Latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Midlands

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- Clemson freshman running back Mike Bellamy was ruled academically ineligible and won't return to school next fall.

Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said Bellamy plans to enter a junior college this summer. Swinney announced Bellamy's departure Tuesday.

Bellamy was a Parade All-American and considered a five-star prospect in the mold of former Clemson star C.J. Spiller when he signed with the Tigers in 2011. However, Bellamy struggled on and off the field. He had trouble adjusting to the Tigers' offense and in December was indefinitely suspended from the team last December the day of Clemson's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game win over Virginia Tech.

Swinney allowed Bellamy back on the team and was pleased with the freshman's progress this spring. But the coach said Bellamy came up short in class.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)