Mike Sanford says the decision to dismiss Tanner Reeves came down to upholding the Western Kentucky program’s standards.

Reeves’ dismissal from the Hilltopper football team came Monday, one day after his arrest early Sunday on charges of careless driving, operating on a suspended driver’s license and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol with aggravated circumstances.

The Sunday DUI arrest marked Reeves’ second in less than a year. The defensive end was also arrested on that charge in December.

Sanford, WKU’s first-year coach, addressed Reeves’ dismissal for the first time Wednesday.

“At the end of the day, our rules are our rules,” Sanford said. “If you violate those rules, and you put yourself in jeopardy safety wise, but more importantly you put others in this community in jeopardy, there’s going to be no tolerance for that, especially when it’s not the first time it’s happened.

“It’s the first time it’s happened since this coaching staff and myself have been here, but when there’s a history there, we’ve got to uphold the standards of this program.”

Sanford acknowledged that the call to dismiss Reeves “was not an easy decision.”

The redshirt senior was set to start along the WKU defensive line this season and had been a solid contributor throughout his Topper career.

The Lakeland, Fla., native played in 14 games last season and started five, contributing 17 tackles (six solo) to go along with two tackles for loss and a pair of quarterback hurries.

“He’s a really good football player,” Sanford said. “He’s a starter. So it’s not like we’re just making an example of someone that’s a lesser player.”

Reeves played 24 combined games in 2014 and ’15, totaling 37 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss between his redshirt freshman and redshirt sophomore years.

Reeves tallied one sack in a 2015 win against Rice after totaling four sacks – second most among all WKU players – in ’14.

Reeves was known as a popular player in the WKU locker room, and Sanford said his teammates “all hurt for him” after hearing the news.

“But they also know the standard we want to implement and have be our norm here at WKU in our football program is something that can’t be bent, can’t be broken,” Sanford said. “It’s got to be time-tested and that’s the way we’ve got to go about our business – particularly when it is a repeat offense.”

Reeves is the second projected defensive starter the Hilltoppers have lost during fall camp.

Cornerback De’Andre Simmons, another redshirt senior, was lost for the season earlier this month after sustaining a knee injury in a noncontact drill.

Reeves’ dismissal has opened competition for a starting spot along the defensive line opposite returning starter Derik Overstreet.

Both Sanford and defensive coordinator Clayton White mentioned junior college transfer Carson Jordan as a candidate to fill that role. The junior Jordan totaled 46 tackles and two sacks last year for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Other players mentioned by Sanford and White included Nick Coffey, De’Von Quincy, Anthony Robinson, Heath Wiggins and freshman DeAngelo Malone.

“You see (Malone) and just his speed, it’s something else,” Sanford said. “It’s a different dimension than those other guys I mentioned. But he does bring a different type of edge presence as a defensive end on this defense.”

Sanford also raised the possibility of bumping defensive tackle Chris Johnson out to D-end, with Julien Lewis, Jalen Madden and Evan Sayner all options on the interior of the line.

“We’re really competitive right now,” Sanford said. “We’re blessed with a good defensive line unit.”{&end}