Cornerback Marcus Peters is a Top-10 NFL draft talent, the issue is he has trouble staying on the field. In what comes as another hit to his already criticized character, Peters was dismissed from the team Thursday. Reports surfaced Thursday that a heated exchange took place between him and coaches. It hasn’t been a secret that head coach Chris Petersen and him had not seen eye to eye since the start of the season.
“These are not decisions that are taken lightly”, Huskies coach Chris Petersen said in a statement. “We have high standards for players in our program and they are held accountable when those standards are not met. I wish Marcus the best in the completion of his education and in achieving his football goals”.
Reports say Peters got into an argument with an assistant coach Wednesday; just days after getting into an altercation with coaches on the sideline during the game against Colorado. Peters was seen laughing with teammate Travell Dixon as time expired in a blowout loss to Oregon last month. Add that to the one game suspension he had earlier in the year for throwing his gloves and helmet during a game, and his dismissal shouldn’t be viewed as a huge surprise.
History tells us that most general managers and scouts of NFL teams will take a risk on someone with elite level talent like Peters. This season he had 30 tackles, three Interceptions and 10 passes defended. He will probably have the longest wingspan of any defensive back at the NFL Combine and his combination of size (6’0) and speed is looked upon by most scouts as “outstanding”.
As for Peters replacement, true freshman Naijiel Hale will make his first career start Saturday as (6-3) Washington takes on No. 18 UCLA.
*Section Photo credit to Steve Dykes, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to TitletownSoundoff
