Rumor: Houston Texans Won't Draft Longhorns T'Vondre Sweat After DWI Arrest

Rumor: Houston Texans Won't Draft University of Texans Longhorns Star T'Vondre Sweat After The D-Lineman's DWI Arrest in Austin
Texas Longhorns defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat (93) watches Washington quarterback Michael Penix
Texas Longhorns defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat (93) watches Washington quarterback Michael Penix / Aaron E. Martinez / USA TODAY NETWORK
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University of Texas football star T’Vondre Sweat was booked into jail in Austin on Sunday and charged with driving while intoxicated, an alleged action that could severly change his status for the upcoming NFL Draft.

Records show that Sweat, 22, was arrested by the Austin Police Department and booked into Travis County Jail at 2:12 p.m. on Sunday. A DWI is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas, and in the case of the standout defensive lineman, he was required to post a $3,000 bond to allow his release from custody shortly after he was booked.

But that's not where Sweat's potential problems end.

Texas Longhorns defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat (93) watches Washington quarterback Michael Penix
Texas Longhorns defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat (93) watches Washington quarterback Michael Penix / Aaron E. Martinez / USA TODAY NETWORK

Already there is speculation that the 6-4, 366-pound Sweat - who had been considered a potential late-first-round prospect in the coming NFL Draft - will be knocked off the draft boards of previvously interested teams.

Among those: The Houston Texans, who have been connected to the player ... but who now, according to one plugged-in report, might not be at all attracted to Sweat.

Writes Lance Zierlein: "I would be surprised if he is still on their board. I mean, never say, never, but I’m not sure the Texans want to disrupt momentum with a player they may not be able to trust. That is just a guess.

Additionally, colleague and draft expert Dane Brugler writes that in his NFL visits, Sweat has been open about his "partying'' as a younger player.

Sweat, a native of Huntsville, Texas, was named the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year and he won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college after helping the Longhorns to the Big 12 championship and the College Football Playoff semifinals. He will of course still be drafted. But maybe not as high as might've previously been the case ... and maybe not by the Texans at all.


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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the Texas-based author of two best-selling books on the NFL.