Riyahd Jones is no longer enrolled at Georgia Southern University, leaving the Eagles’ football team without a starting cornerback going into National Signing Day on Feb. 1.
"He is no longer enrolled here is all that I can say," GSU Interim Athletic Media Relations Director Barrett Gilham said Tuesday afternoon.
GSU football head coach Jeff Monken was on the road recruiting and unavailable for comment, Gilham said.
Jones, a 5-foot-11, 171-pound Columbus native, started in seven games at cornerback last season as a freshman. He played in 10 games, making nine tackles (seven solo) to go with a pass breakup and a fumble recovery.
Laron Scott, who started at the other cornerback position last season, was a senior and his athletic eligibility has expired. Jones’ backup, Hudson Presume, also was a senior last season.
Jones’ departure leaves GSU with cornerback Connell Reddick, a 5-foot-8, 182-pound redshirt freshman from Suwannee. Reddick played in six games but did not start last season, and made five solo tackles.
Lavelle Westbrooks, a 5-foot-11, 166-pound sophomore last season from Riverdale, was moved from cornerback to safety at the start of last season.
Jones, a three-star Rivals.com standout, was part of Carver High School’s 13-1 team that advanced to the GHSA semifinals. As a junior, he caught 27 passes for 405 yards and five touchdowns. Jones committed to the University of Kentucky before signing with GSU.
Before GSU lost, 35-7, to North Dakota State in the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals Dec. 17, Monken said the Eagles’ biggest needs are in the secondary and at linebacker.
"We’ve got some pressing needs immediately - I wish we could do something about it for this weekend - in the secondary and at linebacker, so we’re going to have to help ourselves in those two areas," Monken said in December. "And we may need to get some junior-college kids at those two positions to help us, some experienced guys who are more mature. We don’t go that route a lot but when there’s a need like we have, and again, with a limited number of scholarships, sometimes you have to do that. That’s an area."
FCS football teams are allowed 63 scholarships by NCAA rules. Monken in December said GSU will have approximately 15 scholarships available to offer. He said the Eagles can split them into smaller increments.
GSU finished last season 11-3, advancing to the FCS semifinals for a second consecutive season. The Eagles won their first Southern Conference championship outright since 2002, and their first league title overall since 2004, when they shared with Furman.
Noell Barnidge can be reached at (912) 489-9408.
