Penn State football player Tony Johnson waived his right to a preliminary hearing yesterday on charges of driving under the influence.

Johnson, a wide receiver, appeared briefly before District Justice Bradley Lunsford at the Centre County Courthouse to sign his waiver, checked off an intent to plead not guilty and requested a trial by jury.

Jury selection for Johnson's trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 27.

The following occurred at about 3 a.m. on Oct. 17, according to police reports:

A police car driving behind Johnson's black Mercedes Benz could not gain on Johnson while traveling 30 mph within Bigler Road's 15-mph speed zone. The officer stopped Johnson on Park Avenue after observing the driver side wheels of Johnson's car cross over the double yellow line twice.

Johnson, 21, failed the field sobriety test, but consented to a blood alcohol test that showed his blood alcohol to be 0.136 percent, above the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

He was also charged with two summary violations: one for failure to drive on roadways laned for traffic and the other for speeding.

Johnson's punishment for the football team included sitting out during the Oct. 25 Iowa game and the Nov. 1 game against Ohio State.

It is still unknown whether Johnson will be allowed to play in this weekend's game at Northwestern.

-- by Emily Morris