CHRISTIANSBURG -- A Virginia Tech football player convicted of driving under the influence will have the charge dismissed a year from now if his record stays clean.

Josh Hyman must also perform 350 hours of community service and had to surrender his driver's license for a year following his sentencing Wednesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

Hyman entered a plea of no contest to the charge, which means he acknowledged there was sufficient evidence to convict him.

"I made a big mistake. My judgement was just wrong," Hyman told Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs.

A campus police officer approached Hyman's Cadillac, when it stopped about 2 a.m. last Oct. 6 on Washington Street on campus to let passengers out, because one of its tail lights was defective. The officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol and administered five field sobriety tests on Hyman, two of which he failed.

Hyman then agreed to a Breathalyzer test, which showed his blood alcohol level at 0.12 percent. Any level above 0.08 percent is legally considered intoxication.

In court Wednesday, Hyman testified that he had a double shot of cranberry vodka about 25 minutes before being tested.

He said he had not intended to drive that night but did so because a teammate was about to get into trouble at a club and he wanted to get the teammate out of there. He said Tech football coach Frank Beamer had made it clear to the players that they needed to avoid trouble.

Hyman said he was trying to do a good deed. His girlfriend was supposed to drive his car that night, he said, but he could not find her when he needed to get some teammates away from a potential problem.

"I did not want the young guys to get into trouble," he said. "I was trying to help my teammate and I got into trouble."

Hyman, 24, a wide receiver who will graduate in December, was second on the team in receptions. His DUI arrest led to his suspension from Tech's game with Boston College last fall.

Grubbs took the sentence under advisement for a year, and said he would dismiss it in a year if Hyman completes his community service and continues good behavior.