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Saturday, April 20, 2024

Gators reinstate Jordan Scarlett, three other football players suspended last season for alleged credit card fraud

<p>Running back Jordan Scarlett is expected to be the bell-cow back by our sports editors.</p>

Running back Jordan Scarlett is expected to be the bell-cow back by our sports editors.

The credit card fraud saga involving nine Florida football players last season appears to be coming to a close.

Running back Jordan Scarlett, receiver Rick Wells and linebackers James Houston IV and Ventrell Miller have been reinstated to all team activities starting Wednesday morning.

The four players were suspended indefinitely, along with five teammates, last August after they allegedly used stolen credit card information to purchase electronics at an on-campus bookstore. Sworn complaint affidavits also accused several players of using the stolen funds to pay for rent, parking citations and fast food deliveries.

A fifth player involved in the case, defensive lineman Keivonnis Davis, is still enrolled at UF and is rehabbing from serious injuries he suffered in a scooter accident last fall.

The remaining four players — receiver Antonio Callaway, offensive lineman Kadeem Telfort and defensive linemen Jordan Smith and Richerd Desir-Jones — have all reportedly left the program.

Callaway, the Gators’ leading receiver in 2016, declared for the NFL Draft in December, while Desir-Jones transferred to Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. Telfort and Smith intend to transfer as well.

Of the four players reinstated, only one has appeared in a game for UF.

Scarlett, a junior from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has made 22 career appearances with the Gators, registering 1,070 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. His 179 carries, 889 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 2016 were all team highs.

Wells redshirted during his freshman year in 2016, while Houston IV and Miller were both true freshmen last season.

Florida began its offseason conditioning program on Jan. 16, led by first-year coach Dan Mullen.

Mullen reportedly worked with UF athletic director Scott Stricklin to come to a resolution on the suspensions.

"All of our players understand the standards and expectations we have of them to be members of the Florida football program," Mullen said in a prepared statement.

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Follow Dylan Dixon on Twitter @dylanrdixon and contact him at ddixon@alligator.org.

Running back Jordan Scarlett is expected to be the bell-cow back by our sports editors.

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