Ex-Vanderbilt football players being found guilty of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery of an unconscious female student made national headlines last January.

Now, according to the Associated Press, one of the players, Cory Batey, has been granted a new trial on the argument that he was manipulated by his three teammates and merely following orders in a drunken stupor during the June 2013 incident.

Really? 

In opening statements Monday, Batey's attorney said that her client was so drunk that he blacked out during the notorious dorm incident and was just being used by his teammates.

"Here is where the puppet meets his masters," Courtney Teasley told jurors about Batey's alleged plight. "The two drunkest people in the room become the entertainment for the night." 

She continued, adding the kinds of things they ordered him to do.

"'Put your behind in her face.' A picture is snapped. 'Pose behind her.' A picture is snapped. 'Pose near here.' Picture snapped," Teasley said. 

For some reason, she also argued about how social media is tearing young people down for mistakes they make, referring to the video of the unconscious female student being dragged by the players, hitting the Internet.

According to the AP, prosecutors have already announced that Batey can't lean on being intoxicated as a defense for the rape. However, his lawyers can convince jurors that he was too drunk to assist his teammates and, thus, can't be charged with aggravated rape.

Sounds like an uphill argument, especially considering the AP is reporting that another player involved, Jaborian McKenzie, is expected to testify against Batey, who is now 22.

Meanwhile, the other ex-Vanderbilt player charged with aggravated rape and aggravated battery in the incident, Brandon Vandenburg, is slated to go on trial in June. The two other players — Brandon Banks and McKenzie — haven't had their trial dates scheduled just yet.

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(Photo: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)