Catcher Joshua Cephus was “suspected to have DWI” when he rolled over in an accident near campus a week before he was unable to play in UTSA’s Cure Bowl game for undisclosed reasons, according to a police report.
The incident occurred at 3:25 a.m. on December 9, near UTSA’s main campus, at the intersection of Babcock Road and UTSA Boulevard.
In a report to the Texas Department of Transportation, a San Antonio Police Department officer who responded to the accident wrote that Severs was “suspected of DUI due to alcohol consumption.”
In another part of the report, the officer entered a numeric code indicating that alcohol was considered a “contributing factor” to the accident.
Cephus, 21, suffered minor injuries but refused emergency medical attention. He was taken to the Magistrates Center at 401 S. Frio St., San Antonio Municipal Courthouse, to provide a blood sample to determine his blood alcohol concentration, the report said.
Cephus was not arrested.
The Roadrunners missed Cephus in Friday’s Cure Bowl, an 18-12 loss to Troy. After the game, UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor did not say why the player was absent.
But when asked to comment on the accident report Monday night, UTSA Athletics told Express-News that Cephus had been suspended.
“We are aware of the incident involving Joshua Cephus. We will continue to gather additional information,” a spokesman for the athletic department said in a statement. “In the meantime, he has been suspended from all team activities in accordance with our department’s policy.”
UTSA athletics declined to provide any further comment or to make Cephus available for an interview, and efforts to contact Cephus directly were unsuccessful.
When they respond to a motor vehicle accident, police officers in Texas are required by law to file an “incident report” with TxDOT that lists details about the accident, including road conditions, injuries, and contributing factors. Express-News obtained a copy of the Cephus incident report.
Cephus was reportedly driving a silver 2009 Nissan Maxima with a passenger, former UTSA walker Emmanuel Odetola, who was not injured.
Cephus told SAPD officials that he was traveling south on Babcock and was attempting to turn left on a green light when he “lost control of the vehicle and started rolling over, coming to a stop at a nearby light post.”
Multiple airbags deployed during the crash and the vehicle was towed from the scene, the report said.
Three days later, UTSA’s football team departed for Orlando, Florida, to prepare for the Cure Bowl. Cephus has appeared in every game for the Roadrunners this season, catching 87 passes for 985 yards and six touchdowns.
Severs did not travel to Orlando with the team, Traylor said in his post-Cure Bowl news conference.
“We’ve got players out because of grades, we’ve got players out because of injuries, we’ve got players out because of disciplinary issues,” Traylor said. “He falls into one of those three categories.”
Cephus came to UTSA in 2019 from Spring Dekaney. He said last month that he intends to return to the Roadrunners for a final season of qualifying in 2023.
greg.luca@express-news.net
Twitter: @GregLuca
