Well, the charges are in, and it's not looking good. I'm not a lawyer so I don't understand all the legal mumbo jumbo. I suggest you ask RUTS about that. Let's go over this one player at a time.
Anthony Scirrotto
The Charges: Felony Burlgary, Felony Criminal Tresspass, Criminal Solicitation, Simple Assault, Harrassment
Panic Level: 9 out of 10
Two felony charges. Every account of the incident says he rounded up a bunch of football players, barged into an apartment uninvited, and started kicking ass. From a football standpoint, this may cost him a year if he isn't kicked off the team all together. He's the starting strong safety and an All Big Ten player so his loss would be a huge one. We have players that can fill in for him, but probably not as good.
Chris Baker
The Charges: Felony Burlgary, Felony Criminal Tresspass, Criminal Solicitation, Simple Assault, Harrassment, Disorderly Conduct
Panic Level: 6 out of 10
Same charges as Scirrotto with a disorderly conduct thrown in. From what little I've read it looks like Baker really was the instigator at the apartment. You could make the case that Scirrotto just wanted to go there to scare the guy or teach him a lesson mano-a-mano, but Baker was the one that barged in the door and started throwing punches. Baker will most likely sit out a year, but I would not be surprised if JoePa makes an example out of him and kicks him off the team. From a football standpoint, his loss would not be as huge as some of the other players. Penn State is deep in defensive tackles. Baker has been running second or third string all spring. Hense the lower rating than Scirrotto.
Justin King
The Charges: Felony Criminal Tresspass, Disorderly Conduct, Harrassment
Panic Level: 5 out of 10
This is a first time offense for him so I suspect the felony charge gets dropped in exchange for a guilty plea in one of the lesser charges. By many accounts, he did not take part in the fight. He was only there to watch his teammate's back and provide a show of force. Some accounts say he stepped in trying to break up the fight. But he did enter the apartment uninvited. He may get completely off when this is said and done. I'm not as worried about him. However, it is Justin King and if he were lost it would be a huge one even though we have some depth at corner. The good news is this probably means King comes back for the 2008 season. The bad news is we may lose him for a few games in 2007.
Jerome Hayes
The Charges: Felony Criminal Tresspass, Disorderly Conduct, Harrassment
Panic Level: 5 out of 10
Hayes admitted entering the apartment. He says he was just trying to break it up. From a football standpoint having him involved is bad. He is one of the three leading candidates to replace Poz. I don't think Hayes will see much of a penalty though. According to the report he was one of the last ones to enter. The fight had started by the time he got there and he was trying to break it up. Maybe he'll get a game or two.
Tyrell Sales
The Charges: Felony Criminal Tresspass, Disorderly Conduct, Harrassment
Panic Level: 7 out of 10
The statement by Sales on the other hand is very short leading me to believe he was not forthcoming in answering questions. King says Sales was the first one to go up to the apartment after the players had assembled outside. Hayes says at one point Sales was so crazy he thought Scirrotto was one of the apartment residents and tried to attack him. His punishment may be more severe. Maybe the four or five game variety. From a football standpoint, he would be a big loss. Along with Hayes, he was one of the leading candidates to replace Poz. If both of these guys are out, that means redshirt freshman Navarro Bowman becomes the leading candidate for the starting outside linebacker spot.
Lydell Sargeant
The Charges: Felony Criminal Tresspass, Disorderly Conduct, Harrassment
Panic Level: 6 out of 10
Sargeant is kind of the second ring leader here. If the report is accurate, Scirrotto only called Sargeant. Sargeant then rounded up half of the defense and went looking for trouble. He admits entering the apartment, but not to fighting and nobody professes to seeing thow any punches. He may not face many criminal charges, but for being the second ring leader Joe may punish him hard. From a football standpoint, his loss would be big, but not devastating. He was pretty much even with A.J. Wallace for the corner spot opposite of King. If we lose both King and Sargeant we may be in trouble.
Overall Damage
Any way you look at it we could be in trouble. Definitely half and potentially three quarters of our starting secondary is involved. I think we'll see Scirrotto gone for at least the year. King and Sargeant will see lesser punishment or maybe none at all in King's case. Sargeant may miss a few games.
I believe Baker is gone for at least a year. It sounds like he was looking for a fight and led the charge inside the apartment. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if he's playing for some Div I-AA team next year. He wouldn't be a huge loss given the depth at defensive tackle with Koroma, Taylor, Odrick, and McEowen. Sales appears to be one of the instigators in all of this along with Baker. He may miss more than one or two games depending on how the facts turn out. His role is somewhat unclear.
I don't think Hayes punishment will be much at all. Along with King, he was very cooperative with the authorities. The report says he was the last one to enter the apartment and he was trying to break it up and get Scirrotto out of there. His punishment may be more of the running steps variety.
Not charged with anything today was Knowledge Timmons. This is an interesting omission since the report clearly says he also entered the apartment. It was rumored several weeks ago that he was the one that allegedly struck the resident over the head with the bottle. An aggrevated assault charge may be comming his way down the road.
I'm still sorting all of this out and going over the report. We'll still have to wait and see how this all shakes out.