Texas TE Jahleel Billingsley Serving Six-Game Suspension
Following a 52-10 over UL Monroe, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian announced that senior tight end Jahleel Billingsley is serving a six-game suspension. The suspension comes from an NCAA issue during his time at Alabama, and is not a legal issue. Although Billingsley tried going through the appeal process, he served the first game under his suspension Saturday night.
Sarkisian didn’t specify any details of Billingsely’s suspension, leading to speculation and questions as to what the tight end did. Some believe this may have led to the transfer of Billingsly, who played three seasons at Alabama, before joining the Longhorns in January.
During his time at Alabama, Billingsley played in 36 games, starting in five of them, totalling 37 receptions, 559 yards, and six touchdowns. Out of high school, the 6’4, 230 pound tight end was a four-star prospect from Chicago, Illinois, and was the first player from Illinois to sign with the Crimson Tide since 1997. Billingsley chose Alabama over schools such as Auburn, Florida, LSU, Michigan, and Ohio State, before transferring to Texas.
Even without the suspension to Billingsly, Texas was expected to start redshirt freshman Ja’Tavion Sanders at tight end for the season opener. Billingsley has five games remaining on his suspension and will be able to return for the Iowa State game on October 15th.
