Georgia’s Kirby Smart insists he has not lost control of program

Associated PressMar 14, 2023, 3:37 PM EDT

Joshua L. Jones/USA TODAY NETWORK

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia coach Kirby Smart insists he has not lost control of a program that has produced back-to-back national championships but has been rocked by offseason arrests and a car crash that claimed the lives of a player and a recruiting staffer.

“There’s no lack of control for our program,” Smart said before the Bulldogs’ first spring practice.

“… Our guys do make mistakes. That historically is probably going to happen when you have 18 to 22 year-olds. Our job as coaches is to prevent that from happening and that starts with me and you do it with how you educate your players and how you discipline your players and we’ll continue to do that at a high standard.”

Wednesday’s pro day on campus for NFL general managers and coaches will feature defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who is regarded as one of the top picks in the NFL draft on April 27. Carter’s draft outlook has been potentially clouded by misdemeanor charges of racing and reckless driving in relation to the Jan. 15 crash that killed teammate Devin Willock and a recruiting staffer, 24-year-old Chandler LeCroy.

The crash occurred hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight national championship with an Athens parade and ceremony at Sanford Stadium.

Georgia players said Tuesday they are still recovering from the losses of Willock and LeCroy.

“Like the other day we were looking at film and I saw my boy Dev and it kind of hit me real hard,” said defensive lineman Zion Logue. “So you have to put those things aside and get back to football. It was a tragic event. We all learned from it. It’s just something very unfortunate.”

Added wide receiver Ladd McConkey: “It’s a tough situation. It’s hard to even talk about it. Just do what you can and love every day like it’s the last one.”

Carter is scheduled for arraignment in municipal court in Athens on April 18. He posted a statement on his Twitter account on March 1 saying he expects to be “fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”

Carter is not the only Georgia player facing charges of racing on public roads.

Linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, the team’s second-leading tackler in 2022, was arrested on Feb. 22 on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing. Dumas-Johnson is scheduled for arraignment on April 17.

Meanwhile, quarterback Stetson Bennett was arrested in Dallas on Jan. 29 and charged with public intoxication.

Smart said “the expectations we have here for our student-athletes” are important.

“Certainly we haven’t met some of those requirements,” Smart said. “We want our student-athletes to meet those and we take those things very seriously. The standards have been created here for a long time. That doesn’t change and we want our players to live up to those.”

Smart said when players make mistakes, “we treat them like we do our kids. We discipline them. We try to prevent them. We try to educate them. We try to do all we can to help our student-athletes in a positive way.”

Police allege in an arrest warrant that Carter was racing his 2021 Jeep Trackhawk against LeCroy’s 2021 Ford Expedition at the time of the crash. Willock was a passenger in the SUV LeCroy was driving.

Police determined LeCroy’s Expedition was traveling at about 104 mph (167 kph) shortly before the crash. The arrest warrant says LeCroy’s blood-alcohol concentration was .197 at the time of the crash. The legal limit in Georgia is .08.

Smart said he had officers from Athens-Clarke County police and University of Georgia police speak to players last summer about the dangers of street racing. Seeing a teammate and staff member lose their lives may teach far more painful lessons.

“We feel like our players are beginning to acknowledge and starting to understand you make mistakes and decisions that are costly and it can cost you your life,” Smart said. “That’s not to be taken lightly and I think our guys understand that and we’ll continue to educate them and we’ll continue to do all we can as a university to make sure they behave and do that in a proper way.”

Smart said LeCroy should not have been driving the vehicle that is expected to be used only for work.

“It is understood that you cannot take a vehicle when you are not doing your duties and they were not participating in their duties at this time,” Smart said.

Kirby Smart says new 1st-down rule good start to shortening games

Associated PressMar 3, 2023, 4:15 PM EST

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia coach Kirby Smart says proposed changes to clock operating rules shouldn’t significantly impact games next season, but he called them a good first step to reducing the number of plays in the name of player health and safety.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee approved a proposal to keep the clock running when a team makes a first down except in the last two minutes of a half. Since 1968, the clock has stopped on a first down until the referee gives the ready-for-play signal.

The committee forwarded two other proposals to keep games moving. One would have penalties that are accepted at the end of the first and third quarters enforced at the start of the following quarter rather than having an untimed down. The other would take away the option for a coach to call back-to-back timeouts during the same dead ball period.

“We think the changes are going to be very minimal here,” said Smart, the committee co-chair. “You could say, Why did you change it at all? It’s going to flow better.”

The committee gave no serious consideration to a proposal to keep the clock running after an incomplete pass.

The proposed changes would go into effect in the 2023 season if approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on April 20.

Steve Shaw, NCAA secretary-rules editor and national coordinator of officials, said the rules committee took a conservative approach to begin the process of shortening games.

With the College Football Playoff expanding from four to 12 teams in 2024-25, and possibly more in the future, conference commissioners had asked the committee to look for ways to cut down on the number of plays in games in an attempt to mitigate potential injury exposures.

Shaw said the new clock rule on first downs would take about eight plays out of the game, which would be about 96 fewer exposures over a regular season and more for teams that play in bowls and the playoff.

The NFL keeps the clock running on first downs the entire game, and Shaw said keeping the old rule in place the last two minutes of halves represents a “beautiful difference” between the pro and college games.

“Those last two minutes are critical,” Shaw said. “By stopping the clock it gives teams and opportunity to make a comeback. Everybody on the committee was resolute: we’re not going directly to the NFL rule.”

In a move that mostly affects Divisions II and III, the committee approved the optional use of instant replay in games that do not have a replay official. It would allow the referee to use available video to make decisions on reviewable plays after a coach challenge.

Also, with some exceptions, drones will not be allowed over the playing surface or the team area when teams are on the field.

Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck

Associated PressMar 1, 2023, 11:41 PM EST

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

ATLANTA – Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, projected as one of the top players in next month’s NFL draft, has been charged with reckless driving and racing in conjunction with the crash that killed offensive lineman Devin Willock and a recruiting staff member.

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department has issued an arrest warrant, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, that alleges Carter was racing his 2021 Jeep Trackhawk against the 2021 Ford Expedition driven by the recruiting staffer, 24-year-old Chandler LeCroy, which led to the Jan. 15 wreck.

Carter had been due in Indianapolis on Wednesday for the NFL’s scouting combine, and he is expected to address the arrest warrant when he returns to Athens, according to Lt. Shaun Barnett of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.

“It is my understanding that Mr. Carter is making arrangements to turn himself in,” Barnett said in an e-mail to the AP.

Carter, one of six players who was not present Wednesday for scheduled media interviews at the combine, issued a statement on his Twitter account saying he expects to be “fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”

“This morning I received a telephone call from the Athens, Georgia, police department informing me that two misdemeanor warrants have been issued against me for reckless driving and racing,” Carter said. “Numerous media reports also have circulated this morning containing inaccurate information concerning the tragic events of January 15, 2023. It is my intention to return to Athens to answer the misdemeanor charges against me and to make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented. There is no question in my mind that when all of the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”

The crash occurred just hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight national championship with a parade and ceremony, killing LeCroy and Willock.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart expressed his concern about the charges in a statement issued Wednesday.

“The charges announced today are deeply concerning, especially as we are still struggling to cope with the devastating loss of two beloved members of our community,” Smart said.

“We will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities while supporting these families and assessing what we can learn from this horrible tragedy.”

According to the arrest warrant, the investigation by Athens police found that LeCroy and Carter were operating their vehicles “in a manner consistent with racing” after leaving downtown Athens at about 2:30 a.m.

The warrant says evidence shows the vehicles switched lanes, drove in the center turn lane, drove in opposite lanes, overtook other motorists and drove at high rates of speed “in an apparent attempt to outdistance each other.”

Police determined LeCroy’s Expedition was traveling at about 104 mph (167 kph) shortly before the crash. The warrant says LeCroy’s blood-alcohol concentration was .197 at the time of the crash. The legal limit in Georgia is .08.

Willock, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. LeCroy was transported to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith became emotional on Wednesday when talking about Willock at the scouting combine.

“This is the first time I’m talking about it,” Smith said. “That’s my guy. That’s one person that never did anything wrong. I get sensitive talking about it just because I love him. He never did anything wrong in his three years.”

Offensive lineman Warren McClendon, who had just announced plans to enter the NFL draft, sustained minor injuries in the crash. Georgia football staffer Victoria Bowles was hospitalized with more serious injuries.

The Jan. 15 wreck was not the only recent incident in which a Georgia player was accused of racing and speeding. Linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, the second-leading tackler in 2022, was arrested on Feb. 22 on charges of reckless driving and racing.

According to Athens-Clarke County jail records, Dumas-Johnson was released on Feb. 23 after posting a combined bond of $4,000 – $2,500 for allegedly racing on highways/streets and $1,500 for alleged reckless driving.

Georgia athletic department officials said on Jan. 28 that the vehicle driven by LeCroy was expected to be used only for recruiting activities, not personal use.