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On Friday afternoon, it was announced that senior LB Anthony Harrell would be transferring to Florida for his final season of eligibility. Harrell recently completed his undergraduate degree, graduating from Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business back in May with a degree in business.
The move is a curious one, from a couple of standpoints. First of all, the timing is odd. He graduated over six weeks ago after taking part in spring practice and other team activities, not to mention the fact that he was in line to start at the middle linebacker spot in 4-3 sets coming out of the spring.
The other odd part of this is the following exchange that happened on Twitter, resulting in Harrell's announcement. First, Georgia Tech's official Twitter account announced that Harrell had actually been suspended:
Linebacker Anthony Harrell has been suspended indefinitely.
— Ga Tech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) June 26, 2015
Then, in response, Harrell said the following, including the screenshot of a note announcing the move:
@GeorgiaTechFB yea that's a lie get your facts right. I've chosen to leave and play my fifth year elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/KYQmqA7wlJ
— Anthony harrell (@aharrell51_GT) June 26, 2015
I'm not sure what to make of all of this, but the circumstances don't really matter moving forward. The story here is that Harrell is departing the team for Florida, where he'll join a relatively-depleted linebacker corps writes SB Nation's Alligator Army. We at FTRS thank him for his contributions to the team (both on- and off-field), congratulate him on his Georgia Tech degree, and wish him the very best moving forward.
As for Georgia Tech moving forward, the departure of Harrell likely leaves the depth chart at linebacker looking like this:
| Position | First String | Second String |
|---|---|---|
| SLB | Tyler Marcordes (R-Sr) | Terrell Lewis (So) |
| MLB | Beau Hankins (R-Jr) | Tre Jackson (R-Fr) |
| WLB | P.J. Davis (Jr) | Domonique Noble (R-Sr) |
Coming out of Spring practice, Hankins was #2 on the depth chart behind Harrell, and he would presumably be in line to take over the starting role there. Tre Jackson is the presumed #2 at that spot now, although there's a chance that true freshman Brant Mitchell could get involved as well by the start of the season. The loss is not a major blow on-field, where Harrell would've started but the position probably would have turned into more of a platoon approach. In terms of the 4-2-5, Marcordes and Davis were starters beforehand and will remain that way, although there may be a different first guy off the bench.
Sad to see Harrell go? Whose explanation do you believe?