Sophomore tight end A.C. Leonard pled no contest Wednesday afternoon to a misdemeanor charge of simple domestic battery.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Leonard appeared in front of Judge Denise R. Ferrero early Wednesday afternoon in the Alachua County Courthouse and entered his plea of no contest to the charge stemming from a Feb. 15 arrest.
Leonard must pay $628 in fines and court fees, complete six months of probation, continue counseling for anger management and open his medical records to the state attorney’s office. According to the report, Ferrero also ordered Leonard to not come in contact with the victim, his longtime girlfriend Nia V. Ruiz.
Leonard was arrested Feb. 15 for allegedly pushing Ruiz to the ground, pulling her hair and dragging her by her feet out of their apartment at the Polos complex on Williston Road during an altercation. Ruiz called police after Leonard, 20, locked her out of their apartment, where the two had been living together since January.
Following the arrest, Florida coach Will Muschamp suspended Leonard indefinitely from team activities. Leonard was reinstated to practice and participate in team meetings on March 26, but his status for Saturday’s spring game is unclear.
“As I stated last week, A.C. has a number of things he has to work through before his status for the fall is addressed,” Muschamp said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.
As a freshman, Leonard appeared in nine games, hauling in eight catches for 99 yards.
Saunders needs improvement: After appearing in 12 games and starting nine as a freshman in Florida’s secondary, De’Ante “Pop” Saunders wasn’t atop the depth chart at safety opposite Matt Elam when spring practice began.
Instead, Muschamp said Monday, Saunders has been sharing time with Valdez Showers, Cody Riggs and Jabari Gorman, behind Elam and Josh Evans.
Florida’s second-year coach added that Saunders, who recorded 26 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble last year, needs to work on his overall consistency heading into next season. Muschamp pointed specifically to the sophomore’s tackling ability as an area that needs improvement, adding that Saunders missed a couple of tackles in the secondary during the team’s scrimmage Saturday.
“(He has) got to get stronger,” Muschamp said. “(He has) got to get a better job finishing on some tackles. Again, you miss a tackle back there, it’s a big one.”
Special teams: The Gators haven’t worked much on live special teams this spring, but Muschamp said the team has used at least six different players to field punts in practice: Saunders, Andre Debose, Loucheiz Purifoy, Marcus Roberson, Frankie Hammond and Trey Burton.
After the Gators averaged just 7.1 yards per punt return last season, Muschamp said it’s an aspect of the game the team needs to improve upon and that coaches have put added emphasis on trying to find a go-to guy in the return game. Of the viable options, Muschamp said Debose is “the guy that jumps out at me.”
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
