Travis Custis and Jabari Hunt-Days ruled ineligible for Georgia Tech
By Brad Rowland
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets linebacker Jabari Hunt-Days (32) reacts against the Southern California Trojans in the 2012 Sun Bowl at Sun Bowl Stadium. Georgia Tech defeated USC 21-7. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
In the midst of all the goodwill created by Jeremiah Attaochu’s upcoming arrival in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Georgia Tech football program took a hit on Friday afternoon. With an announcement from the university, freshman running back Travis Custis and junior defensive end Jabari Hunt-Days have been ruled ineligible for the upcoming season.
"THE FLATS – True freshman running back Travis Custis and junior linebacker-turned-defensive end Jabari Hunt-Days will not play football for Georgia Tech this fall.Custis is leaving Georgia Tech for at least the 2014-15 academic year to pursue academic and athletic opportunities at Georgia Military College.Hunt-Days will not be eligible to participate against outside competition for the 2014 season because he does not meet NCAA eligibility standards. Hunt-Days, who was a starter at linebacker in 2012 and 2013, moved to defensive end in the spring. He has played in 27 career games, recording 129 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions."
Both players serve as significant losses for Paul Johnson and company, but the absence of Custis is one that will be felt in a big way. The freshman back didn’t enroll until January 2014, but the academic load clearly didn’t fit (as evidenced by him leaving the university altogether), and the future status of Custis is up in the air. He was rumored to compete for significant playing time (along with Zach Laskey) at “B-back” this season, and the depth chart is pretty thin in terms of impact talent behind him.
In the case of Hunt-Days, he was already in the headlines a bit this off-season as a result of a position change, but the former starter at linebacker was certainly a big factor in the plans for 2014. There is more depth at that spot (namely Keshun Freeman), but losing a starter in May is never a good thing.