Ole Miss’ Robert Nkemdiche claims he took fall for hotel incident

INDIANAPOLIS — Ole Miss defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche is one of the more polarizing players at this year’s NFL combine. On Friday, he addressed his marijuana charges from a December incident in which he fell out of a fourth-floor window.

The talented but troubled prospect answered some questions about it. But in doing so, he also raised a few more questions about the incident, indicating that Ole Miss teammate and potential No. 1 pick Laremy Tunsil was also at the hotel that night. 

Nkemdiche said he was embarrassed by his behavior that night, which led to him being charged with possession of marijuana when police found “approximately 7 rolled marijuana cigarettes” in an Atlanta hotel room that was under Nkemdiche’s name.

“I told the truth,” Nkemdiche said when asked what he said to NFL teams about the incident. “It was a rash decision by me. Uncharacteristic and that’s not who I am. That’s not what I stand for. That’s not what my family stands for.”

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The former elite high-school recruit should be up on stage talking about being one of the top picks in the draft. Despite flashing occasionally, he never quite fulfilled his potential in three good but not great years in college. His production didn’t always match his talent. So he’s facing questions about his unmet expectations and, of course, the incident that raised major NFL red flags.

“It was embarrassing for me and my whole family and the whole Ole Miss family and I told them that’s not the kind of player they’re getting,” he said. “They’re getting a straightforward player. I’m never going to return to that just moving forward and embracing this moment.”

But Nkemdiche said a few interesting things when asked about it further.

When asked if there were any other teammates in the hotel room with him that night, he said: “Uh … yeah, Laremy was there.”

That would be Tunsil, the left tackle who is believed to be under strong consideration to be the first overall pick in the NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans. The story of Tunsil potentially being in the room that night had not been previously reported, but NFL officials have asked Tunsil and Nkemdiche about the night in question. Nkemdiche also indicated that Tunsil did not go to the hospital with him after he sustained injuries.

Tunsil praised Nkemdiche’s character.when interviewed by the media on Thursday.

“A lot of people don’t know about Rob, man,” Tunsil said. “He’s a great guy, a humble guy. He had a little few off-the-field incidents, but you know … you have little hiccups.”

Nkemdiche also blamed the hiccup on the media initially for blowing up the hotel room incident out of proportion.

“The media, you know … not tarnished my name, but [I need to] make them understand who I am as a person,” he said. “Just got to keep moving forward. Just got to keep working hard.”

Nkemdiche then said it was “all my mistake.”

But another questionable moment during Nkemdiche’s media session was when he said he was forced to take the fall for others.

“There were more people in my room,” Nkemdiche said. “The hotel was in my name. Nobody wanted to take the fall. It was under my name so it played out like that.”

And was he under the influence that night?

“Yes, I was drinking,” he said. “I was drunk.”

Any marijuana that night?

“No sir,” he said, repeating for emphasis, “no sir.”

The media’s response might not be as important as that of NFL teams — after all, they’re the ones doing the drafting — and Nkemdiche feels confident he has started to convince teams (he currently has met with only one officially at the combine so far, the Washington Redskins, with more to follow) that his role in the incident was not as big a deal as it was made to be.

“They believed me,” he said. “It’s the truth, and it’s what I’m going to keep moving forward and I’m going to stick to my story and that’s what it is. I’m going to keep moving forward and keep being in this moment and getting ready to show out on Sunday.”

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm