ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Former Georgia outside linebacker Adam Anderson is still hoping to have an opportunity for an NFL career after he was sentenced to one year in jail for the sexual assaults of two women in 2020 and 2021.

An Athens-Clarke County Superior Court judge sentenced Anderson on Monday to two one-year terms to be served concurrently. Anderson was ordered to surrender to authorities by Saturday.

Anderson, 23, originally faced felony charges, but they were reduced to misdemeanor sexual battery in a plea negotiation. He will serve the sentence at the Athens-Clarke County jail.

Superior Court Judge Eric Norris accepted an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction.

“This plea allowed Adam to maintain his innocence in the eyes of the law,” his lawyer, Steve Sadow of Atlanta, said Tuesday in an email to The Associated Press. "Adam intends to pursue a career in pro football upon completion of his misdemeanor sentence.”

A 21-year-old woman reported being rape on Oct. 29, 2021. According to an Athens-Clarke County Police incident report, the woman said she went to an Athens residence after having drinks and woke up on a bed with Anderson having nonconsensual sexual intercourse with her.

Anderson was indefinitely suspended by Georgia during the police investigation before being charged with rape and then released on $25,000 bond. During the hearing for the 2021 charge, a second woman said she was the victim of a 2020 incident involving Anderson in neighboring Oconee County.

Anderson led Georgia with five sacks and was projected as a possible NFL first-round draft pick at the time of his suspension and arrest in 2021. Georgia went on to win the 2021 national championship without Anderson, its first of back-to-back national titles.

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