UNC Football Players Mike Hughes, M.J. Stewart Charged with Assault, Suspended

A pair of University of North Carolina cornerbacks were suspended Thursday as M.J. Stewart and Michael Hughes were each charged with assault.  

According to WRAL.com, Stewart and Hughes are accused of assaulting two men at a Chapel Hill, North Carolina, apartment Oct. 4. That prompted the football program to suspend them indefinitely, which means they will miss Saturday's game against Wake Forest, per Andrew Carter of the Charlotte Observer.

ESPN.com's Jared Shanker reported Stewart was officially charged with misdemeanor affray/assault and battery, while Hughes was charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon/inflicting serious injury; however, Carter notes the deadly weapon charge is not accurate and was listed only because it has the same coding as inflicting serious injury.

Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora commented on the players' statuses after the news was made public, according to Shanker: "We have been aware of this situation since the night of the altercation and have been working closely with the University and Chapel Hill Police to gather relevant information. We hold our players to a high standard, and M.J. and Mike will face the consequences for their involvement."

The future of Stewart and Hughes with regard to their spots on the team is unclear at this point, but UNC can ill afford to lose two contributors on that side of the ball.

As pointed out by Jones Angell of the Tar Heel Sports Network, North Carolina was already expected to be shorthanded on that side of the ball against the Demon Deacons:

Stewart is a sophomore starter for the Tar Heels and has three interceptions on the season, while Hughes is a freshman reserve.

With both of them out of the picture for the Wake Forest game, at the very least, the cornerback burden will largely be placed on juniors Desmond Lawrence and Brian Walker.

North Carolina is off to a 4-1 start and looks to be a factor in the ACC's Coastal Division, but a win over 3-3 Wake Forest cannot be taken for granted with so many defensive players out.

A loss would certainly derail UNC's ACC title hopes, and the absence of Stewart and Hughes would almost certainly have plenty to do with it.

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