FAYETTEVILLE — Former Arkansas tight end Jeremy Sprinkle isn't shying away from questions about the shoplifting incident that caused him to miss his final game with the Razorbacks.
In a Q&A podcast with the Senior Bowl, Sprinkle was asked about the incident at a Belk department store in Charlotte, N.C., where he was cited for attempting to shoplift eight items valued at $260.
The team was on a shopping spree as part of pregame festivities for the Belk Bowl. Players had 90 minutes to spend a $450 gift card to the store, and were also given a 20 percent manager's discount, according to bowl officials.
"What happened was I had some stuff in my bag that I checked out, so I was just walking around the store, you know, made the mistake of trying to be too greedy and (put) extra stuff in my bag, and just got caught up with it," Sprinkle said. "You know, I'm just trying to take this opportunity to learn from it, become a better man from it and just look forward.
"I had a lot of people disappointed in me and things like that, and I just had to take that and just see what that feels like, and just know that I never want to feel like that again."
At the time, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema called the incident out of character for Sprinkle.
"He made a very, very, very bad decision that makes no sense whatsoever," Bielema said on Dec. 29. "It's really just an immature mind making a very immature mistake that was probably not even thought out."
Sprinkle said it was hard watching the game against Virginia Tech, which the Razorbacks lost 35-24 after leading 24-0 at halftime. Sprinkle watched the game on TV from a hotel room in Charlotte.
"When (Virginia Tech) started coming back, I just really wanted to be out there," Sprinkle said. "It hurt me a lot. I still think about it a lot but that's just the type of thing that happens and it was just an unfortunate mistake that I made. I just (have to) learn from it."
Sprinkle will play for the North team in the Senior Bowl on Saturday in Mobile, Ala. Former Arkansas punter Toby Baker is also on the North roster.
Several draft analysts have Sprinkle rated as one of the 10 best tight ends in this year's NFL Draft class, and CBSSports.com projects he will be drafted in the fourth or fifth round.
Sprinkle caught 33 passes for 380 yards and 4 touchdowns as a senior, and ended his college career with 71 catches for 921 yards and 11 touchdowns.