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Georgia dismisses Jonathan Taylor following Tuesday aggravated assault arrest

Georgia dismisses Jonathan Taylor following Tuesday aggravated assault arrest

It only took a day for Georgia to make a decision on the status of Jonathan Taylor. In a brief, 42-word press release, the program announced Wednesday that Taylor, a redshirt sophomore defensive end, has been dismissed from the program.

The decision comes after Taylor was arrested Tuesday morning on a felony aggravated assault/family violence charge. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Taylor spent a day in jail before being released at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday on a $5,000 bond.

The 6-foot-4, 336-pound Taylor was taken into custody after being accused of physically assaulting his girlfriend at his on-campus dorm. According to police, “evidence and witness accounts indicate Taylor ‘choked’ and ‘struck with a closed fist’ his 5-foot-11, 170-pound female victim.”

Taylor is Georgia’s third defensive player to be dismissed by head coach Mark Richt this offseason. In addition to Taylor, safeties Tray Matthews and Josh Harvey-Clemons were also booted from the team. Matthews is now at Auburn, while Harvey-Clemons landed at Louisville.

The Tuesday morning incident is Taylor’s second arrest of the offseason. He was one of four players who, in March, attempted to deposit their student tuition checks twice. That led to an arrest for theft by deception.

As a result of the March arrest, Taylor was accepted into a pre-trial intervention program, which included community service. Any other citation or arrest would violate the program’s terms.

Taylor, a native of Millen, Ga., played in 10 games and recorded nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack as a redshirt freshman in 2013.

For more Georgia news, visit UGASports.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!