University of West Florida running back and former Pace standout Anthony Johnson Jr. will travel with the team and is eligible to play in Saturday’s regular season opener against Missouri S&T while facing a felony charge of lewd and lascivious conduct.

The charges stem from an incident in March when Johnson, who turned 18 years old in January, allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old female. In Florida, the age of consent is 18.

Johnson was arrested in May after signing with UWF in February.

“University officials are aware of the situation, and we’re monitoring the litigation as it proceeds,” UWF athletic director Dave Scott said. “We’re not going to comment any further because it’s a privacy issue for the student-athlete.”

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Johnson was a three-year starter at Pace, rushing for 4,869 yards and 57 touchdowns in his high school career.

Johnson was named Class 6A second team All-State in 2016 after rushing for 1,953 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior and is Pace’s all-time rushing leader.

Johnson has been practicing with the team this offseason and has rapidly risen on the Argos’ depth chart.

“We’re going innocent until proven guilty,” UWF head football coach Pete Shinnick said in early August. “He obviously has to comply with some things for the university and the athletic department. We are letting the process play out. “

On Thursday, Shinnick confirmed that Johnson was one of four freshmen travelling with the team to play Missouri S&T, though he wouldn’t say how much Johnson will play.

“We’re really going to play (the snap count) by ear,” Shinnick said. “He’s had two pretty productive scrimmages for us and he’s been very durable so far.

“We’re going to play that by ear and see exactly how he does and make sure he’s enjoying the moment while also not getting too excited for the moment.”

On Tuesday, Johnson made a scheduled court appearance and agreed to modified bond conditions that included the removal of a GPS monitor, according to Santa Rosa County court records.

Johnson is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 10 for a felony docket day. Gregory Whibbs – a former all-conference football player at Troy – is listed as Johnson’s attorney according to court records.

The UWF student-athlete handbook and UWF student code of conduct do not provide explicit guidelines regarding students in Johnson’s situation.

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Article III.2 of the student code of conduct does provide UWF the authority to bring or delay charges based on the results of off-campus proceedings.

The article states: “…the University may, but is not required to, delay its proceedings pending the outcome of the off-campus proceeding. The University reserves the right to amend its charge(s) based on information obtained through an outside proceeding where that information is relevant to activity adversely affecting the UWF community.”

The school is entering its second season of NCAA Division II collegiate football and plays its home games downtown at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Johnson’s legal issues come one season after UWF’s saga with former West Florida High standout Lawrence Lee.

Lee, a wide receiver, joined the UWF football program in 2016 after his dismissal from the University of Missouri following a 2014 arrest on second-degree burglary and felony stealing charges.

He was dismissed from the UWF football team before ever playing a down after he was arrested on the morning of Oct. 1, 2016, and charged with marijuana possession and intent to sell.

Lee was expected to make his debut that night in the Argos’ game against Florida Tech at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Contributing: Bill Vilona and Tony Adame