Jabbar Juluke suspension: Billy Napier explains how Florida will adjust, how assistant has responded

Following the news that Florida running backs coach Jabbar Juluke was suspended for the next three games for his part in a pre-game altercation at LSU, the Gators have made their contingency plans. Coach Billy Napier explained how the staff will adjust with Juluke out.

“Jabbar will be with us all the way up until we depart for the stadium, so we’ll absorb his gameday responsibilities amongst the staff,” Napier said Wednesday on an SEC teleconference call.

Napier wasn’t specific about who would fill in directly for Jabbar Juluke during the Miami game. That might be easier to see on gameday, as coaches begin to take their spots.

In the meantime, Napier addressed the suspension for Juluke. He declined to say what, specifically, led to the suspension.

“Yeah, I was not on the field during the unit warmups,” Napier said. “So in general I think just misrepresentative of the league, of the university, of our organization as a whole. And Jabbar has taken ownership of that, as you would expect from Jabbar. He’s been first-class in terms of the way he’s handled it. And we’ve worked with the SEC office and the university administration to resolve it.

“He’ll serve his time here and the discipline that comes with making a tough decision, Jabbar’s got a body of work in his career. He made a mistake and I think the big thing here is that we’ve got to continue to grow and learn from things like this and be a good example to others. And he’s done that so far.”

More on Jabbar Juluke suspension

Florida associate head coach and running backs coach Jabbar Juluke has been suspended by the SEC and UF for his role in a pregame altercation prior to last week’s game against LSU, the two sides announced. He will miss three games as a result.

Prior to kickoff of last week’s game, the two teams got into a heated exchange, leading to a flag thrown pregame for unsportsmanlike conduct. However, the officials later said there would be no foul, according to a UF spokesperson.

In the aftermath, Juluke is set to serve a three-game suspension. That means he will miss Florida’s games against Miami, Texas and Texas A&M.

“Jabbar Juluke’s conduct during the pregame altercation reflects behavior that is unacceptable and not aligned with the standards of the Southeastern Conference,” said SEC commissioner Greg Sankey in a statement. “Coaches are expected to be leaders and to de-escalate tense situations, and that did not happen in this circumstance.  This suspension is appropriate, and any future misconduct by Jabbar Juluke will result in more severe disciplinary action.”

Juluke also released a statement on the situation. He apologized to both UF and LSU, as well as the staffs and fans, while saying he plans to use to use the altercation as a “teachable moment.”

“I, first, would like to apologize to both Florida and LSU universities, their teams, staff and fans,” Juluke said. “I also sincerely apologize to the young athlete and his family. On Saturday, I reacted in a manner I’m not proud of. There’s no excuse for my behavior and I take full responsibility for my actions. In this game, emotional situations occur and bad reactions happen. I regret my reaction and commit to using this moment to strengthen my emotional intelligence.

“I know more is expected of us as coaches, and I commit to living up to that expectation. I believe growth is in ownership and learning from the good and the bad. I intend to use this situation as a teachable moment, not only for myself, but for those I impact. Again, I offer my sincerest apologies to both institutions and the staffs and families involved.”

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.