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Details on Kevin Ellison Suspension and What it Means for Georgia Southern's Early Games

Backup quarterback Favian Upshaw impressed in 2014. His time to shine is now.

By Haisten Willis
Favian Upshaw
Favian Upshaw
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

There's no doubt Kevin Ellison's two-game suspension for academic issues is a huge blow for Georgia Southern. Ellison is a lightning-fast runner and leader who paved the way for last year's success.

After consulting with GSU's SID, we confirmed that the rules involved in the suspension are the ones mentioned here:

Big HT to James Braswell for that.

We've also confirmed with the school the suspension will automatically end after the first two games and Ellison will be back on the field for the Citadel contest and beyond.

Of course, the first two games are two of the season's toughest in West Virginia and Western Michigan.

Ellison's absence will hurt, but is not a death knell for the early games, including WVU, by any means. Head Coach Willie Fritz employed a two-quarterback system throughout last season, and backup Favian Upshaw is not only experienced at the position, he played extremely well last season.

The two signal callers switched out regularly and it took fans a few games in 2014 to stop wondering if Ellison was hurt each time Upshaw trotted out on the field.

Upshaw completed 19 of 27 pass attempts, or 70.4 percent, with 10.6 yards per attempt, two touchdowns and one interception. On the ground, he was the team's fourth-leading rusher with 385 yards on 40 carries, good for an insane 9.6 yards per carry and two touchdowns. Again, this wasn't in cleanup duty with the game out of hand, this was in regular action throughout all four quarters.

One thought that crossed my mind last season was "this two-QB thing is nice insurance if there is an injury." Suspensions were further in the back of my head but it definitely helps now too.

Should Upshaw go down, or should Fritz stick with a two-quarterback system, the next man up is likely Vegas Harley, a redshirt Junior and three-star player out of Florida's Mount Dora High School. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT be surprised if Harley lights it up should he see the field in week one or week two.

Ellison's absence will make things a little rougher, but y'all, listen to LA Ramsby.

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