Miami Central receiver Darnell Salomon has apologized to UGA head coach Mark Richt for his role in a 2014 burglary incident. He took that a step further by writing a two-page letter about his role in a dorm role incident last July at "Dawg Night" that caused UGA to drop him from their recruiting board.
Elite 2016 recruit Darnell Salomon apologized to Mark Richt for his role in a “Dawg Night” burglary incident in July of 2014. (247 sports)
UGA Police issued a warrant for his arrest. He was identified as a suspect accused of entering the unlocked suite of two female students in Busbee Hall and stealing an iPhone and a wallet containing cash and credit cards. The five-star receiver discussed the matter with Rivals at the 5-star Challenge in Baltimore over the weekend.
"It was just a mistake, a really dumb mistake I made," Salomon told Rivals. "Everyone makes mistakes, I learned, and will never do something like that again."
A employee within the Clarke County District Attorney’s Office told the AJC the case was still open. The case is scheduled for disposition on June 18.
The Rivals report details the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder showed contrition and owned up to his mistakes by sending Richt a letter that noted how sorry he was and how he also showed bad character. Salomon told Rivals that he also called Richt and was told “everything was good” and he had a clean slate.
Salomon told Rivals over the weekend he is still being recruited by the Bulldogs, but also said he did not have a connection with the current staff. He wasn’t familiar with new UGA receivers coach Bryan McClendon. He also told Rivals he hoped to visit UGA over the summer.
247sports rates Salomon as the No. 4 receiver in the nation for the Class of 2016. Rivals rates him as the No. 2 receiver in the nation for 2016 and the No. 16 overall prospect regardless of position.
The Athens-Banner Herald reported in October of 2014 that UGA had decided to drop recruiting Salomon and offered further details of the incident. The search warrant released by the Clarke County Clerk's Office accused him of felony burglary and stated Salomon turned himself in on July 25 on a charge of first-degree felony burglary. He was also accused of stealing a wallet and an iPhone on July 19. The stolen phone's owner was also a UGA athlete and she advised police of new downloaded photos to her iCloud account which she did not recognize.
According to that search warrant, two of those photos were of Salomon. The investigation led them to Salamon's Florida address through the use of the Find My iPhone application once the device was placed in lost mode, according to the warrant. An athletic department spokesman told the Banner-Herald in that report that his recruitment by UGA came to an end when the alleged incident initially occurred.
Georgia currently has just one wide receiver commitment for the Class of 2016 at this time.
Jeff Sentell covers UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.
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