Facing the media for the first time since six of his players were arrested last weekend in two separate incidents, Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly said Wednesday evening that his emotions ranged from disappointed to embarrassed to "mad as hell."
Kelly, who on Sunday dismissed senior starting safety Max Redfield from the team and indefinitely suspended senior cornerback Devin Butler, said the other four players arrested will be available to play in the Irish's season opener Sept. 4 at Texas unless the university deems otherwise.
Those four _ sophomore linebacker Te'Von Coney, sophomore running back Dexter Williams, redshirt freshman cornerback Ashton White and freshman wide receiver Kevin Stepherson _ were arrested along with Redfield and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana after a traffic stop Friday night in Fulton County, Ind., police said.
Redfield, Williams and Stepherson were also charged with misdemeanor possession of a gun without a license.
As for Butler, Kelly said the timetable for his permanent status with the program "will be expedited given the current circumstances."
Butler pleaded not guilty earlier Wednesday in St. Joseph Superior Court to two felony counts of resisting law enforcement and battery against a public safety official. He's accused of tackling a police officer and punching him during an altercation early Saturday outside a South Bend bar.
