Vols dismiss Davis, Wardlow from football team

KNOXVILLE — Sophomore defensive players Dorian Davis and Antonio Wardlow have been dismissed from the University of Tennessee football program, Volunteers coach Phillip Fulmer said in a one-paragraph press release Wednesday afternoon.

Fulmer declined to comment other than saying both players had violated an undisclosed team rule. Neither player was immediately available for contact early Wednesday evening.

Davis, a linebacker, and Wardlow, a safety, were two of UT’s best special teams players and in the mix for serious defensive snaps next season.

Both players have run afoul of the law at least once in the past two years.

Davis was arrested Sept. 29 and charged with disorderly conduct while visiting his hometown of Iowa City, Iowa on UT’s off weekend.

According to the ICPD’s incident report, Davis got into a verbal altercation before pushing and striking a man he had recently met through a mutual acquaintance.

An ICPD official said Davis was charged and released at the scene of the incident in part because he “admitted to the incident upfront ... and was fully cooperative.”

Davis was suspended from last year’s Orange and White spring game for another undisclosed violation of team rules.

Wardlow was one of three UT players arrested hours after the 2006 LSU game following an incident at a local nightclub. The Knoxville Police Department charged Wardlow with public intoxication and underage consumption.

Wardlow’s claim to fame was gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated for his punt block and touchdown recovery in the fourth quarter of UT’s come-from-behind win at Georgia. He also sealed the Vols’ January Outback Bowl victory over Wisconsin with a last-minute, goalline interception.

Davis recorded 15 tackles and one forced fumble in 12 games last season, while Wardlow added nine tackles, the bowl game interception and a second career punt block in the Vols’ blowout victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.

It was not clear Wednesday evening whether Davis or Wardlow had been involved in another police-related incident. Five Vols have been arrested or cited by local or campus police since the Outback Bowl, and all five have been disciplined by Fulmer.