By Jeff Odom
He may have never stepped foot on a college gridiron, but former Gaither High School defensive end Ernest Suttles is set to join his third college team since graduating in May.
After he was dismissed from the University of Nebraska following an off-campus incident, Suttles thought he had found a new home in Coral Gables at Miami last week. But, the Hurricanes denied his transfer request, which left the 2012 All-Laker/All-Lutz News Defensive Player of the Year without a team again.
But not for long.
Memphis has accepted Suttles’ transfer request, and he officially joined the Tigers, which compete in the American Athletic Conference.
“He was involved in an unfortunate situation,” Memphis coach Justin Fuente told the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper on Aug. 14. “But we got letters of recommendation from an associate athletic director at Nebraska, from his high school principal, his high school football coach, a high school teacher, and we talked to two assistant coaches at Nebraska. They all had nothing but unbelievable things to say about him. They said he was a really good kid who made a mistake and was in a bad situation.”
Suttles joined Memphis for practice on Aug. 11, but will still have to sit out one year due to NCAA transfer rules, according to the Commercial Appeal. He will have four years of eligibility starting in 2014.
Memphis started last season 1-8, but rebounded with three straight wins to finish with an overall record of 4-8.
