ATHENS, Ga. - Jonathan Taylor wants to put his troubled past behind him and earn a third chance to play major college football.
The former Alabama and Georgia defensive tackle has been arrested three times since March 14 - twice on domestic abuse charges, though the accuser in Taylor's latest incident recanted her allegations and the other case is still pending resolution.
Taylor, 21, entered a not guilty plea during an arraignment Tuesday in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on felony assault and misdemeanor battery charges. Police said he choked and hit his girlfriend with a closed fist in a Georgia dorm room last summer.
Judge Patrick Haggard told Taylor and attorney Kim Stephens a status conference is scheduled June 30 with district attorney Ken Mauldin.
All of this has left the 6-foot-4, 335-pound Taylor without a football home.
He was kicked off Georgia's football team last July. After signing with Alabama in January, Taylor was dismissed by the Crimson Tide following his arrest 10 days ago in Tuscaloosa, after which the woman who brought the charges said she made the whole thing up.
Stephens said his client has been in touch with a few college programs in hopes of getting an opportunity to continue his football career, but would not disclose the schools' names.
"I'm not involved in the football side of things, but he's anxious to get back in school, continue his education and obviously, like so many kids, has aspirations to play professionally," Stephens said. "But whether that will happen or not is a different question. I'm sure it will depend on several things, including the outcome of this case as well as his talent level."
The woman who recanted charges - identified in court documents as 24-year-old Gina Marie Nawab - was charged with false reporting to law enforcement, telling police that the bruises on her neck were self-inflicted and damage to a door in her apartment was already there.
Nawab told Tuscaloosa police she lied after getting upset because Taylor might have cheated on her.