Nebraska head coach Mike Riley announced the departure of three players – safety LeRoy Alexander, wide receiver Jariah Tolbert and linebacker David Santos – on Thursday morning.
In a brief statement, Riley said that Alexander and Tolbert plan to transfer. Meanwhile, Santos “will not be with the team in the fall,” Riley said without giving a reason.
The departure of Santos, a senior, is the most notable of the three.
Santos played in 36 games and started 19 throughout his career while appearing at multiple linebacker spots. He missed spring practice after having offseason knee surgery, but was expected back for the season to provide a boost to a defense that had just five scholarship linebackers during spring practice.
Overall in his time with the Huskers, Santos registered 161 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and two sacks. His best season came in 2013, when he had 87 tackles and seven tackles for loss.
Alexander, a junior, was suspended for the entire 2014 season for an unspecified reason. That suspension followed a productive redshirt freshman season in 2013 when he played in all 13 games and registered 34 tackles while appearing at both safety and on special teams. Per the Lincoln Journal Star, Alexander worked with the second team defense during spring practice.
Tolbert, a redshirt freshman, was cited on two different occasions for marijuana during his time at Nebraska.
Tolbert was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia in April after he and two students were spotted smoking in a parked car. Tolbert had previously been arrested in June 2014 for possessing 4.4 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. In that incident, he was reportedly spotted smoking between two tennis courts and tried to run from police.
As a result of the latter incident, Tolbert, who caught an 18-yard touchdown in the spring game, pleaded guilty and was fined $300.
For more Nebraska news, visit HuskerOnline.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
