CHARGE DEFERRED FOR EX-UT ATHLETE

If Trouble-Free One Year, McGruder's Record Clears

An agreement has been reached that could spare a former University of
Tennessee football player from any further prosecution stemming from the
alleged discovery of marijuana and a set of scales in his dorm room. Last
June, Lynn C. McGruder Jr. was dismissed from UT's team and charged with
possession of marijuana with intent to resell. Seven small plastic bags of
marijuana allegedly were found in the room.

Late last month, McGruder was placed on pretrial diversion by Knox County
Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner.

That means the prosecution of the drug charge against the 19-year-old will
be deferred - or suspended - for one year.

If McGruder - a highly recruited defensive lineman from Las Vegas who made
six tackles as a reserve during the 2000 season - stays out of any further
trouble during that period, the charge will be dismissed.

He also has to pay his court costs, which he already has done.

McGruder is currently enrolled at the University of Oklahoma.

He has not, however, been a member of this year's team, pending a
resolution of his legal problems, according to Kenny Mossman, the school's
director of media relations for the athletic department.

Asked if McGruder will be offered a football scholarship Mossman replied:
"I think that's certainly a strong possibility."

The "Memorandum of Understanding," which outlines the agreement in the
case, was reached between McGruder's attorney, Knoxville lawyer Thomas
Leveille, and Steve Garrett, an assistant Knox County District Attorney
General.

Baumgartner signed it Oct. 29.

As part of a pretrial diversion McGruder, who does not have a prior record,
does not plead guilty.

Leveille said Wednesday he's confident that McGruder will successfully
complete the diversion period.

"Oh, I'm without a doubt," he said. "I think he's an exceptional young man
who just made an error in judgment, and I think since this (happened) he's
carried himself in a very positive manner.

"I don't think he's going to have any problem at all."

Leveille also said McGruder wasn't treated differently than anyone else in
the same circumstance. "I would say this type of thing is common," he said.

He also added, "I think that if you are dealing with a football player you
get more scrutiny, not less."John Gill, special counsel to District
Attorney General Randy Nichols, also said McGruder did not get preferential
treatment. "A substantial percentage of people in that situation would, as
a matter of law, be entitled to pretrial diversion," Gill said.

McGruder enrolled at Oklahoma in August. Even if he had been allowed to
practice with the team, McGruder would have not have been eligible under
NCAA rules to play until next season. In an Aug. 30 press release
announcing that McGruder was enrolling at Oklahoma, the school's football
coach, Bob Stoops, said: "OU expects its student-athletes to represent the
very best values of the university both on and off the field."

He indicated that he and his staff had not decided whether McGruder would
ultimately be allowed to play but said if they did give him a second
chance, he would be held to the highest standards of behavior.

"Not a single deviation from that standard will be tolerated," Stoops said
at the time.

Mossman said McGruder's status was unchanged as of Wednesday.