South Carolina Football: Gamecock rival has second arrest of offseason

Last week, news came out that Clemson defensive lineman DeMonte Capehart had been arrested on gun charges, and the junior tackle was suspended indefinitely from the football program. Now, it appears that South Carolina football's biggest rival has had their second legal incident in recent weeks.

On Friday, reports surfaced from Chapel Fowler of The State that wide receiver Noble Johnson was arrested for driving his car 71 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone and getting into an accident. The incident took place on Valentine's Day (February 14th), and the charge is a misdemeanor. Johnson's driving speed was said to "contribute to the collision."

Based on the law in the state of South Carolina, Johnson's "super speeder" status (driving more than 25 miles per hour over the speed limit) could have seen him be charged with a felony if the accident resulted in legitimate injuries for the occupants of the other vehicle. As it is, he is charged with only a misdemeanor and has cooperated with law enforcement. No official injury status has been revealed for Johnson or for the two occupants of the other vehicle.

A 4-star prospect out of Rockwall High School in Texas, Johnson redshirted the 2023 season with the Tigers after playing sparingly in his first year in orange and white. According to Fowler's report in The State, there will be no change to Johnson's status with the Clemson football team due to disciplinary action stemming from his arrest.

Speeding has been a major topic of conversation around college sports over the past year or so., primarily stemming from issues at the University of Georgia where a player and staff member were killed. According to Sporting News' Jacob Camenker, the Bulldogs have been charged in nearly 300 driving-related incidents in the last decade, and while that number is unusually high, it is indicative of the dangerous (yet not talked about enough) epidemic that is sweeping the college football world.