Nov 02, 2015 02:09 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel suspended quarterback Maty Mauk for the remainder of the season, citing disciplinary reasons.

According to The Associated Press, Pinkel announced Mauk's suspension Sunday during the Tigers' bye week. Pinkel initially reinstated Mauk from a previous suspension on Tuesday for disciplinary reasons, though the coach has not disclosed a specific reason for either suspension.

"I've been a head football coach for 25 years. I've handled discipline problems the exact same way I've been doing for 25 years, it's very consistent. What we did here is exactly like I've always done it. That's what we do, that's what we believe," Pinkel told reporters Sunday, according to the Tigers' official website. "We don't overlook things, we don't cover things up. We do what's right. A lot of other places would find ways to get the problem solved without doing what we do, but we don't do that at Missouri. I've never done that, I never will."

Mauk's first suspension came before Missouri's week five game against South Carolina and it wound up lasting four games, a stretch in which the team went 1-3. When he was reinstated Tuesday, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, Mauk was expected to compete for the starting QB position with Drew Lock for the team's game against Mississippi State.

Even though Mauk's second suspension will be his final one for this season, Pinkel stood by his decision to keep what triggered both suspensions private.

"I care about my players. They're like your kids, okay?" he told reporters. "If you've got three kids, you're going to go out and have a little meeting in your front yard and you're going to tell them all the stuff that your kids did wrong? You protect your kids. They're your family. We do the same thing here. We protect our family."

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