Auburn vs Ole Miss Football
Auburn snapper Forrest Hill and defensive back Jermaine Whitehead (right) are shown at VaughtDHemingway Stadium in Oxford Miss., Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. (Mark Almond/ malmond@al.com)
AUBURN, Alabama -- Auburn safety Jermaine Whitehead will remain on the sidelines when the defense takes the field Saturday and possibly beyond.
Whitehead returned from a four-game suspension after reportedly getting into a verbal altercation with an assistant coach. He has been relegated to special teams.
"He came back and he's working on special teams and he's going to try to be the best special teams player he can be," Gus Malzahn said.
Auburn has struggled at the safety positions of late, especially in the last two games as the Tigers gave up 35 and 31 points to South Carolina and Ole Miss, respectively.
When asked if Whitehead could possibly return to the defense by the end of the season, Malzahn was not as clear.
"We'll see how that goes," Malzahn said. "I'm not ready to go there yet."
Whitehead switched jersey numbers from No. 9 to No. 35 to play on the same special teams units as return specialist Roc Thomas. He was targeted on an onside kick by South Carolina, which was recovered by the Gamecocks.
Whitehead once led the team with two interceptions. Josh Holsey started in Whitehead's place at boundary safety, but Holsey has since been replaced by Derrick Moncrief at the position as the Tigers look for answers on pass defense.