PROVO — Shiloah Te'o, a defensive back who was dismissed from the BYU football team Tuesday, has withdrawn from school in the wake of an August arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said after Wednesday's practice that he did not learn of Te'o's arrest until late last Saturday night via text message.
After talking to Te'o on Sunday, Mendenhall looked into the situation. Once the arrest was confirmed on Tuesday night, the coach took stern measures, dismissing Te'o from the team. Te'o played in all five games this season and is one of the Cougars' top four safeties.
A month ago, Mendenhall said he had heard a rumor about some players being involved in "an altercation" the weekend of Aug. 29. Mendenhall asked Te'o if he had been involved and he was told no.
"Along the way, simply, I wasn't told the truth by one of my players. And that is probably what is most disturbing to me," Mendenhall said. "But he has been held accountable now, and from the minute I found out (Tuesday night) after practice, and it was confirmed, we acted consistently and quickly with what I have done before. ... Unfortunately, what weighed more heavily on my decision, it would be not being told the truth."
Mendenhall said no other players were involved in the incident.
In addition to the DUI charge, which is a class B misdemeanor, Te'o was also charged with failure to yield and an improper lane change. The charges were filed against Te'o on Sept. 18. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 22 in Provo in the courtroom of Judge Vernon F. Romney.
The Cougars, who visit UNLV on Saturday night, have had to do some shuffling in Te'o's absence. Sophomore Travis Uale has taken Te'o's spot as Andrew Rich's backup at kat (strong) safety. Free safety Scott Johnson is backed up by true freshman Craig Bills.
The biggest change will take place on special teams, on which Te'o played. BYU has lost four other special teams players due to injury this week — McKay Jacobson (hamstring), Tucker Lamb (concussion), Steven Thomas (concussion) and Brandon Ogletree (groin).
"That's probably where we've taken the biggest hit this week, the special teams component, having to adjust multiple players," Mendenhall said. "Five players from special teams removed. — that's probably the biggest change."
Sara Lenz contributed to this story.