The roller coaster ride that has been Mike Bellamy‘s short time at Clemson has come to an abrupt, but not necessarily unexpected, conclusion.
At least, for the time being it has.
Head coach Dabo Swinney announced in a press release Tuesday that the running back has been ruled academically ineligible and, as a result, will not play for the Tigers in 2012. Instead, Bellamy plans to enter a junior college this summer.
In a statement, however, Swinney seemed to be impressed by Bellamy over the past couple of months and seemingly left the door open for a return after the fall semester.
“I am proud of the improvements Mike Bellamy made in the spring semester in a number of areas,” Swinney said. “We gave him the opportunity to return to school in January and to grow as a player and a person and by all accounts from his teammates and coaches, he was doing well.
“But, in the end, he came up short academically. We wish him well and hope he can get back on track in the classroom and continue his football career at a junior college this fall.”
The running back was originally suspended for the ACC championship game win over Virginia Tech last year due to unspecified violations of team rules. That suspension extended to the Tigers’ blowout loss to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl.
Bellamy was with the team and participated in spring practice the past couple of months.
At the time of his initial suspension last year, the true freshman was second on the Tigers in rushing yards (343) and rushing touchdowns (three), and his six yards-per-carry average led the team. Bellamy was a five-star member of Clemson’s 2011 recruiting class and the No. 5 RB in the country according to Rivals.com.