MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Former Sharon player faces charges

The defensive back is expected to be arraigned next week on assault charges.
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DETROIT -- University of Michigan football player Marlin Jackson was charged Thursday with felonious assault for striking a man in the face with a bottle, according to Washtenaw County Court records.
Jackson, 20, allegedly struck the man after leaving a party at 827 E. University, near the U-M campus, on June 1, according to court records. Jackson, a Sharon (Pa.) High graduate , was also charged with one count of aggravated assault in connection with the incident.
He faces up to four years in prison and a $2,000 fine if convicted of the felony.
Bruce Madej, U-M assistant athletic director, said Friday he was unaware of any change in Jackson's status on the team. A defensive back, Jackson will be a junior this fall.
Coach responds
U-M coach Lloyd Carr said in a statement: "The allegations against Marlin Jackson are serious. The facts will speak to the truth of the charges and to the resolution that will be determined."
According to the police report, the victim, a 26-year-old man who did not know Jackson, told police he accidentally pushed a door into Jackson at a party at the house.
There was no confrontation then, but the victim told police that as he was walking down East University later that night, Jackson and two other men approached him. Jackson allegedly struck him near the right eye with a bottle, according to the report. The three men then fled.
The man required 17 stitches above his eyebrow to close the wound, the report says.
The victim was unable to identify Jackson by name to police, but said it was the same man he had struck with the door at the party.
But on June 8 the victim saw Jackson at Rick's American Cafe in Ann Arbor and identified him to an officer in the area as his assailant, according to the report.
Jackson first told police he did not know the victim and had not had a confrontation with him, according to the report.
But later Jackson told police he had been at the party and had a confrontation with the victim. He denied assaulting him with the bottle.
Jackson could not be reached for comment Friday.
Jackson's attorney, Chris Easthope, declined to comment on the case. He said he expected Jackson to be arraigned next week on the charges.
Standout DB
Jackson was named this week to the preseason watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented annually to the nation's outstanding defensive back.
Carr said last week Jackson would move from cornerback to safety this season to allow him to be on the field with cornerbacks Jeremy LeSueur and Markus Curry.
Jackson was selected as the preseason Big Ten defensive player of the year by reporters attending last week's conference media day. Big Ten media officials requested his attendance at the event in Chicago, but Carr said at the time that he changed his mind about letting Jackson come. He wouldn't reveal the reason why.