Georgia's Harvey-Clemons, Sheldon Dawson suspended from bowl

photo Georgia Bulldogs safety Josh Harvey-Clemons (25) has been suspended along with a teammate for the Gator Bowl.

Georgia sophomore safety Josh Harvey-Clemons, who had a major impact on the 2013 college football season, will not be suiting up against Nebraska in the Gator Bowl.

Harvey-Clemons and sophomore cornerback Sheldon Dawson have been suspended for the New Year's Day matchup, the university announced Monday evening through a release. The suspension was due to a "violation of team regulations," according to coach Mark Richt, who was not quoted.

This is the second suspension of the season for Harvey-Clemons, who missed the opener at Clemson as a result of admitting in May to campus police that he had been smoking marijuana in his dorm room.

The 6-foot-5, 212-pounder from Valdosta ranks third on the team with 66 tackles, including a 15-tackle performance against LSU, but he will long be remembered for slamming into fellow safety Tray Matthews on Auburn's fourth-and-18 desperation play. The collision enabled the ball to bounce into the hands of Auburn receiver Ricardo Louis for a miraculous 73-yard touchdown that propelled the Tigers to a 43-38 win and kept them in the race for the SEC West, which they won two weeks later with a 34-28 upset of top-ranked Alabama.

Had Harvey-Clemons not run into Matthews, Alabama would have won the West, and either the Crimson Tide or Missouri would be playing Florida State in the BCS title game.

Harvey-Clemons rebounded from the disaster at Auburn by racking up six tackles, two tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble in the 59-17 win over Kentucky. He followed that up with six tackles and a key fourth-quarter interception in the 41-34 double-overtime win at Georgia Tech.

"I'm really proud of what Josh has done," Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said after the Kentucky game. "He's a hard worker. He's competitive. He cares about our program, and he cares about playing the way you want him to play.

"The arrow is up on him as a player. He is going to continue to excel."

Dawson started the win at Georgia Tech and wound up with a career-high four tackles. The 5-11, 190-pounder from Memphis had 13 tackles and one tackle for loss in 12 games overall.

LeMay leaving

Bulldogs redshirt sophomore quarterback Christian LeMay is leaving Georgia and will transfer to Jacksonville State, according to a report Monday by ESPN.com. LeMay, the No. 4 pro-style quarterback nationally in the 2011 signing class, was behind Aaron Murray, Hutson Mason, Faton Bauta and Parker Welch on this season's depth chart, and he doesn't have a bio in Georgia's media guide for the Gator Bowl.

The Times Free Press reported in October that Jacksonville State, which also could be adding former Alabama defensive end LaMichael Fanning, had replaced Georgia State as UTC's home opener for 2014.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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