Notre Dame suspends two players after shoplifting arrests (Updated)

Nick Bromberg
·College football and motorsports writer
Notre Dame wide receiver Kevin Stepherson (29) leads the team with 5 touchdown catches. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Notre Dame wide receiver Kevin Stepherson (29) leads the team with 5 touchdown catches. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

UPDATE DEC. 22, 5 p.m. ET

A day before his shoplifting arrest, Notre Dame wide receiver Kevin Stepherson was pulled over for speeding. During the traffic stop, police allegedly found marijuana and charged him with pot possession in addition to citations for speeding and driving without a license.

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Notre Dame announced Wednesday that wide receiver Kevin Stepherson and running back C.J. Holmes had been suspended from the team indefinitely.

According to NBC WNDU, the two players were arrested Friday night for shoplifting from a local mall.

Stepherson was arrested for shoplifting a pair of sweatpants from Macy’s at the University Park Mall in Mishawaka. He was picked up walking out of the store wearing an allegedly stolen $59 pair of Nautica sweatpants. Holmes had a $79 North Face coat.

The case has been sent to the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, who will determine if charges will be filed.

Notre Dame is set to take on LSU in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1.

Stepherson is the team’s third-leading receiver and leads the team with nearly 19 yards per catch and five touchdown catches. The sophomore is on probation from an August 2016 arrest. He, along with four other teammates, was arrested in August 2016 and charged with marijuana possession after a traffic stop.

The WNDU report also says Stepherson missed the first four games of Notre Dame’s 2017 season because of a violation of team rules. If the two are suspended for the bowl game and don’t travel, they’ll miss out on a $400 gift card to Best Buy to spend during the team’s bowl shopping trip.

Holmes, a freshman, has eight carries for 32 yards.

If Stepherson is suspended for the bowl game, the Irish will be without two of its three leading receivers for the game. Sophomore receiver Chase Claypool, who has 29 catches for 402 yards, suffered a shoulder injury in bowl practice last week.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!