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Update: Via The Advocate, the video. You can see Hill approach a crowd from behind and knock a man to the ground, with an off-camera voice identifying him by name:
LSU running back Jeremy Hill won't face jail time after pleading guilty on accusations that he assaulted a man in a bar fight in April, according to ABC affiliate WBRZ's Mike Shingleton. Les Miles is now in charge of deciding whether the Tigers' leading rusher in 2012 will return to the football field.
The rising sophomore didn't have much of a case for his innocence: there was cell phone video of he and an associate punching a man twice, knocking him unconscious, and high-fiving. Although he initially claimed the video was not of him, he relented, hoping for leniency on the charge of simple battery by entering a guilty plea.
He got it. As Mike Shingleton reports, Hill was given a series of stipulations -- a fine to pay medical bills, probation, community service, a vow to stay off social media, a curfew, and anger management classes -- but no prison sentence, provided he upholds the deal. (As one would expect, the judge knows LSU football, comparing Hill to former LSU back Cecil Collins as a word of warning.) Hill was already on probation for a January 2012 misdemeanor for "carnal knowledge of a minor."
Miles had said he was waiting on the justice system to figure out his plans for Hill. With Hill not sentenced to prison, he wouldn't miss playing time if Miles decides to allow him back.
Hill had 755 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns to lead the Tigers last year, and with Spencer Ware and Michael Ford gone to the NFL, their committee has fewer members than it did last year. LSU's tended to do better keeping the ball on the ground than putting it in the air, and Hill should be a key factor in their offense if on the team. With that in mind and less legal trouble than expected, it wouldn't be surprising to see Miles allow Hill back.
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