LSU RB Jeremy Hill guilty in bar fight, gets no jail time

LSU head coach Les Miles is keeping quiet on whether or not running back Jeremy Hill will play against UAB on Saturday night. It was reported earlier on Friday that Hill would be able to play, though the report was never confirmed by the LSU athletic department.

Hill, who led the Tigers in carries, yards and touchdowns a season ago, was suspended by Miles for the season opener against TCU after punching a man outside a bar during the offseason. Hill avoided jail time and was reinstated to the team last month, though Miles never revealed any kind of timeline for when the running back will return to the field.

LSU running back Jeremy Hill, who was suspended for the Tigers’ season-opening win over TCU, will be allowed to play Saturday night against UAB, according to Scott Rabalais of the Baton Rouge Advocate.

Hill won’t be the starter against the Blazers, per Rabalais, and it’s unclear exactly where he will fall on the depth chart. He dressed out but did not play against the Horned Frogs last Saturday due to an arrest during the offseason. The 6’2, 235-pound sophomore was involved in a fight outside a bar on April 27, which could have been ruled as a probation violation. Hill was previously arrested in 2011 and placed on probation in January 2012.

Though plagued by legal troubles, LSU’s starting tailback Jeremy Hill was voted back onto the team earlier this summer, and participated through a good portion of fall camp.

Does that mean he’ll play against No. 20 TCU this weekend at Cowboys Stadium? Head coach Les Miles kept quiet about that on Monday.

Texas Christian head coach Gary Patterson took a verbal shot Wednesday at LSU coach Les Miles over the discipline of running back Jeremy Hill. Earlier this week, Miles announced that Hill was reinstated and could practice immediately after a team vote Monday, immediately after a Louisiana judge declined to give Hill additional jail time for a misdemeanor conviction and probation violation. Hill was arrested for his role in a bar fight in April, and eventually pleaded guilty to battery.

Patterson is apparently not a fan of democracy in disciplinary decisions (to be fair, Miles hasn’t officially ruled out Hill missing game time), from the Dallas Star-Telegram and via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com:

Head coach Kevin Sumlin thinks that after all the negative attention on the program related to Manziel, just practicing as normal will be good for everyone:

See? He practiced.

LSU reinstated running back Jeremy Hill, head coach Les Miles said Monday. Hill had been suspended since being arrested following a bar fight in April. Video that clearly showed him assaulting another man surfaced, and Hill pleaded guilty to the charges. The running back avoided jail time, and Miles at that point had left the door open for a possible return.

Hill, who practiced with the team Monday, spoke briefly with the media but did not take questions.

Jeremy Hill is legally allowed to play football, meaning it’s now up to Les Miles to decide whether or not the running back who led his team in rushing in 2012 will be on the squad in 2013.

Hill had already pleaded guilty for his role in an April bar fight -- it was kind of hard for him to argue his case otherwise, considering there was video evidence of him punching somebody -- and had avoided jail time. But Hill was given probation and a curfew, restrictions that may have conflicted with his ability to practice and play football for the Tigers.