LSU QB Zach Mettenberger hopes people will forget about his past

Harry · August 29, 2012

Zach Mettenberger is looking forward to the day when people begin to judge him on what he's doing instead of what he's done.

After a tumultuous — and brief — stint with Georgia and a year in junior college to repair his image, Mettenberger will take the field as LSU's starting quarterback against North Texas on Saturday.

And it will be a relief.

"Without a doubt it's a chance to start over," Mettenberger told Yahoo! Sports. "I've got to take advantage of this and win a couple ballgames so people can finally stop talking about my past and more about my present and future."

Mettenberger signed with Georgia in 2009 out of Oconee County High in Watkinsville, Ga., and was in a hotly contested starting quarterback race with Aaron Murray and Logan Gray (who ended up transferring to Colorado). But in March of 2010, Mettenberger was arrested outside of a local bar after allegedly grabbing the breasts and buttocks of a woman, and also was charged with underage consumption and possession of alcohol, possessing fake identification and disorderly conduct-obstruction. He ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery, the alcohol-related charges were dropped, and he was sentenced to two concurrent, 12-month probationary periods under the state of Georgia's first-offender act. He also was ordered to pay $2,000 in fines and 40 hours of community service.

Read more: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/zach-mettenberger-hopes-people-forget-past-focus-future-200320393--ncaaf.html