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It looks like Jason Hatcher's time in Lexington may have come to an end.
The Kentucky Wildcats linebacker was arrested Monday morning in Franklin County. The 21-year-old Hatcher was charged with trafficking marijuana after a traffic stop in Frankfort.. Here are the details on his arrest:
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This is the latest strike for Hatcher, who has had multiple infractions committed during his UK career. He was cited for marijuana possession back in June of 2014, though nothing more seemed to come out of it. Prior to the start of the 2015 season, Hatcher was suspended for the first two games due to a violation of team rules.
During his freshman year, Hatcher was one of three players suspended for the November game at Georgia. That makes this the third major infraction Hatcher has had, and a simple 2-3 game suspension probably won't be the punishment his time around.
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Coming out of Trinity (KY) in 2013, Hatcher was rated a four-star defensive end prospect and easily the biggest get of Mark Stoops' first recruiting class at UK. Both Rivals and 247Sports ranked him as the eighth-best weakside defensive end in the 2013 class. Hatcher was ranked in 247Sports' Top 200 nationally. Rivals placed him in its top 250.
Since then, Hatcher has racked up 87 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in 27 games. He's been playing a variety of positions since coming to UK, including defensive end, strongside backer and the hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker role. This past season, Hatcher mainly played at the strongside backer spot, which is what he was expected to stick with for his senior season.
It's hard to see Hatcher being back next season, despite him being a key starter in UK's defense. We'll have more on the story shortly...