Aug 21, 2013 04:19 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Four former Vanderbilt football players have entered not guilty pleas to charges of rape though their attorneys, waiving their right to appear at arraignment, USA Today reported.

The charges stem from an incident on June 23 where the four then-students allegedly raped an unconscious 21-year-old female student in a campus dormitory. Shortly after the incident, four unnamed players were dismissed from the team and from the school. Then the Nashville Metro Police Sex Crimes Unit began an investigation and, shortly after, the players were identified and arrested.

Brandon Vandenburg, 20, of Indio, Calif.; Cory Batey, 19, of Nashville; Brandon Banks, 19, of Brandywine, Md.; and Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, 19, of Woodville, Miss., were all charged with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery.

In addition to those charges, Vandenburg was also charged with tampering with evidence and unlawful photography. Police believe the incident took place in his dorm room.

In another courtroom, Chris Boyd also pleaded not guilty through an attorney to his charge of accessory to rape after the fact. Boyd has also been suspended from the Vanderbilt football team, but pending further review.

Also charged in the case are Miles Joseph Finley, 19, of Bermuda Dunes, Calif., and Joseph Dominick Quinzio, 20, of Palm Desert, Calif., both for tampering with evidence.

According to the Tennessean, police believe Boyd helped Vandenburg cover up evidence three days following the incident.

Quinzio pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge and his attorney has been fighting extradition to Tennessee.

The victim did not report the incident initially, but Vanderbilt campus police noticed the four suspects on dormitory surveillance footage acting suspiciously two days after the fact. Since, the Metro Police Sex Crimes Unit has handled the investigation.

All charges stem from that incident in Vanderbilt's Gillete Hall on June 23.

The four ex-Vanderbilt players have not played a single snap for the much-improved Commodore football team. However, Boyd was a standout wide receiver as a sophomore last year and starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels could be subpoenaed to testify, according to an initial witness list.

Steven Boyd, Chris' father, expressed anger in his son's involvement, saying the trial will ruin the young wide receiver's reputation.

"Whatever they want, they could have gotten without indicting my son," Steven Boyd said of his son. "I don't know how he gets his name back. He's 21. I don't know how someone repairs their integrity and character after this. There is nothing bigger."

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