Florida State University defensive back Greg Reid was supposed to be a first-round NFL draft pick.
University of Florida defensive back J.C. Jackson was supposed to be an elite playmaker in the Southeastern Conference.
University of Central Florida running back Will Stanback was supposed to help carry the Knights' offense during what has turned out to be a dismal season.
Instead, their links to marijuana altered the trajectory of their promising careers.
At least 12 UF players have been linked to marijuana use by law enforcement since the start of former coach Will Muschamp's tenure in 2011, and the number is not considered exceptionally high for major college-football programs. Arrest figures were much higher during former Gators coach Urban Meyer's tenure. When schools announce that football players have been suspended for undisclosed rule violations, many immediately suspect marijuana was involved.
Marijuana use among college football players is part of what Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, Meyer and a long list of other elite coaches call "an epidemic." Many coaches say athletes enter college addicted to the drug that they've seen widely used in many of their communities or, in some cases, even in their homes. Schools are stuck enforcing the rules of a college football system that hasn't embraced some of society's growing acceptance of marijuana use.
The consequences are real, sometimes forcing coaches and schools to suspend or expel athletes who could most benefit from college football's structure and education opportunities.
Fisher said he hopes he can make it clear to his athletes that they simply have to stop smoking marijuana in college.
"You've got to prevent it," Fisher said. "You've got to help the ones you do (see test positive). ... Where they come from, a lot of times it's accepted. You're trying to help someone, not throw someone out. You can catch anyone doing anything anytime you want to, but it's about helping educate those kids and getting a better life for themselves."
Current Florida coach Jim McElwain said he's focused on teaching players how make the right decisions about everything, including marijuana.
"I would say the biggest piece is the education piece," he said. "We're certainly not here to be the police. What we're here to do is help (players make) choices, teaching the effect, knowing what it can do. And if there is a true, sincere problem, obviously reaching out to get help. You can't be naive. It's everywhere, and yet that's not an excuse, either."
And UCF coach George O'Leary said the lack of consistency disciplining college-football players for marijuana-related violations has perpetuated the belief that it can be acceptable.
"I think the schools and coaches need to be tougher and stop trying to hide," he said.
More than a dozen major college-football head and assistant coaches interviewed said it's not easy to deal with college football's growing marijuana problem.
University of Arkansas coach Bret Bielema recalls the first time he had to call a player into his office to discuss a positive marijuana test.
He had never dealt with the issue as an assistant coach, but he figured he would explain the test and penalty before talking about the role the athlete's family could play in getting him back on the right track.
"I knew this kid; I knew his family," Bielema said. "And what shocked me was, I kind of threw at him, 'What are you parents going to say?' This is something we're going to make everyone aware of and battle it in the future.
"And to be quite honest, the (drug) use had happened in the home. It threw me for a loop. I hadn't quite envisioned that. ... But in today's world, you have young parents that sometimes they may have used in the past and brought him up in an environment where they thought it was OK."
At FSU, Fisher said he knows marijuana was just as prevalent as alcohol in the homes where some of his players grew up.
"When they step into their house, people are smoking marijuana like you do cigarettes from the time they're 3 years old until they're 18," Fisher said in 2012, one of many times he has spoken out about marijuana use among players. "They do these things their whole life, and then they come here, and we say, 'Now you can't do them anymore.'"
At UCF, O'Leary said marijuana use can start long before some players reach his program.
"It's really not a college problem, it's a high-school and junior-high problem," he said.
If athletes haven't been exposed to the drug by the time they reach college, it's typically available on college campuses.
Daily or near-daily marijuana use was reported by 5.9 percent of college students in 2014, the highest rate since 1980, according to the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study. The rate of use is up from 3.5 percent in 2007. The study, which was compiled from a series of national surveys, indicates that 1 in 17 college students is smoking marijuana daily or near-daily.
"Whether it's prevalent on campuses or not, it doesn't make any difference until someone changes the rules and the laws," UCF's O'Leary said.
O'Leary said his staff does extensive research about every recruit and strives to identify any history of drug use before offering athletes scholarships.
"I think when you recruit, recruit the right kids and ask them the right questions," he said. "It doesn't change. The kids don't just come to college and start smoking marijuana. They've been doing it. ... I think it's important to get the best players in, but I think there's a certain culture of characteristics that you're looking for in recruiting, and I won't change my opinion about what we need here. We've turned down some better players because there were character issues, and they (are now) at other places and, lo and behold, they ended up getting those schools in trouble.
Even though coaches are aware marijuana use can be common among college students and athletes, it isn't necessarily easy to stop.
Former FSU star Greg Reid is a prime example of how marijuana can derail a promising career.
The cornerback and punt returner at FSU was on the radar of NFL scouts and executives entering his senior year, but that changed on July10, 2012.
Reid was pulled over by a Georgia patrol officer while driving to Tallahassee from his hometown of Valdosta, Ga., for window-tint and seat-belt violations. During a search, the officer found less than an ounce of marijuana on Reid and marijuana paraphernalia.
Reid, who did not respond to a request for comment, was charged with marijuana possession. Soon after the arrest, FSU expelled Reid.
"I let it become a habit," Reid said of his marijuana use in 2013.
He transferred to Division II powerhouse Valdosta State later that summer, but his college career ended within weeks after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament. He underwent a second surgery to repair the knee injury in May 2013.
Fisher embraced Reid's return to Tallahassee in March 2014 when Reid participated in the Seminoles' pro day for a second year in a row. He worked out for more than 70 NFL representatives.
"I hope Greg gets a shot, because I'm going to tell you that's as instinctive and one of the best football players I've ever been around," Fisher said in 2014. "For him to be able to battle back shows how committed he is. He's done a great job with his life; he's being very successful right now. I think if somebody gets him in camp, they're going to be very happy."
The St. Louis Rams took a chance on Reid later that month, signing him to a contract. Reid's legal problems, however, followed him to the pros.
He was arrested a week after joining the Rams for violating probation stemming from his 2012 arrest. The Valdosta Police Department said in a news release that he was a passenger in a car that was pulled over because the driver was not wearing a seat belt. Reid had an active arrest warrant for failure to comply with his probation agreement and was cut by the Rams on Aug. 30, 2014.
Reid was signed by the Jacksonville Sharks of the Arena Football League in April and was named the league's rookie of the year despite joining the team six weeks into the season. Exhibiting the explosiveness that made him an All-American candidate at FSU, Reid totaled 70.5 tackles, nine interceptions and had a touchdown on a kickoff return.
It was a glimpse of what could've been.
While Reid's career has fallen short of expectations, some athletes have missed out on playing opportunities when marijuana was present during other incidents.
Florida starting cornerback J.C. Jackson, whom Muschamp praised as a uniquely gifted defensive back at a school known for recently producing exceptional defensive players, was arrested in April in connection with an armed robbery.
According to a Gainesville police report, Jackson called the resident of the apartment and spoke to him about "hanging out and smoking cannabis." The resident was a suspected drug dealer.
Jackson entered the apartment followed by two men, according to the report. The victims told police Jackson then left the apartment to take a phone call, while the other men pulled a gun and robbed them of $382, marijuana and two video-game consoles.
The State Attorney's Office has charged Jackson with three counts of home invasion with a deadly weapon and one count of burglary of an occupied dwelling.
Each charge carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.
Jackson has denied he was involved in the robbery. He was dismissed from the Florida football program and is awaiting trial.
Even at UCF, a school where O'Leary has put a priority on recruiting players who don't have drug histories and athletes know that any setbacks can significantly hinder their chances of reaching the NFL, marijuana can still be a headache.
Will Stanback, who won first team All-American Athletic Conference honors and was slated to help anchor the Knights' inexperienced offense, was dismissed from the team in September. Media outlets, including ESPN, have reported that Stanback's dismissal was due to failed marijuana tests.
Coaches can point to the players who have lost it all because of ties to marijuana, but their voices may be drowned out by others endorsing marijuana use.
University of Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said it doesn't help that athletes are seeing marijuana accepted, legalized and celebrated in the world around them.
"There's some states where you see it advertised on TV and they're selling it," Pinkel said. "It's legalized in those states. There's some real mixed messages out there. ... The young kids tend to experiment more because, shoot, if states are legalizing it, what the heck is wrong with it?
"The climate out there and mixed messages out there are significant on young people. I think that's something we all have to deal with."
Though there may be a pro-pot movement brewing, it remains illegal under federal law for marijuana to be consumed on college campuses and is against NCAA rules.
In most college towns, it's not legal to purchase or possess marijuana, so the drug regularly exposes athletes to people who break the law and can lure them into more dangerous situations. It's not unusual for dealers to persuade players to commit other crimes with far greater consequences.
The NCAA tests a random sample of football players for illegal drugs at bowl games, including the playoff semifinal and title games. In other sports, testing occurs during championship events. Positive tests force athletes to miss the games and half of the next season.
Most schools do additional testing throughout the year, but they are not required to report those results to the NCAA and instead enforce their own rules for positive results. NCAA officials suggest that allows schools to take what they deem appropriate action, including steering players to drug-treatment programs, to help solve the problem.
It results in varying punishment for marijuana-related offenses across the country.
"I always tell my players there are two things. There are two organizations that prohibit drug use and marijuana in particular: It's the NCAA and the NFL. You're in the NCAA right now, and your dream is to play in the NFL," Arkansas' Bielema said. "If I allow you to sustain this type of use and this type of behavior, I'm setting you up for failure. Usually that's the biggest way to curtail it.
University of Georgia coach Mark Richt said he tries to make sure there aren't other problems in players' lives forcing them to turn to marijuana.
"If you're going to do it, you're not going to do it very long here at Georgia," he said. "We don't tolerate. We don't condone it. We discipline it, and then if it gets to the point where somebody just can't control himself, then he won't be on the team. But we also educate and try to help him through if there's a problem; usually sometimes if you're smoking marijuana, you're self medicating, so to speak.
"Sometimes there's an underlying issue that you have to find out about. If there's a player, if there's a way to help this kid, you want to help him. But if he's just doing it as a recreational thing, and he thinks it's fun, he's going to have to have fun somewhere else."
Marijuana has already left a mark on McElwain's roster during his first year coaching the Gators.
During the offseason, current starting quarterback Treon Harris was cited for driving with a suspended license. Teammates Jalen Tabor and Jackson were in the car with Harris when police found marijuana in the vehicle. Harris, Tabor and Jackson weren't charged with drug possession because they didn't own the car.
Three weeks ago, Harris served a one-game suspension that ESPN reported was triggered by a failed marijuana test.
And special-teams ace Deiondre Porter was arrested last week and accused of firing a gun at his pregnant girlfriend. When Gainesville police detained Porter on Wednesday, he was a passenger in a car that was pulled over. While searching the vehicle, officers found the unidentified driver was carrying a gun and marijuana.
McElwain has tried to teach key lessons to his players as the Gators cope with problems common among college-football programs.
"The thing we've all got to understand is it's the rules," McElwain said. "We've just got to figure out how to help educate these guys."
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