Junior Shaquille Fluker has left Georgia and plans to transfer to another school to continue his football career. The circumstances under which he lefet remain somewhat unclear.
Fluker, a safety from Meridian, Miss., transferred to UGA from East Mississippi Community Collegein the summer with the hopes of playing this season. But he never got that chance.
Fluker was listed for the much of the season on the Bulldogs’ daily injury reports as being out due to an undislosed “illness.” Reached via telephone on Tuesday, Fluker insisted he was never sick.
“I’m totally fine,” the 6-foot-1, 192-pound defensive back said. “I”ve been fine. The whole time they were saying I was ill and I was this and that, but I was totally fine. I wasn’t sick. They just tried to make it seem like I was sick. I don’t know why. I was still out there practicing.”
There were, however, published reports that Fluker had suffered some sort of seizure at some point while he was at Georgia. Asked about that, Fluker would confirm only that he had “just one” but that it was due to dehydration and was an isolated incident.
Meanwhile, UGA officials declined to make any comment about Fluker’s health. The school must adhere to federal HIPAA laws protecting students’ medical privacy.
Georgia issued a news release late Tuesday afternoon confirming that Fluker had left the program.
“Many times transferring to another school is for the best and we certainly wish Shaquille nothing but success in achieving his academic and athletic goals,” Richt said in the release.
There certainly was ample opportunity to play at Georgia. The Bulldogs were replacing both safeties and four of five starters in the secondary from the 2012 season. They ended up starting two true freshmen the majority of the season in Tray Matthews and Quincy Mauger. Sophomore Josh Harvey-Clemons also alternated between the “star” position and strong safety.
Matthews ended up missing five games with a hamstring injury. Fluker claims he could have played but Georgia never gave him a chance. He said he eventually told coaches to redshirt him.
Claiming he was “very unhappy” about the way his situation was handled, Fluker left school last week at the end of the fall semester. He was back in Meridian, Miss., Tuesday with his family, including a daughter, Maliya, born Dec. 5.
“I don’t know my next step yet,” he said. “I’ve been talking to some other universities. That’s what I’m waiting on, waiting to hear back from them and decide what I’m going to do. Right now I haven’t made my mind up yet.”
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