Missouri Football Hit With Legal Trouble as 3 Freshmen Arrested on Harassment Charges
from Essentially College Football
Missouri football has another mess on its hands. Just five months after JJ Bush was arrested on a Class D felony charge of aggravated fleeing from a stop or detention, three more Tigers players have now been arrested, this time on first-degree harassment charges.
According to Boone County records, cornerbacks Ahmod Billins and Trashundon Neal, along with wide receiver Karsten Fiene, all freshmen, were processed by Columbia Police at around 1 p.m. Monday and booked on Class E felony charges.
All three have since been released on bond. The Columbia Daily Tribune reported that Missouri is aware of the arrests, with head coach Eli Drinkwitz addressing the situation during Tuesday’s press conference.
“I’m aware of the situation involving our three freshmen,” he mentioned. “I’m going to allow the legal process to play out. I’m not going to rush to judgment. I’m going to let the fact-finding play out before I make any decisions.
“We have protocols in place regarding how this plays out from, you know, those guys being away from the team until the facts come out. So, again, we’re aware of it. We’ll move forward.”
Both Trashundon Neal and Karsten Fiene hail from the Kansas City area and joined Missouri’s recruiting class in February. During their freshman campaigns, neither has made much of an impact on the field, with both primarily seeing limited action on special teams.
Ahmod Billins, a three-star recruit out of Abbeville, Alabama, has also seen limited playing time.
However, for Drinkwitz, none of this is new
This is not the first time the coach has had to wait on the legal system before deciding a player’s future.
Just five months ago, freshman linebacker JJ Bush was arrested on a Class D felony charge of aggravated fleeing from a stop or detention involving a motor vehicle, along with a Class B misdemeanor for careless and imprudent driving.
According to the Tribune, Bush was allegedly traveling west on East Broadway at around 10 p.m. at “approximately 80 mph,” despite the posted speed limit being 40 mph, with a passenger in the car.
“We are disappointed in JJ’s actions,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a statement provided to the Tribune months ago. “He is indefinitely suspended from the team as the legal process plays out.”
Following his arrest, Bush was immediately suspended from team activities. After the charges were dropped, he returned to Missouri’s practice on August 4, 2026, indicating that his suspension had ended.
All that said, JJ Bush was hardly the first Missouri player to land in legal trouble.
Back in October 2012, Dorial Green-Beckham, Levi Copelin, and freshman linebacker Torey Boozer were arrested on marijuana possession charges after police found them near Memorial Stadium.
“The officer noticed the individuals sitting in a car and went up and made contact,” MU Police Department spokesman Brian Weimer told The Maneater back then. “The officer observed the odor of marijuana. Through the investigation, the officer made the arrest of three individuals.”
The Maneater reported that the three were taken into custody shortly before midnight for allegedly possessing 35 grams or less of marijuana. According to MU police, they were found inside an SUV parked in a lot directly south of the stadium.
All three were suspended for one game before returning to action.
So, Missouri has been here before, but the circumstances have not always been the same. Billins, Neal, and Fiene are now away from the team while the legal process unfolds, leaving Drinkwitz with another disciplinary decision looming. This time, the scrutiny will not just be on what happened, but on how Missouri responds once the facts are established.
Drinkwitz has more important things to look at
These arrests come at a time when Missouri freshman offensive tackle Johnnie Jones is hospitalized and requires a heart transplant. Drinkwitz addressed it on Tuesday. But here’s what happened.
What initially appeared during Missouri’s freshman testing this summer soon became a bigger concern for Jones. The school’s staff detected a problem with his heart and spent the next couple of weeks monitoring him. They were hoping to find a resolution.
When that did not happen, Missouri turned to specialists, sending Jones to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, for additional testing. The evaluation there revealed that Jones was dealing with a more serious issue.
That’s a tough blow for a young football player who was once deemed a top prospect. But the school is supporting him.
“I want to give a shoutout to Johnnie Jones,” Drinkwitz said on Tuesday. “DJ, we love you, man. We’re praying for you. We’ll see you.”
So, Missouri has a lot of things to look at currently.