FIU TE Jonnu Smith out for season after being burned with boiling water by girlfriend

Florida International tight end Jonnu Smith (87) led all tight ends nationally with 61 receptions for 710 yards and eight touchdowns in 2014. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida International tight end Jonnu Smith’s college career has come to an end.

According to the Miami Herald, Smith will not play again this season after he suffered “severe” burns from an incident with his girlfriend. Police say Smith has burns on his head, neck, back, shoulder and arm after his girlfriend poured boiling water onto him.

His girlfriend, Mary Gaspar, has been charged with aggravated battery. She is five months pregnant with Smith’s child.

 

From the Herald:

The arrest affidavit said Gaspar gave this account at Florida International University police headquarters:

The two argued through the day over the attention Smith was paying her and their relationship. While in Smith’s dorm room and “feeling extremely emotional and stressed,” she told police, she boiled a pot of water. Then, she walked over to Smith and poured it on him.

When Smith didn’t react strongly enough for her, she started hitting him with her open hands, she told police. The extent of the burns aren’t known, but Smith has been seen back on campus even though he’s not fit for the football field.

The 6-foot-3, 232-pound Smith, a senior, has been a bright spot for a program that has struggled over the past few years, leading to the firing of head coach Ron Turner in September after an 0-4 start. Overall, Smith caught 175 passes for 1,936 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career, including 39 catches for 441 yards and three scores this season.

His best season came as a sophomore in 2014 when he led all tight ends nationally with 61 receptions for 710 yards and eight touchdowns. He is considered a potential late-round NFL Draft prospect.

FIU won three straight games after Turner’s firing, but has since lost three in a row to drop to 3-7 overall on the season. The Golden Panthers have a bye this weekend before rounding out their schedule at home against Marshall on Nov. 19 and on the road at Old Dominion on Nov. 26.