WR Ricky Pearsall Of Gators Has Been Suspended Indefinitely By…

Four players—three of whom are Gators—have been punished by the SEC for their roles in a brawl that broke out during Florida vs. Tennessee.

Four players—three from Florida and one from Tennessee—were suspended by the Southeastern Conference on Monday for their role in “flagrant unsportsmanlike actions” following the Gators’ 29-16 victory over the Volunteers on Saturday night.

Senior tight end in redshirt Florida’s Saturday afternoon game in Gainesville against Charlotte will be played without Ricky Pearsall, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Damieon George Jr., and junior guard Micah Mazzccua for the first part of the game. Omarr Norman-Lott, a junior defensive lineman, was suspended for the first half of Tennessee’s game in Knoxville versus the University of Texas at San Antonio.

“The suspensions were determined after video review and consultation between the Southeastern Conference Office, the University of Florida and the University of Tennessee,” the SEC stated in a release.

After UF Ricky Pearsall extended a dropback to kneel down and run out the clock, there was a brawl between the two teams. Defensive lineman Omari Thomas, anticipating a quick kneel, pursued Mertz into the backfield and forcefully collided with him as he eventually went down, setting to a brawl between players from the two teams that involved at least one coach from Florida.

Billy Napier, the head coach of UF, said during his news conference on Monday afternoon that he was not aware of any possible SEC sanctions, although he did confirm that individuals involved in the incident had received internal punishment.

Napier responded, “Nothing yet, just in-house discipline,” when questioned about Mazzccua’s role in particular. “But see, it’s not just Micah outside of that. There are employees here that most likely require disciplinary action as well. That is, in my opinion, a teachable moment. We can discuss poise and calm, ego, and temper at this time.

“It’s possible to teach some of those things through football, right? It’s likely that you will engage in conflict on other occasions. Look, you make a choice like that; several of our guys made mistakes. They put the entire team at risk since, in any event, you might not be available down the road. Just like on Friday nights when some guy calls you names at the neighbourhood pub. Will you make a bad choice and jeopardise your wife and children? These are opportunities for instruction. In the end, maybe we accomplish enough to educate them.”

Freshman Knijeah Harris was listed as the backup at both left and right guard on Florida’s Week 3 depth chart, indicating that he will likely start in Mazzccua’s place on Saturday. Senior redshirt and offseason transfer acquisition The second-team right tackle for UF, Lyndell Hudson II, is probably going to start in George’s place versus Charlotte. Zanders was the backup on the chart, behind redshirt freshman Hayden Hansen.