Fountain was arrested April 7 in his residence hall for allegedly assaulting Saginaw residents Chylcie Lett and Mackenzie Maul on Dec. 2 near the disc jockey table at Wayside Central in Mount Pleasant. Fountain, a sophomore at the time, was charged with one count of aggravated assault, two counts of assault and battery and one count of jostling.

After a four-day trial in Isabella County Trial Court that ended June 23, the Chicago native was found not guilty of all four charges.

Not having his family name tarnished, Fountain said, was the most important thing to him concerning the charges.

"I'm not that person they tried to claim I was," Fountain said after the trial. "I was raised right and raised in a good family. There's no way I would ever do something such as this."

Fountain's defense attorney Joe Barberi said Fountain could have pleaded no-contest to the jostling charge as part of a deal presented to him on June 10 by the county prosecutor's office. The other assault charges would have been dropped.

Fountain rejected the offer.

"I'm not pleading guilty to something I never did," he said.

On the testifying stand, Fountain told Barberi and the jury — which consisted of two white men, a black woman and three white women — he was scared all they'd see was a black Division I athlete with dreadlocks.

"In today's world, there's still stuff out there that prevents us from succeeding," Fountain said after a practice in August. "I'm just happy everything went well."

Following the trial, members of the jury met Fountain and his family outside the courthouse and embraced the Fountains. One female juror told Fountain's father, who was crying, they were convinced of their decision on the second day of the trial.

"We knew two days ago," she said.

Fountain described the feeling as "pure joy."

"I'm just so happy everything went my way," he said. "God was on my side and he helped me through what I had to overcome."

The 6-foot-2, 230 pound linebacker was reinstated to the football team on June 24, after being suspended for nearly two months.

"I'm just happy to get back with my teammates, the people who cared about me and showed me love throughout the trial," Fountain said. "My coaching staff is really important to me and I just feel good being back with my team. We are going to succeed this year and I can't wait for a MAC Championship."

Head coach John Bonamego, who Fountain was innocent throughout the trial, said Aug. 12 that Fountain hasn't lost a step since his return.

However, Fountain said he had to play a little catch up.

"I lost a lot of weight, but I feel it was good weight at the end of the day. I feel faster than I was previously. I just feel healthy," he said. "I'm at a disadvantage because I wasn't working out with my team. I'm probably not as strong as I would have been if I worked out the whole summer with (strength and conditioning coach) Jason Novak and his program."

As a sophomore, Fountain recorded 32 solo tackles in 2015 and 67 total. He had 4.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble.

As for the entire situation, Fountain, who dreams of playing in the NFL, said it will make him be better in all aspects of life.

"This situation is going to make me work harder and get in the weight room harder and make my career better," he said. "This is ultimately going to make me a better person."