CFB notebook: Maine freshman DB collapses, dies during workout

Freshman defensive back Darius Minor of the University of Maine collapsed and died on Tuesday during a preseason workout on campus in Orono, Maine. The cause of death was not immediately known. The 18-year-old Minor, a political science major from Locust Grove, Va., was in the third week of Maine's Freshman Workout. Training staff and first responders were unable to resuscitate him. "Words cannot express the grief we have following this tragic loss," Maine head football coach Joe Harasymiak said in a press release. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Darius' family and friends during this terrible time." Minor was one of 17 first-year student-athletes participating in the supervised light workout in T-shirts and shorts on a humid day with temperatures in the low 80s, school officials said. Interest in Minor picked up in the summer before his senior season when he ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at a Rivals camp in North Carolina, and he also was offered scholarships by Virginia Tech and James Madison University. Minor was a first-team All-Central Virginia selection as wide receiver and a second-team choice as a defensive back in his senior year at Orange County High School. He also was his football team's kicker and leading scorer on the school's soccer team. --Florida freshman defensive back Justin Watkins is facing four charges, including two felonies, after his second arrest in the last three months and has been suspended by the Gators. Alachua County (Fla.) inmate records report that Watkins was booked Tuesday on third-degree felony charges of kidnapping/false imprisonment and domestic battery by strangulation. Watkins also was charged with two first-degree misdemeanor battery counts. "Justin Watkins has been suspended immediately from team activities," coach Dan Mullen said in a statement through a team spokesman. No bail has been set. Watkins, a four-star prospect from East Ridge High School in Clermont, Fla., was arrested in May for allegedly kicking a woman's car and breaking her cellphone during an argument. Listed as an athlete on Florida's online roster, played wide receiver and cornerback in high school but was expected to compete for time in Florida's secondary this fall. He was the No. 28 overall player in the ESPN 300. --Defensive tackle Travon Walker committed to Georgia, adding his name to already impressive Class of 2019 recruits for the Bulldogs. The 6-5, 263-pound Walker, rated the No. 51 prospect in the country by ESPN, chose selected Georgia over Clemson, Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina. Walker, of Upson-Lee High School in Thomaston, Ga., is the ninth commitment for Georgia from the top 150 of the ESPN 300, but only the fourth highest. Defensive end Nolan Smith, ranked No. 2 overall, and wide receivers Dominick Blaylock and Jadon Haselwood rank ahead of Walker among the Bulldogs' recruits. Walker is the first defensive lineman to sign with Georgia this year, but Devonte Wyatt, a junior college transfer, four-star recruit Jordan Davis and three-star prospect Tramel Walthour are in the Bulldogs' Class of 2018.