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Cocaine charges against Georgia Southern QB Shai Werts dropped ahead of LSU game
Shai Werts, Georgia Southern's starting quarterback who attracted national headlines after he was arrested and charged with speeding and misdemeanor possession of cocaine during a traffic stop in South Carolina last week, no longer faces drug charges, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Al Eargle, a Saluda County prosecutor, told the Morning News that the drug charge wouldn't be pressed on "his watch" and that a white substance found on the hood of Werts' car wasn't a controlled substance after further testing.
During the arrest last Wednesday, Werts told deputies a white substance on his hood was bird poop. Field tests of the substance by deputies returned positive for cocaine, according to The George-Anne, Georgia Southern's student newspaper.
Werts' speeding offense will still apply, the report says. His Dodge Charger was clocked going 80 mph on a South Carolina highway that night.
He was suspended a few days after his arrest but has since returned to the team.
Werts is the Eagles' expected starting quarterback heading into the season. He was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team in 2018, when he started in all 13 games for Georgia Southern, which went 10-3 with a 23-21 win over Eastern Michigan in the Camellia Bowl.
Werts rushed for 908 yards and 15 touchdowns in Georgia Southern's option offense, and he passed for 987 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions.
LSU opens its 2019 season at home against Georgia Southern on Aug. 31.
