LB VanDarius Cowan dismissed from team

Well, we managed to make it past July 4 without any offseason calamity, but the streak had to come to an end.

“VanDarius has been dismissed from the team and is no longer a part of our football program due to a violation of team rules,” Coach Nick Saban said in the statement Monday morning. “Each of us has a responsibility to represent The University of Alabama in a first-class way, and failure to meet those standards can’t be tolerated. We wish VanDarius the very best in the future.”

Cowan was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault following an altercation at a bar last month. He was also kicked off of his high school team for behavioral reasons. Hopefully he will use this as fuel to get his life together.

As far as the impact to the team, Cowan was running third team in the spring behind starters Mack Wilson and Dylan Moses plus backups Joshua McMillon and Markail Benton. This shouldn’t affect much this season, but is certainly a hit to the depth going forward. Nakobe Dean, come on down, son.

Roll Tide.