Jonathan Taylor, formerly a defensive lineman at the Universities of Georgia and Alabama, has pleaded not guilty to domestic violence charges.
According to the Associated Press, Taylor appeared in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Tuesday. The felony assault and misdemeanor battery charges stem from an incident last year in which he allegedly choked and punched his then-girlfriend while on Georgia's football team.
"We're glad to get the process started so that the whole story and the whole picture can come out eventually, whether it be some sort of resolution where we work something out with the D.A.'s office or we end up going to trial," Kim Stephens, Taylor's attorney, told ESPN of her client's current legal proceedings. "We're anxious to see that all sides of the story come to light."
The school dismissed him last July and the six-foot-four, 335-pound defensive tackle signed to play at Alabama in Jan. in what was a controversial decision on head coach Nick Saban's part. The signing only gained more scrutiny when Taylor was arrested last week, once again on domestic violence charges.
The arrest was his third in the past year, the AP noted, and it resulted in his dismissal from the Alabama football team and expulsion from the school.
In Taylor's most recent arrest on March 28, Gina Nawab accused Taylor of hitting her and damaging her property. She since recanted her accusations, though it did not change Taylor's status at Alabama and it did not end the police's investigation into the incident.
Nawab was then arrested for filing a false police report, though law enforcement said at the time of Taylor's arrest they observed injuries to her and damage to her property consistent with her story. Taylor appeared in Tuscaloosa Municipal Court Tuesday, but did not enter a plea.
