Former University of Iowa football players James Cleveland and Arvell Nelson have rescheduled trial dates this summer on drug charges, according to online court records.
Cleveland, 20, will go on trial Aug. 25 with a pretrial conference scheduled for Aug. 13. Cleveland faces two counts of unlawful possession of prescription drugs stemming from a Feb. 23 arrest. He faces up to two years in jail.
Nelson, a Cleveland native, is charged with marijuana possession, a serious misdemeanor. His trial is scheduled for July 28 with a pretrial conference set for July 16. Nelson, 19, faces up to one year in jail.
Both players were dismissed from the team March 6. They were roommates in Hillcrest Hall room N101.
Cleveland, who is from Baytown, Texas, also was arrested for failure to affix a drug tax stamp, a Class D felony, but Johnson County officials did not file the charge. His original trial date was scheduled for July 14.
According to police reports, officers found 21 units of oxycodone and 24 doses of carisoprodol in Cleveland's desk around 3 a.m. Feb. 23. Cleveland admitted the pills were his, according to police reports. Oxycodone generally is prescribed for pain relief, and carisoprodol is a muscle relaxer.
According to a police complaint, University of Iowa public safety officers found marijuana in plain view on top of Nelson's desk in his Hillcrest dorm room at 2:41 a.m. Feb. 23. Nelson admitted the marijuana was his, according to the police complaint. His original trial date was June 16.
Cleveland, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound red-shirt freshman wide receiver, started 11 of 12 games last year, catching 36 passes for 464 yards. He was named to the all-Big Ten freshman team.
Nelson, a 6-4 backup quarterback, was expected to challenge for the starting quarterback position before the arrest.