Nkemdiche says he was drunk during Atlanta incident

OXFORD - Former Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche told reporters at the NFL combine in Indianapolis that he was drunk but said he was not under the influence of marijuana when he fell approximately 15 feet at an Atlanta-area hotel in December.

There remains a question of how much that incident will cause the highly regarded player to drop in April’s NFL draft. He was charged with possession of marijuana afterward, according to an Atlanta Police Department report, and police found marijuana in his hotel room.

Nkemdiche has had an opportunity to interview with NFL teams throughout the combine.

“I told (NFL teams) the truth: It was a rash decision by me,” Nkemdiche told reporters Friday afternoon. “Uncharacteristic. That’s not who I am. That’s not what I stand for, that’s not what my family stands for. It was embarrassing for me and my whole family and the Ole Miss family. I told them that’s not the kind of player they’re getting. They’re getting a straightforward player.

“They believed me because it’s the truth and it’s what I’m going to keep moving forward with. I’m going to stick to my story and that’s what it is and keep moving forward and keep being in this moment and getting ready to show out on Sundays.

“I have changed. I’ve lasered my focus more to what’s important and kept away from things that could take football away from me and jeopardize my football career. I love the game so much. I know if I’m in situations like that it can be taken away from me.

“I just got to wait and see (if the incident causes me to drop). I’m doing everything I can do to make teams believe in me and the person I truly am. I made a mistake as a 21-year-old, and I just got to keep moving forward and hopefully they believe in me, that I’m going to do what I have to do on Sundays to make them see my athleticism and hopefully I can go as high as possible.”

When asked whether he was under the influence of marijuana that night, Nkemdiche twice said, “No, sir.”

Nkemdiche added former teammate Laremy Tunsil, widely projected to go first overall in the draft, was with him that night but didn’t accompany him to the hospital and that the charge, a misdemeanor, is still pending although he’s paid some fines.

Nkemdiche’s case has been bound to Fulton County State Court, meaning it’s up to the Solicitor General’s office to choose whether to prosecute Nkemdiche, according to court support manager Jacqueline Davis. He had been scheduled to appear in Atlanta Municipal Court on Feb. 8.

Nkemdiche also said the charge of possession of marijuana fell onto him because the hotel room was registered in his name and no one else wanted to take responsibility for it.

The APD found seven rolled marijuana cigarettes in the hotel room after responding to a call about an injured person, which was Nkemdiche, according to an APD report.

Nkemdiche was suspended for the Sugar Bowl, which the Rebels won 48-20 on Jan. 1 against Oklahoma State, and declared early for the draft as a junior. He’s still projected to be a first-round pick along with Tunsil and wide receiver Laquon Treadwell.

Nkemdiche finished his Ole Miss career with 98 tackles (19 for loss) and seven sacks, leading ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., among others, to question the 6-foot-4, 296-pound defensive lineman because of what Kiper called a lack of production.

Nkemdiche admitted Friday that he was sometimes lazy and didn’t finish plays at Ole Miss.

“But I told (NFL teams) I’m going to keep growing as a player,” Nkemdiche told reporters, “and I’m going to keep learning how to finish and keep becoming more of a student of the game and just focus on being the best NFL player I could be.”

A reporter then asked why Nkemdiche would perform differently once he started earning money as an NFL player than he did in college.

“Because I know what’s at stake and I know what I have to do as a player to be great in the NFL,” Nkemdiche told reporters. “I’m just going to keep focusing on things that I need to focus on as a player that I didn’t focus on so much in college that I know I need to get better at.”

Contact Daniel Paulling at dpaulling@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @DanielPaulling on Twitter.