MADISON - Former Wisconsin Badgers football player Quintez Cephus said Monday going back to school is his first priority after a jury last week found him not guilty of sexual assault charges.

“Trying to get reinstated into school is the biggest thing right now so I can continue my education," Cephus told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I think everything after that will follow.”

Cephus, 21, of Macon, Georgia, was expelled from UW last semester after being accused of sexually assaulting two women. A jury Friday found him not guilty of one count of second-degree sexual assault of an intoxicated victim and one count of third-degree sexual assault.

The wide receiver was also suspended from the football team last summer.

Cephus said his lawyers will work with UW officials "to clean up my record" so he can return to school. He hasn't decided whether he will return to UW-Madison or attend another college.

To return to UW-Madison, Cephus would have to submit a petition to the chancellor's office. There is no other way to return after being expelled, and Cephus and his attorneys have not yet brought up the matter, according to the university.

Andrew Miltenberg, one of Cephus' lawyers, said there are "still some decisions to be made about what is best for him in the coming year." He said no decisions have been made about how Cephus will go about getting back into school.

"We are still in the phase of recovering from the fact that he spent the last year of his life under terrible strain and allegations," Miltenberg said. "It was a very rough ride over the last year. Everyone is just sort of coming up for air."

Cephus in October 2018 filed a lawsuit contending university officials violated his rights to equal protection and due process by conducting a Title IX disciplinary action against him while he faced criminal charges stemming from the same incident.

He dropped the suit in March, but Miltenberg said they have not yet determined whether they will renew the suit — "that’s one of the things that everyone is thinking about.”

Cephus also said Monday he plans on playing football again and noted he has continued to train over the last year. He said he trained at a facility in Phoenix, Arizona, for the three months before his trial, adding that he was able to get into "the best shape of my life."

And he said the training helped him to remain positive through the allegations.

"I feel free when I’m running around and working out," Cephus said. "I was trying to do as much of that as I could to keep myself in good mental standings."

In addition to training, Cephus also spent time volunteering at a homeless shelter in Macon. He said the weeks he spent helping remodel the shelter was his way of showing his friends and family he appreciated their support.

"Everybody was providing for me and being there for me," Cephus said. "I just wanted to really show my appreciation to my family and that I just wasn’t all about football."

Contact Lawrence Andrea at landrea@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @lawrencegandrea.