Two Georgia Southern defensive players will no longer suit up for the Eagles as sophomore safety Brandon Echols was dismissed from the team and junior cornerback Henry Chubb is out with a career-ending injury, GSU coach Chris Hatcher announced Friday morning.

            Echols was removed because of unspecified conduct detrimental to the team. The Decatur (St. Pius High School) native signed with the Eagles in February 2005 and played in three games off the bench this season. He had 15 tackles, which tied for second most on the team.

            Chubb, a Waycross native (Ware County) who transferred to GSU from Troy University prior to fall camp, suffered a concussion during the Coastal Carolina game and is out due to recurring injuries. In two games off the bench, Chubb had six tackles and one interception. A sports reporter near Chubb’s hometown said Chubb had battled concussions since early in his playing career.

            “After talking with Henry and his family, he and I agreed it would be in his best interest to discontinue playing football,” Hatcher said in a statement released by the school. “Henry will remain enrolled in classes here at Georgia Southern, and I’m pleased to have him stay with our team in an administrative capacity.”

            The losses of Echols and Chubb are costly to a thin and struggling Georgia Southern defense, which is allowing more than 33 points and 350 yards a game. The Eagles are down to just three cornerbacks – junior Brandon Jackson and sophomores Carson Hill and Ronnie Wiggins.

            “We don’t have anybody else,” Hatcher said this week when asked if there’s someone who could move to Chubb’s place at cornerback. “I told ya’ll before the beginning of the year we didn’t have a lot of depth. That’s all we got.”

            Georgia Southern (2-1, 0-1) hosts Western Carolina (1-3, 0-0) for a 3:30 p.m. game Saturday at Paulson Stadium.