Former Kent Roosevelt standout Chapman pleads not guilty to assault charges

A former Kent Roosevelt High School standout football player was arrested on charges of assault and unlawful restraint Monday.

Tra’Von Chapman pleaded not guilty during his arraignment hearing Tuesday in Kent’s Portage County Municipal Court.

According to a criminal complaint, Chapman allegedly pulled the hair of a woman and grabbed her around the neck, leaving marks.

Following the charges, Chapman, a former member of the University of Pittsburgh’s football team, was suspended indefinitely, according to an announcement released by head football coach Paul Chryst on Pittsburgh’s athletics website.

Chapman, a four-star recruit according to rivals.com, played quarterback at Roosevelt and garnered interest from various Division I schools, including scholarship offers from Akron, Arizona, Illinois, Wisconsin and Kent State, among others. He signed a letter of intent on June 28 to play at the University of Pittsburgh.

Chapman completed his credits and graduated from Roosevelt in the winter in order to enroll early at Pittsburgh and participate in spring practice. Pittsburgh students completed their spring semester last Friday.

Contact Nick Shook at [email protected].