AMES, IOWA — Three Iowa State Cyclone football players have agreed to plea deals that will see them plead guilty to Underage Gambling while other charges will be dropped. An attorney representing Hunter Dekkers, Jake Remsburg and Dodge Sauser announced the plea agreements on Wednesday afternoon. All three were initially charged with Records Tampering, but the state has agreed to drop that charge. The three players will each pay a $645 fine.

The plea deals are the first from the group of seven Cyclone football players charged in a statewide sting that seemingly targeted athletes at Iowa and Iowa State. Jirehl Brock and Isaiah Lee have both left the Cyclone football program. DeShawn Hanika is still listed on the team’s roster. Former Cyclone Enyi Uwazurike was charged as well with Records Tampering. He is now a member of the Denver Broncos but has been suspended indefinitely for violating the NFL’s gambling policies.

Mark Weinhardt, the attorney for Dekkers, Sauser and Remsburg, released the following statement on Wednesday:

Today, Hunter Dekkers, Jake Remsburg, and Dodge Sauser are each
resolving the criminal cases brought against them by the Story County
Attorney. For each student, the State is replacing the original charge of
Tampering With Records with a charge of Underage Gambling. Each of the
students is entering a plea of guilty to the Underage Gambling ticket and
receiving a $645 fine. The County Attorney’s Office agreed in each case that
this is the end of the criminal proceedings against our clients.

The Underage Gambling ticket is a vastly reduced charge compared to
the original Tampering With Records allegation. Tampering With Records is
an aggravated misdemeanor that carries a maximum two-year prison term. By
contrast, the only possible penalty for Underage Gambling is a $645 fine—
what we expect the court to imposed promptly.

The original records tampering charge against these young men never
fit this case, either legally or factually. Hunter, Jake, and Dodge are not and
never were guilty of that charge. The charge has nothing to do with gambling.
Other than the fact that Hunter, Jake, and Dodge placed some bets
before they turned 21, nothing about those bets was a crime under Iowa law.

These three young men have very bright futures. We are happy that this
outcome frees Hunter, Jake, and Dodge to focus on the educational and
eligibility aspects of this matter. They plan to pursue the sport that they love
and the careers they envision for themselves.

Mark Weinhardt

Dekkers and Remsburg remain listed on the ISU football roster online. Neither is currently playing for the Cyclones. Sause is now playing at Iowa Central.