With one transferring to a new school and the other coming off a major knee injury, two starters from the University of Colorado’s 2012 team made news earlier this spring. Now, they’re both the center of attention in a criminal case.

CU quarterback Jordan Webb and former CU offensive lineman Alexander Lewis made their first appearance in court Monday since they were arrested on University Hill early Saturday. Witnesses say they knocked another man unconscious when Lewis shoved his head into a brick wall and both players pushed him to the ground and punched him, according to a Boulder police report.

Webb and Lewis, both 21, were booked at the Boulder County Jail on suspicion of second-degree assault and released on $10,000 bond. Lewis also faces two counts of harassment.

But attorneys for both men said the incident did not happen as prosecutors allege.

Lewis’ attorney, Donald Brenner, said his client has a clean record and that he was wearing Nebraska Cornhuskers gear that night, which may have led to him being “accosted,” and that he only shoved the victim — identified by police as Lee Bussey, 22 — after Bussey threw a punch.

“My client didn’t do anything but shove a fellow,” Brenner said. “I don’t feel there is enough evidence to go forward and convict my client.

“He might not have handled the situation properly, but he’s a kid,” Brenner added. “It’s a really sad event for a really nice kid.”

Lewis, the starting left guard for CU, announced last week he is transferring to Nebraska, and Brenner said he was planning to enroll in summer school at Nebraska but that his enrollment is on hold because of the pending charges.

Webb’s attorney, Lou Rubino, said at the hearing that Webb’s role in the incident was “non-criminal.”

“I believe Mr. Webb will be exonerated,” Rubino said. “It’s not who he really is. He’s been a good kid in high school, at Kansas and at CU.”

According to a police report, the victim, Bussey, was walking back to an apartment with a female friend around 3 a.m. Saturday near 13th Street and College Avenue as Lewis and Webb were walking in the other direction.

According to the report, Bussey and Lewis bumped into each other, which led to a verbal argument and a shoving match. The friend then told police Lewis repeatedly shoved Bussey into a brick wall, causing his head to hit the wall several times. The friend told police Webb then came over and the two men shoved Bussey to the ground and began punching him.

The friend said Bussey told her to run, and she ran back to the apartment to get help and returned to the alley. At that point, witnesses said, they saw Lewis grab Bussey around the throat and throw him into a parking kiosk, knocking him unconscious.

The witnesses said a black SUV then arrived on the scene, and a passenger told Lewis and Webb to get into the vehicle, but it left without them when police arrived, according to the report.

Witnesses identified the SUV passenger who called out to Lewis and Webb as another CU football player, but, according to the report, police did not confirm that or interview the occupants of the SUV.

Officials on the scene said Bussey had no recollection of the incident and was bleeding from the head. His friends said Bussey — who was identified in the report as a student at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs — had been drinking that night.

He was transported to Boulder Community Hospital and received stitches.

When police contacted Lewis and Webb, Lewis said that they had been in Denver celebrating a friend’s graduation. He and Webb then took a taxi back to Boulder and were walking home when he bumped into Bussey.

Lewis told police Bussey tried to throw a punch at Lewis but missed, so he shoved him away. He said Bussey got up and did the same thing, so he again shoved him to the ground. He said at no point did Webb ever get involved in the shoving.

Lewis said he’d had six glasses of wine, 10 beers and six shots of various other alcohol that night. He did not know how much Webb had to drink.

Police noted Lewis is 6-feet 6-inches tall and weighs 250 pounds, while Bussey is 5-feet 11-inches tall and weighs 185 pounds. The police report indicated Lewis was wearing a blue and white checkered shirt and a gray button-up and made no specific mention of any Nebraska gear.

Webb, who started most of last year’s 1-11 season for the Buffs, had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee this spring and hoped to return by late September.

CU coach Mike MacIntyre said Sunday that if Webb is “found responsible for any misconduct, he will be disciplined according to team rules” and that it would be up to Nebraska to decide what discipline Lewis might face.

Both men are due in court for a filing of charges Wednesday.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Mitchell Byars at 303-473-1329 or byarsm@dailycamera.com.