Missouri Tigers DT Terry Beckner, Jr. Arrested for Marijuana Possession

Feb 4, 2015; East St. Louis, MO, USA; Terry Beckner Jr. announces his decision to sign with the University of Missouri during a press conference for National Signing day at East St. Louis High School. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2015; East St. Louis, MO, USA; Terry Beckner Jr. announces his decision to sign with the University of Missouri during a press conference for National Signing day at East St. Louis High School. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports /
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Defensive tackle Terry Beckner, Jr. is taking steps down the path that troubled another Missouri Tigers top recruit, Dorial Green-Beckham.

As KOMU’s Mark Kim first reported on Thursday morning, Missouri Tigers defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. was arrested on Wednesday evening and charged with possession of 35 grams or less of marijuana. The arrest reportedly happened after a traffic stop at 9:48 PM at 404 Kentucky Blvd. in Columbia. Beckner Jr., a product of East St. Louis high school, was ranked as the second-best recruit in the entire country when he chose Mizzou last spring.

Beckner Jr. had a fantastic freshman season, earning SEC All-Freshman honors and appointments to Freshman All-American teams from the FWAA, ESPN, USA TODAY, and other sites. In 10 games, he had 27 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, and two QB hits. Unfortunately, he suffered a rather brutal knee injury, tearing his ACL and MCL while also injuring his meniscus and sustaining a bone bruise. His status was already up in the air for the 2016 season, so it should be interesting to see what type of effect, if any, this injury has on his comeback.

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At this point, head coach Barry Odom must become proactive and ensure that Beckner doesn’t head down the same path that caused wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, also the top recruit in the nation when he arrived at Mizzou, to be kicked off the team after two seasons.

Green-Beckham’s troubles began the same way, as he and two teammates were arrested in a campus parking lot for the same charge–possession of 35 grams or less of marijuana–on October 3, 2012. Of course, “DGB”‘s problems didn’t stop there; he was arrested on January 10 of the next year, and faced felony drug distribution charges, though two friends later accepted blame and got Green-Beckham off the hook. Green-Beckham was dismissed from Mizzou’s program in the spring of 2014 as he was investigated for his role in a domestic violence incident.

Update, 12:34 PM: Via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Dave Matter, Beckner Jr. has been suspended indefinitely and will face disciplinary action from the team.