SPORTS

Auburn safety Jermaine Whitehead drags red flag to NFL Combine

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
Auburn safety Jermaine Whitehead returned to the starting lineup.

INDIANAPOLIS – With character and personal conduct becoming a focal point in NFL personnel decisions over the last year, Jermaine Whitehead begins his quest for a spot on an NFL roster with a red flag against him stemming from his verbal altercation with an assistant coach, which at least one team is unwilling to overlook.

Whitehead, the former Auburn safety, was suspended for four games and played special teams for two games before returning to the defensive lineup against Texas A&M as punishment for a dispute with safeties coach Charlie Harbison prior to the Kansas State game on Sept. 18.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Advertiser, on the condition of anonymity, Whitehead called Harbison a racial epithet. The meaning of the term in question implies as an African-American he is eager to earn the approval of Caucasians.

Whitehead also insulted cornerbacks coach Melvin Smith's speech abilities, according to sources.

Whitehead, Harbison and Smith, as well as defensive line coach Rodney Garner, are African-American, while former defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson is Caucasian.

Whitehead denied he used the racial epithet when asked on Saturday.

"Oh no," he said. "No. Uh uh. No. Not at all."

Whitehead, who is projected as a seventh-round pick or undrafted free agent by NFLDraftScout.com, said he was not concerned "anymore" about how his suspension would be viewed by teams.

"It's done, something that happened," he said. "Can't really do anything about it at this point."

Harbison, 56, who served as interim defensive coordinator for the Outback Bowl after Johnson was fired, was "proud" of Whitehead following his suspension and supported him "big time," but said he had never encountered such an incident in his 20-year coaching career.

Whitehead said it was not awkward to play under Harbison once he returned to the field, where he finished the year with 36 tackles and six interceptions, with 24 tackles and four INTs coming after his return.

"Not at all," Whitehead said. "During my suspension we had contact. Me and him made up pretty quick. I just had to go through the things I had to go through."

Prior to the season, Harbison said Whitehead was not a player who had to throw "temper tantrums on the field to get noticed."

Opinions were mixed as to whether an NFL team would be willing to draft a prospect who had such an incident in his past, with St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher indicating he would not do so.

"Hypothetically speaking," Fisher said, "yes (he'd be uncomfortable drafting such a prospect)."

Fisher said character is the "first thing we talk about" when evaluating a player.

"Personal character, football character," Fisher said. "If it's good there, OK, now tell me about the player. … You talk to everybody you possibly can that knows the player and do all your research. In this day and age we have access to so much more information so generally speaking we're right."

Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera would not "close the door on anybody" without a thorough investigation of all the circumstances.

"This country is built on second chances, that's the truth of the matter," Rivera said. "You got to look at everything and look at all the circumstances. …

"We (the NFL) have to be in the forefront of teaching people how to do things the right way and communicate properly, how to handle and deal with situations, circumstances. … I'm not going to close the door on anybody, but at the same time, we've got to stay true to the standard that we're trying to set as a league."

Sources also said the defensive staff was opposed to Auburn coach Gus Malzahn's decision to allow Whitehead to remain part of the program.

Malzahn, through a school spokesman, respectfully declined comment.

On Nov. 5, Malzahn said the decision to suspend, reinstate, and restrict Whitehead to two games on only special teams was all his discretion.

"That's a personal decision the head coach makes," Malzahn said. "That's the decision I made."

Whitehead would not divulge what he had to do to get back on the field, though it included an array of remedial tasks.

"That's between me and coach Malzahn," he said. "I'd like to keep it that way."