SOUTH BEND, IND. (AP) - Notre Dame has reinstated wide receiver Michael Floyd to the football team four months after his arrest on drunken driving charges.
Coach Brian Kelly suspended Floyd a day after his arrest. Kelly said Wednesday that he was comfortable with Floyd’s return because the senior has shown personal growth.
“I am pleased with the progress Michael has made since March,” Kelly said on the school’s Web site. “That’s why I am comfortable reinstating him to our football team. Michael knows that he must continue on this positive track.”
The 21-year-old Floyd pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to a year of probation. He was arrested about 3 a.m. March 20 after running a stop sign a block from the school’s main entrance. Prosecutors say a breath test showed Floyd had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than double Indiana’s legal limit for driving.
Floyd holds the school record for touchdown catches (28) and ranks second in school history in catches (171). Before his arrest, he had decided to return to school instead of entering the NFL draft.
“The last four months have been most the humbling stretch of time in my life,” Floyd said on UND.com. “I embarrassed myself, my family, the university, my football team and many many more people. I know it will take time to earn the trust and confidence from everyone I let down last spring but I am prepared to do so …”
Notre Dame begins fall camp on Saturday. The Irish finished 8-5 in Kelly’s first season a year ago, including a Sun Bowl victory over Miami.
In June, St. Joseph County Magistrate Brian Steinke gave Floyd a one-year jail sentence that was suspended as part of a plea agreement. He also said Floyd cannot drive for 90 days and when he does, he must have an ignition device installed on his vehicle for six months that won’t allow it to start if his blood-alcohol level is too high.
Floyd was fined $200 and ordered to attend a victim impact panel to hear from people whose family members were killed in drunken driving accidents.
It is Floyd’s third brush with the law regarding alcohol.
Floyd was cited for underage consumption of alcohol on May 15, 2009, in his home state of Minnesota, and pleaded guilty through a hearing officer a month later.
Floyd also was cited for underage drinking in Minneapolis on Jan. 8, 2010. Floyd and Minnesota running back Shady Salamon, who were former high school teammates in St. Paul, Minn., were cited after police were called to a fight involving six to 10 people.
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