By Rupert Howell

Batesville Police arrested and charged former South Panola football great Darius “Tig” Barksdale with DUI Thursday morning according to the arrest log at the Panola County Jail.

The jail log read that Darius Raymond Barksdale was released a couple of hours after his 6:50 a.m. log-in on an appearance bond.

An incident report obtained from the Batesville Police Department indicated that a missing car, reported to be stolen, was later returned to the owner’s residence. The report did not indicate that the car was being driven recklessly.

The investigating officer smelled alcohol and asked Barksdale, who was driving, if he would blow into a portable intoxilizer that registered positive for alcohol, according to the report which also stated that the intoxilizer at the Batesville Police Department registered Barksdale blood alcohol content at .114. The limit for driving is under .08.

Barksdale was charged with DUI first and no driver’s license.

The Clarion Ledger last week reported that Ole Miss was awaiting word on the eligibility of defensive back Barksdale and offensive tackle Bobby Massie who finished classes at the Education Center in Jackson last Friday.

Ole Miss Rebel head coach Houston Nutt released a statement Friday about the situation with Barksdale.

“We are currently gathering information on Tig Barksdale’s situation,” Nutt said. “While we are disappointed with this news, this is why we are in coaching. We will try to help this young man’s life with structure, discipline, support and love. He needs to be in a structured environment, and we will deal with this situation in an appropriate manner.”

Barksdale did not report to Ole Miss Saturday with the rest of the Rebel freshman class.

“First of all, he has to get cleared by the NCAA clearinghouse, get accepted into Ole Miss, and we’ll take it from there,” Nutt said.

As of Monday afternoon, Barksdale was admitted to Ole Miss and reported to the team.