Arrested UT players won't play Saturday

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Three Tennessee football players charged with armed robbery will not play Saturday at Mississippi, a spokesman for the school's athletic department said Friday.

Volunteers Coach Lane Kiffin declined to elaborate on the situation.

"We'll deal with the three situations coming up," USA Today quoted Kiffin as saying. "But until we have all the information, I can't comment any further on it. We're gathering all the information, so we don't know exactly what happened."

Police allege the three freshmen -- Janzen Jackson of Lake Charles, La., Mike Edwards of Cleveland and Nu'Keese Richardson of Pahokee, Fla. -- robbed two men of the money in their wallets at a Knoxville convenience store early Thursday.

They were arrested after being found later in a car driven by 22-year-old Marie Montmarquet. The three are accused of attempted aggravated robbery and face Class C felony charges, WBIR-TV in Knoxville reported

An air-powered pellet gun and a baggie containing what appeared to be marijuana in Montmarquet's jacket were removed by police. She was charged with drug possession.

WBIR-TV said Jackson and Edwards have been released from the Knox County jail while Richardson remains in custody.

Neither Jackson nor Richardson traveled to Oxford when their teammates left Knoxville Friday afternoon.