Texas Longhorns defensive back arrested; THC vape pens found in vehicle

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Longhorns defensive back Wardell Mack was arrested and booked into the Travis County jail early Wednesday morning, according to online court records.

Mack, 19, was charged with driving while intoxicated, which is a Class B misdemeanor. His bond was set at $3,000. The Louisiana native is in his second season with the Longhorns.

Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said in a statement that the program was “aware” of the arrest.

“We will continue to monitor the legal process, and the situation will be handled internally at the appropriate time,” Sarkisian said in a statement through a UT spokesperson.

Mack appeared in four games in 2024 before redshirting. He intercepted a pass in his college football debut last year against Colorado State. He didn’t play in the Longhorns’ 14-7 loss at Ohio State on Saturday.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAN, police said they found two THC vape pens in a vehicle Mack was driving. The officer at the scene said in the affidavit that Mack appeared “nervous” and the officer could smell a “strong odor of marijuana” in the vehicle.

The affidavit said Mack told the officer he’d “smoked a joint” about an hour to an hour and a half before the stop.

The attorney representing Mack declined to comment on the case.

“Due to the pending nature of the case, we have no comment at this time,” Logan Campbell said in a statement.

Nabil Remadna and Dalton Huey contributed to this story.