West Virginia Football: Arrests Should Not Dampen Mountaineers' Spirits

According to reports released yesterday by ESPN, two West Virginia Mountaineers defensive backs were arrested on Tuesday after allegedly shoplifting from a local convenience store.

Safety Darwin Cook and cornerback Terence Garvin were both popped after surveillance cameras caught them pilfering Gatorade, pretzels and chips from the store. The players are both starters and looked to figure heavily into the Mountaineers defense this season after playing tremendous roles in the 2011 Big East Championship campaign.

Fret not, West Virginia fans. This is not a big deal in the grand scheme of college football arrests. It certainly pales in comparison to the situation out at TCU that saw a couple of their starters booted from the team. Even more recent arrests, such as Sammy Watkins at Clemson or the more serious arrest of Tulane's Lawrence Burl. This situation is in no way in that camp.

Per West Virginia statutes:

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Shoplifting merchandise worth $500 or less is punishable by a fine of up to $250.

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As for the arrest itself, this case is one of the reasons why it is foolish of people to lump all college football arrests into one pile and call it an epidemic of bad behavior. Perhaps the two were making poor choices that many a person has made when it comes to stealing. Perhaps the two were broke and really needed money. Whatever the case, this does not speak to a larger problem in the sport; it just speaks to two guys who went out and took chips without paying for them.

West Virginia will have to discipline them, but don't expect the two players to miss much time, if any. They committed a small offense, a misdemeanor only punishable by fine. This is a case where in-house discipline and/or community service will suffice as an appropriate response to the misdeeds.

Cook and Garvin should be on the field, roaming the back end and making plays for that opener against Marshall.