Charges won’t be filed against Alabama players

If most news during the college football offseason tends to be bad, Alabama bucked the trend Monday.

KNOE television in Monroe, La., reported charges will not be filed against Crimson Tide football players Cam Robinson and Hootie Jones, citing lack of evidence.

DA declines to prosecute Bama players Cam Robinson & Hootie Jones due to insufficient evidence @KNOE8 @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/v6cJvisjda

— Nick Picht (@N_Picht) June 20, 2016

Robinson and Jones were arrested in May and charged with possession of marijuana and illegally carrying a firearm.

Robinson, an offensive lineman and one of the stars of Alabama’s run to the national championship last season, was also facing a felony charge of possession of a stolen firearm.

AL.com confirmed the charges had been dropped -- with a caveat:

The district attorney did not find sufficient evidence to prosecute, according to the county clerk’s office. The charges were not dropped completely, however. The clerk’s office said the case could proceed in the future if new evidence is presented. But for now, no future court dates are scheduled.

The KNOE report also contained a statement from District Attorney Jerry Jones that might raise some eyebrows.

Jones says, “I want to emphasize once again that the main reason I’m doing this is that I refuse to ruin the lives of two young men who have spent their adolescence and teenage years, working and sweating, while we were all in the air conditioning.”

Robinson was an All-SEC selection last season. His fellow Monroe native Jones, a defensive back, has played 16 games in two seasons and been credited with four tackles.