Georgia safety Josh-Harvey Clemons closes in on a tackle during a 2012 game against Ole Miss.Georgia sophomore safety Josh Harvey-Clemons will miss the season opener at Clemson after admitting to smoking marijuana earlier this month in Athens.
The university confirmed the one-game suspension Tuesday, as did Bulldogs coach Mark Richt, who was attending the Southeastern Conference's spring meetings in Destin, Fla. Richt did not elaborate on the matter when questioned by reporters.
Harvey-Clemons, a 6-foot-5, 207-pounder out of Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Ga., was the defensive MVP of spring practice.
University police were called to the dorm room of Harvey-Clemons and sophomore tight end Ty Flournoy-Smith on the evening of May 14 after residents smelled marijuana, according to the incident report. A search did not uncover any marijuana, so there were no criminal charges filed, but the two players admitted to having smoked it.
Richt announced last week that Flournoy-Smith, who was arrested in February for filing a false police report, was transferring and could be headed to Georgia Military College.
Harvey-Clemons came out of spring practice as the starting strong safety in Georgia's base package and as the "star," a hybrid between a defensive back and an outside linebacker, in the nickel package. He played in all 14 games last season, tallying 14 tackles and one tackle for loss.
Georgia's probable starting safeties against Clemson, which averaged 41 points per game last season, will be junior Corey Moore and freshman Tray Matthews.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.