BREAKING NEWS: Florida Gators junior DE Carlos Dunlap charged with DUI Tuesday morning

By Adam Silverstein
December 1, 2009

Florida Gators junior defensive end Carlos Dunlap, 20, was arrested at 3:25 a.m. Tuesday morning by Gainesville Police on charges of driving under the influence. Dunlap was found slumped over sleeping behind the wheel of his red Chrystler at a traffic light by Officer Robert Rogers, who was dispatched to the area after reports of reckless driving were sent in.

At a complete stop, Dunlap’s car sat still as the traffic light went through multiple cycles. Officers then went over to the car and turned off the ignition while the clutch was still in gear, according to the police report. Dunlap, once awoken, was “very groggy,” showed signs of impairment (bloodshot eyes, difficulty relaying basic information, alcohol on his breath), performed poorly in field sobriety tests and refused a breath test.

“They approached the car and found the suspect slumped over in the driver’s seat,” GPD spokesman Lt. Keith Kameg said. “He appeared to be asleep. The car’s windows were cracked so they attempted to wake him up. They talked to him and he would only open his eyes for a few seconds and then fall back asleep.”

Dunlap faces one second degree misdemeanor DUI charge and will remain in jail without bond until he faces an Alachua County judge. This charge is his first offense. Team spokesman Steve McClain said that the Gators are “aware of the incident and are currently gathering more information.” Head coach Urban Meyer is expected to address the situation after practice Tuesday evening.

UPDATE: Dunlap stood in front of Judge Mary Day Coker Tuesday morning, who told the future NFL first round draft pick that he cannot possess alcohol or drugs or drive a motor vehicle as his license has been revoked. Coker also admonished Dunlap for underage drinking and gave him no bond as this was his first offense. Dunlap’s only replies during the meeting were soft “Yes, ma’am”s. He was released on his own recognizance and will return to court at a later date.

OGGOA will have more on this breaking news story as it becomes available. For now, Florida fans can expect one of the Gators’ top defensive players and the 2009 BCS National Championship game MVP to be suspended for Saturday’s SEC Championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

19 Comments

  1. bellamor_3 says:

    oh, what was he thinking?! Potentially so many consequences for one mistake! Why, oh why did it have to be the week of the SEC championship, Dunlap?!? Hopefully the rest of the D stays healthy and out of trouble this week, and performs like the top of the line D we all know they can be.

  2. Fin Fan Mike says:

    Complete lack of common sense. Stupid to get behind the wheel drunk at any time, let alone before a big game. He’s lucky he didn’t get in an accident and hurt someone. Plus there’s plenty of time to party after this weekend’s game. He’s got some stupid friends to let him drink this week AND then to let him drive afterwards.

  3. Sarah says:

    I know I am not the only one to say this but I am seriously disappointed. I hope UF and Urban handle this the correct way. This was a stupid mistake and it could cost him a career and could cost UF a National Championship.

    Oh Carlos, why?!

  4. bellamor_3 says:

    oh, and smooth move ex-lax for not just drinking when not of legal drinking age yet, but also driving while drunk THEN to top it off, getting arrested for it… on the eve of SEC championship.

  5. Daniel M. says:

    Incredibly poor judgement. Boot him right off of the team Urban.

    What the he’ll is he doing getting bent during SEC Championship week?

    The ‘Bama coaches are dancing a little jig right now.

    Thankfully the rest of the unit is very healthy. Talk about adversity!

  6. I will let you all continue lambasting Dunlap – and rightly so, he deserves it. Just to gain some perspective on what it actually means to the team, the Gators are most able to handle replacing someone on the defensive line as opposed to any other position on the field, in my opinion. Justin Trattou and Jermaine Cunningham will hold the edges – luckily Terron Sanders, Lawrence Marsh and Jaye Howard will all be active and healthy in the interior. You can mix and match them while using others in a rotation when pass rushing.

  7. NE Gator Fan says:

    Adam – Great job on the site and to be honest, I couldn’t agree more. When I saw your story first – the thing that most resonated with me besides the utter disgust for obvious reasons was that Carlos was quasi replaceable. Don’t get me wrong – the kid is a beast and we all know that Mel Kiper wants to adopt him. However, given the depth of the D-line and the ability for others to step in – I see the Gators obviously losing a resource on the line – but not as much as people think. If there is an upside to this – it is the fact that Coach Meyer works the team the hardest on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I see this incident as motivating for the replacements on the D-line.
    With that said – Goodbye Carlos. There is no place for the selfishness that was your actions in College sports let alone Gator football.

  8. NE Gator Fan – Thank you for your comments. I have long held the belief that Dunlap has the talent to be a top five (if not the No. 1 overall) pick in next year’s draft. Had this been more of an “innocent” arrest (hard to even use those two words together), maybe it would not have affected him much in that area. However, he showed a complete lack of judgment and stupidity and comes out of this looking like an idiot. You cannot just go replace someone of his talents, but Florida does have the talent to cover up for his absence. As you said, the one thing that is good for the Gators is that this happened early in the week. Had this occurred on Thursday or Friday, it would have been a lot worse for the team.

  9. ReptilesRule says:

    This has to be one of the most selfish acts I have ever read about. He shouldn’t step on that plane going to Atlanta. Might have just cost himself some $$$ and Florida the SECCG. Way to think about your teammates and coaches!! I am disgusted!!!!

  10. Brittany says:

    This is very disappointing, but luckily I think the Gators can fill his spot with any of our deeply talented other players. What’s going to be worse is the media coverage, I hope the team doesn’t allow it to distract them.

  11. Ana says:

    Yep, I’m disgusted. Yep, I’m disappointed. Can you imagine how the rest of the team and coaching staff feel right now? I hope and trust that this is treated like another ‘Promise’ moment and Timmy pulls the troops together for a come to Jesus where they turn this potential disaster into a battle cry.

  12. Mr2Bits says:

    Don’t drop the soap you idiot. Nothing like getting so tanked th week of what is the biggest game of the year that you pass out at a stop light. Good Lord…I give up. This damn program is turning into the Miami of the 80’s with an average of 5+ arrests/year of Meyers tenure.

  13. O-town Gator says:

    STUPIDITY on the part of Dunlap, plain and simple – knowing that we’re preparing for a huge game that will decide whether or not we go on to Pasadena, he goes out and gets plastered anyway. Coach Meyer may have called Aaron Hernandez a “knucklehead” for tossing the ball into the stands after he scored that TD, but that term right now applies more to Dunlap.

  14. Gatorfan33 says:

    Now will Urban suspend him for the SEC Championship? Or will he wait while gathering facts? I have read (on other sites) that most people don’t think he will be punished by the team until later. With that said, it as a stupid mistake on the part of Dunlap and he deserves ALL of the negative attention as well as all of the consequences that he is about to face.

  15. If Urban does not suspend him, it will be bad news scrutiny wise.

  16. Brittany says:

    Gatorfan33-I think Meyer will suspend him from the SEC Championship, he’d receive too much heat if he let him play.

  17. stephen says:

    These kind of deistrations and subtrations to the team were the last thing we needed in the buildup for this weekend’s game!!

    I agree that Urban’s hand will probably be forced, he’ll have to sit him.

  18. Chris C. says:

    I just talked to Urban and Dunlap is going to be suspeneded for the warmups and the first two minutes of the first quarter of the SEC Championship game. In my opinion, it is a bit too harsh.

  19. Joshua J says:

    I have to believe that Coach Meyer will suspend Dunlap for at least a game. The question is will it be the SEC championship game or the bowl game. Personally, I think he should go ahead and suspended him this week and have him back for what will hopefully be the National Championship Game.

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