According to a report from Tennessee’s Rivals.com affiliate, second-year Tennessee defensive player Ryan Thaxton has been dismissed from the football program.
Thaxton was arrested last Sunday night following a “domestic disturbance” with his girlfriend at his dorm. From documents obtained by RTI, Thaxton reportedly “insisted his girlfriend accompany him into his dorm room and she refused.” He then “pushed and carried her towards his room and blocked the door with his body to prevent her from escaping or contacting help.” Thaxton was arrested and charged with two felonies, Domestic Assault and False Imprisonment. He was later released on $1,500 bond.
Tennessee quickly suspended Thaxton, and head coach Jeremy Pruitt was asked about the situation during SEC Media Days last week. Pruitt said at the time that he would not “tolerate” nor would he “condone” domestic violence at Tennessee.
“We all are very aware of what went on, and obviously we suspended the guy the other day,” Pruitt said of Thaxton during SEC Media Days on Wednesday. “We’re not gonna condone it. We’re not gonna, you know, tolerate it.
“Once we gather all the information, we’ll have a little more answers then.”
It would appear now that Pruitt and Tennessee have gathered enough information to make a decision, and that decision was to dismiss Thaxton from the program.
Thaxton was part of Tennessee’s 2017 signing class and redshirted during his freshman season last year. The 6-foot-3, 236-pound defender was a three-star and the No. 849 overall player in the 2017 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Thaxton is the first player to be dismissed from the Tennessee football program under head coach Jeremy Pruitt. We will update as more information becomes available.
