FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas defensive backs Myles Slusher and Anthony Brown have been suspended for “at least” one week, head coach Sam Pittman revealed Monday afternoon.
The teammates were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in an incident just off Dickson Street early Sunday morning. Their other punishments include extra running in the mornings and scout team work at practice.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s not acceptable,” Pittman said. “Part of our job is to teach these kids and hopefully we’ll get that done.”
Pittman said it was athletics director Hunter Yurachek who called him and broke the news of their arrests. He had not yet addressed it with the team when he met with the media Monday because their first team meetings of the week weren’t until later in the afternoon.
Brown has not seen the field during his freshman season, but not having Slusher available for Saturday’s game against No. 7 LSU is a significant development for Arkansas’ defense.
The junior from Broken Arrow, Okla., has dealt with multiple injuries this season, but started all five games in which he’s been healthy. That includes the last two weeks against Auburn and Liberty, when he notched a sack in each game.
Jayden Johnson is listed as the backup nickel on the UA’s depth chart and has started some in Slusher’s absence already, but Pittman said they are considering several options. One of them is starting Quincey McAdoo at cornerback, moving Malik Chavis to safety and sliding Simeon Blair down from safety to nickel.
“With the emergence of Quincey, that kind of buys us another player, another option to move around,” Pittman said.
Details of Slusher and Brown’s Arrests
*The following is the original BoAS report from Sunday*
FAYETTEVILLE — A pair of Arkansas football players were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct early Sunday morning.
Junior Myles Slusher and freshman Anthony Brown, both of whom are defensive backs for the Razorbacks, were arrested shortly after 2 a.m. just off Dickson Street and released on a $265 bond around 9 a.m., according to the Washington County Jail website.
“We are aware of the incident involving Anthony Brown and Myles Slusher,” head coach Sam Pittman said in a statement Sunday. “We are in the process of gathering information from the proper authorities. Once we have that information, we will determine their status with our team.”
Their arrests were made in the area of 336 N. West Ave., according to a copy of the Fayetteville Police Department’s arrest report obtained via a Freedom of Information request. That is near the Z 330 bar.
According to the report, officers were attempting to disperse a large crowd that had gathered in the street. Brown, 19, was one of the first people asked to move and he initially did so by moving to the sidewalk.
However, when the officer circled back, Brown had returned to the street, at which point the officer “walked to Brown and grabbed his sleeve on his right arm” and walked him back to the sidewalk. Brown responded by pushing the officer, which prompted him to be “taken to the ground and taken into custody,” according to the arrest report.
While that was going on, Slusher, 20, came to his teammate’s defense and tried pulling the officer away from Brown, according to the report. Other officers had to separate him from the altercation and he was placed in handcuffs. He initially refused to disclose his name, but did so when the transport unit arrived on the scene.
Both players were taken to the Washington County Detention center and booked around 3 a.m., about an hour after the altercation started and about nine hours following Arkansas’ 21-19 loss to Liberty.
What it Means for Arkansas Football
These are believed to be the fourth and fifth players arrested since Sam Pittman took over the Arkansas football program.
The first was former wide receiver Deon Stewart, who was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated just three weeks after he was hired. Although he was a fifth-year senior in 2019, he was eligible for a medical redshirt because a torn ACL wiped out his final season, but he chose not to pursue it.
The most recent arrest before Sunday was defensive end Tre Williams, who was charged with driving while intoxicated last December as the Razorbacks prepared for the Outback Bowl. He had been participating in practices leading up to that point, but he ultimately opted out shortly after the arrest, so it’s unclear what punishment he would have received.
The only example of that is linebacker Jake Yurachek, who was also arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after the Ole Miss win during the 2020 season. Primarily a special teams contributor, he did not play in the Texas A&M game after the open date before returning to the field against Tennessee.
If Pittman opts for a one-game suspension for their disorderly conduct arrests, Slusher and Brown would miss next week’s game against LSU.
Brown has yet to appear in a game this season and is on track to redshirt, but Slusher is a major part of an Arkansas defense coming off one of its best games of the season, shutting out the Flames in the second half. Slusher had five tackles, including a sack, in the game.
Having been limited to only five games because of multiple injuries, Slusher is the Razorbacks’ starting nickel back when healthy and one of the most talented players in the secondary. He has 20 tackles, including four tackles for loss and two sacks, plus two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup this season.
Luckily for Arkansas, it is as healthy in the defensive backfield as it has been all year and should have enough pieces to fill in if Slusher is suspended against the Tigers. However, it’s still a significant blow to a defense about to face an LSU team coming off an overtime win against Alabama.
Pittman said the team is still “gathering information” in his statement, but more on Slusher’s status might be revealed when he meets with reporters during his weekly press conference at noon Monday.
Arrest Report for Myles Slusher, Anthony Brown
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