SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA Roadrunner football team will begin its sophomore season without two of its players.
Adefemi Adekeye and Toyin Dada were kicked off the team after being arrested after an incident that led police into a standoff Tuesday night.
Officers say they’re accused of robbing and pistol-whipping a man who came to an off-campus apartment to buy an ounce of marijuana.
UTSA’s spokeswoman and football coach won’t comment on the arrests other than to say the students were both football players and have been kicked off the team.
"It looks bad for the school,” student Nick Spears says.
The athletic department says Adekeye is a safety who played sparingly last year, primarily on special teams.
"I've hung out with him a couple times and I never would have thought that he would do something like that,” student Raymond Newton says.
Dada, a senior recruit, participated in spring drills last year but is so new, he hasn’t even played his first game for UTSA yet.
The arrests are a stark contrast to this time last year, when students were anticipating the premiere season of Roadrunner football.
"School spirit is really what it is,” Newton says. “Everyone just shouting UTSA. That's the reason I go. I love it."
"Especially going around San Antonio and seeing how many people were excited about it,” student Brianna McBride says. “How many banners of UTSA football were out there and how many posters."
Students don’t think the arrests will tarnish the football program’s reputation but it’s still shocking to those who know the players.
"It was a shock because the UTSA football program is new,” Newton says. “He could excel if you're very good - which he was - you could excel and go to the pros from here and that's like - why would you do something like that?"
