Rutgers drops Nelson; 2nd arrest made in assault case

Authorities have arrested a 21-year-old man for his alleged role in an assault early Sunday that left a former Minnesota State Univesity-Mankato football player critically injured.

According to a criminal complaint, Isaac Dallas Kolstad, 24, was punched and then kicked in the head.

Mankato police detectives and Le Sueur County Sheriff's deputies arrested the man at his rural St. Peter home Monday evening, Mankato city spokeswoman Shelly Schulz said. Authorities took him to the Blue Earth County Jail, where he awaits charges.

MPR News is not naming the man because he has not yet been formally charged.

Schulz said authorities have requested charges of first- and third-degree assault. She said investigators received numerous tips about the assault after releasing video and images of the incident to the public.

"We were able to get a lot of valuable information, useful information, that way," she said.

On Monday, Blue Earth County prosecutors charged Philip Nelson with two counts of felony assault in connection with the same attack. Nelson, 20, spent his first two seasons as a starting quarterback for the University of Minnesota's football program before transferring to Rutgers University last year. Rutgers announced Tuesday that it had dismissed Nelson from its football program.

According to the complaint, the assault took place early Sunday in downtown Mankato around bar closing time. Police say Nelson and Kolstad had argued.

A witness saw Kolstad strike Nelson first, according to the complaint, which said another man intervened and punched Kolstad, knocking him down. Police say Nelson then kicked Kolstad in the head while he was lying motionless. Witnesses told police that Nelson was upset over attention a bouncer had paid his girlfriend, according to the complaint.

In a statement, Rutgers' head football coach Kyle Flood announced that team dismissed Nelson.

"The Rutgers football family's thoughts and prayers are with Isaac Kolstad and his family," Flood said.

Nelson's attorney, Jim Fleming, said it's not clear who caused Kolstad's injuries.

"It is evidently clear from the information that we have that Phillip Nelson was not the aggressor in this situation," Fleming said. "We have more facts that we are going to be investigating, aggressively trying to uncover what happened here. We're still looking and we'll continue to press forward."

Fleming said Nelson is upset about what occurred.

"Phillip is distraught," Fleming said. "I mean, it's very, very serious. He understands the serious nature about what's happened."

Nelson was a top recruit when he came out of Mankato West High School as Minnesota's Mr. Football in 2011. He spent much of his first two seasons as the Gophers' starter.

Kolstad, who played at Mankato East and spent two seasons at North Dakota State before finishing his career at Minnesota State University-Mankato, underwent surgery Tuesday morning, according to a post by his family on the CaringBridge website. He remains in critical condition at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, clinic spokesman Kevin Burns said. <>

Assistant Blue Earth County Attorney Patrick McDermott expects to file charges against the second suspect on Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.