The trial for two of the four former Vanderbilt University football players accused of rape has begun in Nashville, Tenn.

Brandon Vandenburg, 21, and Corey Batey, 20, are both accused of sexually assaulting a female Vanderbilt student while she was unconscious about a year ago. Brandon Banks, 20 and Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, 20, were also arrested on similar charges and are expected to testify against the other two.

According to the Associated Press, Vandenburg and Batey's trial went underway Tuesday with opening statements. The prosecutor in the case reportedly described the disturbing allegations against the defendants, which included the woman being assaulted with a water bottle at one point.

The four former football players were charged with aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery, while Vandenburg had an additional charge of unlawful photography for recording the incident. He was also charged with destroying evidence for deleting the video.

The prosecution will no doubt rely heavily on the testimony of Banks and McKenzie and of another teammate with knowledge of what happened that night. Chris Boyd, another former Vanderbilt football player, pled guilty to being an accessory after the fact in exchange for probation and his testimony. Boyd allegedly met with the four players the next day and helped them get rid of evidence.

"And after hearing all the proof you will be convinced they are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," Deputy District Attorney General Tom Thurman told jurors.

The defense cannot use impaired judgment from heavy consumption of alcohol in a case of aggravated rape, but they can say it played a role, the AP reported. They are expected to argue their clients' innocence by exposing the inconsistencies in the testimonies against them. At the time, none of the four young men were of the legal drinking age and were so intoxicated their memory of what happened is bound to be hazy.

"I think the proof will be very clear at the end of the trial that alcohol played a role in what happened in that dorm room," Worrick Robinson, an attorney representing Batey, told jurors.

Over the past year from the incident to the trial, the federal government has been cracking down on sexual harassment and rape on campus. The U.S. Education Department has nearly 100 schools under a federal Title IX compliance review while also closing multiple long-term probes.

What's more is domestic violence and sexual assault has come into the national spotlight due to several high-profile cases in pro sports, the entertainment industry and elsewhere.