Chris Beard responds to incoming freshman Arterio Morris' arrest

In June, Texas incoming freshman point guard Arterio Morris was arrested for assault. Wednesday, Chris Beard responded to the situation involving his highly touted recruit.

Morris was arrested June 2 for misdemeanor assault against his ex-girlfriend, according to The Daily Texan — Texas’ student newspaper. In a Wednesday press conference, Beard commented on the situation for the first time.

“There’s not much I can say,” Beard told reporters. “But I can say very clearly again as soon as we heard about the situation — Arterio, himself, being very transparent — we immediately turned that in to the appropriate channels. That thing is in the Title IX office’s hands at the University of Texas. They make a lot of the decisions on what day-to-day looks like that going forward.

“We just trust the process. That’s about all I can say, but as soon as new information comes out, we’ll be the first to show you guys that.”

More on Arterio Morris’ arrest

Morris was arrested on June 2 and released on bond the next day, according to the Austin American-Statesman. He wasn’t suspended, but Texas released a statement to the American-Statesman regarding the allegations.

“We were made aware of the allegations involving Arterio Morris and provided all information we had regarding this situation that occurred outside of the City of Austin to our campus Title IX office,” the statement said. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation and cooperate with the University and legal process, which remains ongoing.”

Morris is one of the highest-ranked recruits in Texas’ 2022 class, coming in as a four-star recruit and the No. 22 player in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. As a group, the Longhorns has the No. 3 group in the nation, headlined by five-star forward Dillon Mitchell.