Gifted athletic East Tenn. brothers charged in fatal Alcoa stabbing

Two East Tennessee brothers whose football prowess made headlines and sent one to Indiana University have been charged in connection with a fatal stabbing in Alcoa.

Camion D. Patrick, 22, of Knoxville, and Isaiah S. Wright, 20, of Harriman, are each charged with one count of criminal homicide in the July 25 death of 18-year-old Caleb Thomas Radford, of Maryville, the Alcoa Police Department said Thursday.

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Patrick, a student at Indiana University, was taken into custody by campus police Wednesday morning. He remained in custody in Bloomington, Indiana, pending his extradition to Blount County.

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An Indiana University spokesman confirmed Thursday morning Patrick has been suspended.

Wright was arrested Wednesday in Harriman and initially was held at the Roane County Jail. On Thursday, he was transferred to the Blount County Jail, records show.

When he played for Lenoir City High School, Patrick was so impressive coach Mike Zeller announced the wide receiver was destined for the NFL. He also played for Clinton High School and transferred in his senior year to West High School, but was not deemed eligible to play.

Patrick once was a commit of the University of Tennessee, but his path led him to a juco route before landing at Indiana University. Before Patrick played a down, the Hoosier coach deemed him to be the "best player on the football team."

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Alcoa police have not released details regarding the motive or relationships between Radford and the four men charged in his death. Radford was found about 10:42 p.m. on Topside Road at Buck Drive. He had been stabbed multiple times.

On Aug. 3, the Alcoa Police Department announced two men were charged with criminal homicide in connection with the slaying. Police Chief David Carswell said Keshawn Lonnell Hopewell, 21, of Alcoa, and Itiq Tivone Green, 28, of Louisville were being held on $1 million bond each.

Carswell then said, "The men responsible for Radford's death are now in custody." There was no mention of others sought in Radford's death.

Wright, whose name appears in sports stories as Isaiah Patrick-Wright, Isaiah Patrick and Isaiah Wright, played high school football in Florence, Mississippi. He was a running back whose natural talents turned heads and earned him a scholarship offer from Auburn.

Both Wright and Patrick, however, enrolled at East Mississippi Community College, the location of the Netflix docu-series "Last Chance U."

Patrick redshirted in 2013 at EMCC. In 2014, he helped the community college win a national championship before enrolling at IU in 2015. Academics, however, kept Patrick in 2015 on the football scout team where his speed, quickness and strength intrigued coaches.

But as Patrick prepared for the 2016 season, he suffered a torn ACL and then a severe shoulder injury. He appeared in 10 games, but didn't reach the level of play coaches anticipated because of the nagging injuries.

Patrick was moved to running back for the 2017 season, but injuries continued to plague him in his senior year. In July, the coach granted Patrick a medical hardship, ending his collegiate career. The coach said Patrick's body couldn't take the pounding endured by a running back.

Patrick, however, was expected to graduate from IU and the coach committed to helping Patrick reach that goal.

Wright's gridiron athleticism and increasing friction with the EMCC coach were well-documented on the Netflix series in 2016. As the relationship between coach and player soured, attention from Division 1 coaches scouring the school for athletes to fill specific team needs seemed to diminish.

At one point, Wright was listed as the second best running back in the junior college ranks.

Wright enrolled and went through spring training at West Georgia University, but left the school before the 2017 season began.

Wright fell off the college football radar, but remained a topic of speculation of where he would surface. On Wednesday, Wright landed among the ranks of inmates at the Roane County Jail.