KNOXVILLE, Tenn.  – The attorney representing Tennessee senior safety Jaylen McCollough, filed a motion Wednesday disputing the narrative of events that led to his arrest on October 9 after being charged with felony aggravated assault

The motion filed by attorney Chloe Akers states that she will seek to have McCollough’s assault charge dismissed on the grounds that he was acting in self-defense when he punched a man who entered his apartment.

According to the arrest warrant, the victim told investigators he had been drinking with friends at an apartment, left to retrieve some items from his car, returned, and mistakenly entered the wrong apartment, which was McCollough’s. The man told police McCollough followed him out of the apartment and punched him at the top of the stairs, “approximately 30 feet from the door,” causing the man to fall back down the stairs and lose consciousness.

Citing eyewitness testimony from two people, including McCollough’s roommate and fellow Tennessee football player Warren Burrell, the defense attorney asserts that it was only after the victim threatened to come back inside the apartment that McCollough punched him one time in the face.

Both McCollough and Burrell reported that the altercation occurred within two feet of their front door, nowhere near the top of the stairs. They also said the man never turned his back on them and left, which would contradict the initial report that the physical altercation began after he walked well away from the apartment.

A preliminary hearing has been set for Friday, Nov. 18. Akers also filed a motion seeking to have the hearing moved up to Thursday, Nov. 10.

McCollough has been cleared by both the university and athletic department to resume playing.