Aaron Dunlap isn't stupid, but you'd be forgiven if you thought he was.
He's also not a star for Coach Tony DeMeo's University of Charleston football team, although he left St. Albans with quite the resume.
Second team All-State defensive back ... team-leading 106 tackles as a senior ... 20 yards per catch as a receiver ... integral part of the rebuilding Red Dragons under Coach Derek Christian.
He had a fourth-quarter interception in 2006 against hated rival Nitro that helped seal St. Albans' regular-season victory in front of one of the largest crowds ever to watch a game at Crawford Field.
Dunlap survived the rigors of the Christian weight program to be part of the St. Albans pipeline to DeMeo - there are four former Red Dragons on the 2010 UC roster.
He'll be on the field on Saturday when the Golden Eagles (1-1) face West Virginia Conference and Kanawha County rival West Virginia State (0-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday at University of Charleston Stadium.
"You could be the best player on the team, and if you didn't come to the workouts, you didn't play," Dunlap said of Christian's regimen.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound DB almost threw it away last year after being arrested for possession of marijuana. He was suspended for what DeMeo called a "violation of team rules."
The Golden Eagles didn't need a distraction after reaching No. 11 in the NCAA Division II rankings.
DeMeo's ongoing process for bringing UC to football prominence faced a 210-pound roadblock in Dunlap, who was two months into his sophomore year.
Dunlap, who faced up to 15 years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines, avoided jail time. He admitted, without hesitation, to his crime.
The road to recovery started the day the police searched his dormitory room when Dunlap admitted to his wrongdoing.
"It was a dumb decision," Dunlap said. "Not everybody gets a second chance, but I was determined that if I got it, that I wasn't going to screw it up."
The braided hair Dunlap once donned is history, traded in for a buzz cut and a bushy goatee.
He rotates in on defense - almost everybody does in DeMeo's system - and plays on special teams. Dunlap isn't setting records, but, most importantly, he's also not raising a stir off the field.
He missed the latter part of the 2009 season following his suspension, but managed to maintain his full class schedule.
Dunlap was, after all, a member of the 2008 University of Charleston Dean's List.
Dunlap isn't hiding behind his facemask.
"All the way up to July I didn't know if I was going to be allowed back on the team," Dunlap said. "Even last year I knew I could still go to school, but my athletic situation was up in the air."
There were steps he took in an attempt to make up for lost time with his teammates, parents, UC faculty members and coaches.
It included standing in front of his teammates and apologizing.
"It's always hard to get in front of people you let down," Dunlap said, acknowledging the importance of that part of the process. "That was the worst part, letting down my team, my parents and everything."
Dunlap has been focused on football, and has been forgiven by his teammates. He won't forget the missteps of his sophomore year in college, but he's moving on.
In many ways, Dunlap should be proud of his accomplishments.
While none of it should've happened, battling through these situations build character, revealing the person.
"It was a big hurdle," Dunlap said. "My family, coaches and the teachers who knew me stayed close to me. There was a lot of controversy with a lot of the teachers, but the teachers who knew me stood beside me. I thank them all the time for it."
DeMeo stood beside Dunlap, making it clear the week of his arrest that he's "a good kid who made a mistake.
"He's suspended, but I still consider him part of our football team."
Almost a year later, Dunlap hasn't given DeMeo a reason to regret the decision.
"He's doing well," DeMeo said. "Doc (school President Edwin) Welch is a fair guy. Aaron was given a second chance and he's making the most of it."
