Vandy player suspended after arrest

Published Nov. 16, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Vanderbilt has suspended safety Andre Simmons indefinitely after the sophomore was charged with two felonies after allegedly trying to rob a fellow student in his dorm room.

Simmons was being held on $100,000 bond after being charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary.

Zachary Abelman of Rockville, Md., says in an arrest affidavit that he was in his room at Lupton Hall when two men came to his door Tuesday wanting money from his safe. He says he gave them approximately $5,000 before a fight started where he was hit in the head with a handgun. One man fled, while Abelman says the other stayed to keep him in the room before leaving.

Abelman chased down the second man to a nearby garage with other people joining him, and someone called police. Campus police arrested Simmons at the garage.

Simmons of Lorton, Va., had played in one game this season on special teams for the Commodores (5-5, 2-5 Southeastern Conference). Vanderbilt visits Tennessee on Saturday.

"While this is an on-going investigation, it is our understanding that a member of our football team may have been involved in behavior that is unacceptable,'' said David Williams, Vanderbilt's vice chancellor of student athletics. ''Therefore, we have suspended Andre Simmons until the completion and determination of the investigation.