Georgia Tech senior linebacker Anthony Harrell was suspended indefinitely Friday. The news was posted on the Georgia Tech football team’s Twitter account Friday evening.
Harrell’s suspension was due to a violation of team rules, coach Paul Johnson wrote in a text message.
Shortly following the announcement, however, Harrell denied being suspended and wrote from his Twitter account that he was transferring to Florida of his own volition. Harrell is from Tampa, Fla., and his father James played for the Gators in the ’70s.
His response to the Tech football account read: “Yea that’s a lie get your facts right. I’ve chosen to leave and play my fifth year elsewhere.”
Harrell graduated from Tech with a management degree in the spring, giving him the option to transfer as a graduate student and have immediate eligibility for his senior season. However, Harrell had been taking part in team activities over the summer, not giving the impression of a player considering leaving. Coming out of spring practice, he had been projected to start at middle linebacker. His playing time prospects were uncertain, though, as Tech typically plays in a nickel defense, and he was not a starter on that unit. It was Harrell’s first suspension.
Harrell attached a 268-word letter to his Twitter message that wished his teammates and coaches well and thanked coaches “and the Yellow Jacket Nation for allowing me to be a part of such a great institution as a student and a member of the GT football team.”
Last season, after returning from an ACL tear suffered in Oct. 2013, Harrell recorded 19 tackles in 13 games, mostly playing in a special teams role. Beau Hankins was behind Harrell on the depth chart at middle linebacker. There are also three linebackers in the incoming freshman class, Victor Alexander, Tyler Cooksey and Brant Mitchell.
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