Janzen Jackson to rejoin Vols

Janzen Jackson will be allowed to rejoin the Vols football team, after charges of attempted aggravated robbery were dropped against him. 

Coach Lane Kiffin said it was an easy decision to make, after police and the district attorney cleared Jackson of any wrongdoing or prior knowledge in the attempted robbery.

Jackson was arrested along with fellow freshman Vols Nu'Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards; Richardson and Edwards have both been kicked off the team. The charges against them remain in place.

In a Tuesday press conference, Kiffin indicated the Vols had felt the loss of Jackson, who sat out two games as the issue was resolved.

He expressed confidence that Jackson will be able to get back in the game quickly, saying he's a smart player who puts a strong focus on football.

Another person arrested in connection with that attempted robbery, UT senior Marie Montmarquet, has also had charges against her related to the robbery dropped. She still faces misdemeanor marijuana charges.

Kiffin released a written statement on Jackson after the press conference:

As I've said before, we wanted to take our time to get all the information regarding this situation. These were very serious allegations, and we had to make sure we handled this properly. After an extensive and thorough investigation by the Knoxville Police Department and the District Attorney's office, they have cleared Janzen of any wrong doing and determined he had no prior knowledge of this incident. Janzen will join team activities today.

We hold our student-athletes to an extremely high standard on and off the field. Janzen has seen the effect personal decisions had on his former teammates and is excited to rejoin our team activities.