Harris Suspended for First Half Against Georgia State
Maleki Harris, a senior from Cordova, Alabama, who forced two fumbles against Mississippi State and earned Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, September 15, 2014, was suspended for the first half of the Georgia State game. | Photo: usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Maleki Harris will have to sit out an extra half of football against Georgia State as punishment for his actions after being ejected for targeting against Appalachian State.
Harris was ejected in the first half of the Jaguars 47-21 win over Appalachian State last weekend and, by rule, he would have been eligible to start against Georgia State on October 18. However, after reviewing the film, head coach Joey Jones made the decision to suspend his for the first half against the Panthers.
“Upon reviewing the film, we do not condone Maleki’s reaction to the crowd after committing a targeting foul in the Appalachian State game,” Jones told AL.com. “He understands that he made a mistake and that what he did doesn’t represent the University of South Alabama in a first-class way. Maleki has been a model student-athlete for the past four years. We are confident that he will learn from this as he moves forward.”
Harris is team’s second-leading tackler with 36 stops this season, 16 solo, four tackles for loss, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, an interception and a quarterback hurry.
“I commend South Alabama head coach Joey Jones and director of athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann for taking institutional action,” Sun Belt Conference commissioner Karl Benson said. “This clearly demonstrates that the South Alabama athletics program is committed to the values of sportsmanship and fair play.”
The Jags (3-2 overall, 2-1 SBC) has an open date this weekend and will return to action on Saturday, October 18 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium for homecoming against Georgia State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm.