's announcement closed the books on a two-year Texas career that included 1,828 all-purpose yards and 17 touchdowns (13 rushing, 3 receiving, 1 on a punt return).

Taylor scored 15 of those touchdowns during last year's 13-0 season. He rushed for 513 yards and 12 scores that season, including one touchdown in the Rose Bowl. He also grabbed 27 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns.

Coach Mack Brown said Tuesday that Taylor will be missed, but the Longhorns "want to thank him for all he's done...and wish him good luck."

Teammates said Taylor's playmaking skills will be hard to replace, especially on an offense that no longer features quarterback Vince Young.

Cornerback Aaron Ross called Taylor "a great player" who will be missed.

Said Selvin Young, who shared tailback duties with Taylor and others: "He's an explosive player. He'll be a big loss for us. But we have a lot of talent at Texas and a new guy always seems to pop up every year."
Reserve linebacker Eric Foreman also left the team.