Former WKU football player Nacarius Fant, who was sentenced to five years in prison for drug trafficking on June 17, was granted shock probation by Warren Circuit Judge John Grise Monday morning.

Fant’s scheduled release date was June 16, 2024, according to the Warren County Regional Jail’s online database. Following Grise’s decision, Fant will be released from jail just seven weeks after his original booking date.

The former Kentucky Mr. Football will be under the supervision of the Department of Probation and Parole for the next five years and is to have no new criminal offenses as a condition of his release, according to Warren Circuit court records.

Fant, 23, was originally arrested in August of 2018 after the former wide receiver sold a total of 32 grams of cocaine for $1,920 during four separate transactions with a confidential informant in July and August last summer, according to an arrest citation.

The Bowling Green native was sentenced in June on three counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (greater than four grams, cocaine) and two counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (less than four grams, cocaine), and his original five-year sentence came after he pled guilty, according to a report from the Bowling Green Daily News.

Fant’s defense submitted character letters on his behalf, according to a report from WBKO. Prosecutors opposed shock probation due to the high amount of drugs Fant sold during a six-week investigation, but Grise ultimately decided Fant’s timed served would be a deterrent from repeat offenses.

Sports Editor Drake Kizer can be reached at 270-745-2653 and [email protected]. Follow Drake on Twitter at @drakekizer_.