Nick Marshall, Chris Sanders, and Sanford Seay dismissed.
More details as they become available. But for now, all we're getting is that it was for a "violation of team rules."
(Pre-emptive "thUGA gonna thug." Oh, and #FireMikeBobo)
UPDATE: Seth Emerson is now reporting that Chris Sanders has been dismissed, as well.
UPDATE 2: UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson has been quoted by Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald as saying that he was unaware of a theft report field in which football players were either suspects or victims. That doesn't necessarily mean there wasn't a "theft issue" involved, as other sources are reporting, of course. It just means that if there was, it was apparently not reported to the UGA police.
4 months ago
vineyarddawg
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What a waste.
And we’re down a DB (where we were already thin) who could’ve really made a difference on special teams too. Marshall was very talented. Don’t know how Seay might’ve turned out, but that’s a bummer too.
Stupid to throw away an opportunity like that. And the rumors about it being theft? Trying to steal from teammates? That’s so incredibly low.
by DocSkraynj on Feb 3, 2012 9:45 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Personally...
I think the team is better off without a player like Marshall than with him, even if he has talent. If the rumors are true regarding the team violation, good riddance to that locker room cancer. Same goes for Seay.
GATA!
That's a rather harsh stance, IMO.
Not all violations are the same, and no official word has come out yet on exactly what were the circumstances of their dismissal.
With that said, Coach Richt would not be dismissing players from the team that didn’t deserve to be dismissed. (In other words, they deserved the punishmen they got.) Calling these kids a “cancer,” however, is taking it to another level entirely. It’s easy to hurl insults from afar without knowing all of the details of the situation. Sometimes the issue is more nuanced than that.
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
by vineyarddawg on Feb 3, 2012 9:57 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
We'll have to agree to disagree...
Notice I said
if the rumors are true regarding the team violation
If either player stole from a teammate, they are a cancer. Use kid gloves if you wish, but I shall not. We’re not talking about typical “boys will be boys” stuff. We’re talking about theft.
Obviously, if the rumors regarding the type of violation are untrue, then I’ll lessen my stance.
GATA!
I am not going to call them a cancer.
They may very well have been positive attitudes in the locker room. That said, I can’t really defend them since Richt dismissed them on strike 1. We don’t know the details, but it’s fair to say that if they are gone that quickly then whatever it was they did warranted an immediate dismissal.
I’m not going to take a stance on whether this is good or bad going forward. If they were good characters and made a mistake, it’s bad for the team. If this is a reflection of their character then it’s good that they’re gone. But we don’t know.
by Swarles_Barkley on Feb 3, 2012 10:24 AM EST up reply actions
I have a hard time...
Reconciling stealing from a teammate with being a good locker room guy.
Once again, it may come to light that both players mistakenly took something they thought was theirs (I doubt it) or they were stealing to give to the poor (I doubt that, too). But we don’t know the details yet.
I’m only commenting on what we know now.
GATA!
I agree about having a hard time.
It’s all in the details, which we don’t know. More than likely they weren’t on board with the values and attitudes of the team as a whole. Either way, they’re gone. Grantham won’t miss a step without them.
by Swarles_Barkley on Feb 3, 2012 10:35 AM EST up reply actions
How big is the Sheldon Dawson commit now?
Huge.
I understand the reluctance to comment until all the details are known, but, personally, I think that’s the beauty of a blog. This was posted to the main page without all the details and the comments were left open, as such, I feel free to speculate at this time.
GATA!
How big is not getting more than just Dawson at DB?
even bigger. I kept saying we needed DBs more than anything else in that class, but everyone kept beating the OL drum.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
And we only got 3 OL...
While I don’t think the loss of Marshall and Sanders will hurt us this season, 2013 will be rough.
GATA!
I was beating the OL drum -
and we did lose an OL guy we were supposed to get. Like I said in the other comments, no one could prepare to lose 3 guys in the backfield in one day. And also like I said, I wanted the one OL guy we lost, and one other DB.
As Jman781 says, we only got 3 OL. With our usual attrition, that will make for 1 senior in years to come.
If that
considering 1 of the 3 was a JUCO. It’s what kept me from giving this class a higher grade. We needed at least one more OL, and 2 more DBs. And I say that about DBs without taking today’s news in to consideration. We were scary thin there before this, and have 4 senior starters going in to next year, so more is a good idea to keep from the cycle we see on the OL having to rely on immediate impact recruits.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
And I had 1 and 1 to give the class an A.
We don’t have to 100% agree completely, and it doesnt make one of us more correct, we essentially agree that we wanted more OL and more DBs, I just wanted more OL a little more strongly, and you wanted more DBs a little more strongly.
I concur
my comment above about the OL drum was just troll baiting for you anyway. We both know we’re in the same boat on this, among other Georgia athletics related issues (cough-basketball and basketball attendance-cough)
http://sportsandgrits.com/
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.....
WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?
Every school’s got ‘em, but we’re like a damn magnet for troublemakers.
Editor, DawgSports.com
Sacrificing goats, chugging Maker's Mark, and walking underneath The Arch.
I wonder if Marshall can still play basketball.
He would probably have to do a lot to make up for whatever he did to be kicked off to deserve a spot on the team, though. If that’s not in the cards, don’t be surprised to see Les Miles on a recruiting trip to Athens.
by Dawg from Canton on Feb 3, 2012 10:03 AM EST reply actions
What's this basketball you speak of?
Do tell. It sounds like an interesting sport. Is the ball actually in the shape of a basket? If so, what is carried in said basket? Cupcakes for the football team?
GATA!
Losing Marshall hurts...
… but I have to trust that it hurts less than keeping the two of them in light of what transpired. It’s a waste, but I wish the best for Seay and Marshall.
A third member of the team, Chris Sanders,
was also dismissed.
Will post link when available.
UGA Class of 2013
I just updated the post with a link to the initial word from Seth Emerson.
Well… shit.
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
by vineyarddawg on Feb 3, 2012 10:29 AM EST up reply actions
Only if the story being reported is full of holes.
(Which it is.)
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
by vineyarddawg on Feb 3, 2012 10:53 AM EST up reply actions
Yea, its looking dubious. Not reported to the police? What is going on?
I am all for CMR being strict, but I also want the law to fill its roll first.
So much we don’t (and won’t) know.
I'm not sure getting the police involved would help anything.
If this can be handled internally to the satisfaction of the person whose cash was stolen, then there’s really no need to call ACCPD. Getting kicked off the team is more than enough punishment.
One of the authors at DawgSports.com
Stolen property is a police matter however. I was an RA - that would be a requirement in a dorm.
Football players are above students when it comes to theft? Oh yea.
I'm not saying that football players are above other students.
I’m just incredibly skeptical that there’s any value added by calling the cops in this situation. Depending on your POV, criminal law is supposed to be reparative, retributive, rehabilitative, or some combination of those three. If the victim is satisfied (which appears to be the case since s/he isn’t pressing charges), calling the cops doesn’t further the reparative goal. Being kicked off the football team is a huge punishment, so the retributive goal is satisfied. I seriously doubt that the cops would provide any sort of rehabilitation in this case.
All of which is really just a long-winded way to say that, while cops perform a necessary, beneficial, and important role in society, I’m all for keeping them out of people’s lives whenever possible.
One of the authors at DawgSports.com
by Spears on Feb 3, 2012 11:24 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Fair enough.
Then I’m glad that that particular requirement appears to have been ignored in this case.
One of the authors at DawgSports.com
I'm not, dammit.
If we’re going to suffer this ignominy, we should at least get some friggin’ Fulmer Cup points out of it.
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
by vineyarddawg on Feb 3, 2012 11:34 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Is it wrong that, when I read Spears's comment . . .
. . . about retributive justice, I heard H.I. McDunnough’s voice in my head?
Manager, Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs weblog.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Feb 3, 2012 12:07 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
"You're not just telling us what we want to hear, are you Hi?"
“No sir.”
“Cause we just want to hear the truth.”
“Well in that case, I am telling you what you want to hear.”
“Boy, didn’t we just tell you to stop doing that?”
That scene, and the ones with Nathan Arizona, “Would you buy furniture from a store named Unpainted Huphines?” are the best.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Well OK then.
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
by vineyarddawg on Feb 3, 2012 2:24 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I'm not fond of that moniker
It’s what the techies spout every time something happens on the AJC boards.
by Swarles_Barkley on Feb 3, 2012 10:39 AM EST up reply actions
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{45-42}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
by vineyarddawg on Feb 3, 2012 10:41 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Thank you Saint Simons.
"90% of everything is crap. Except crap. 100% of crap is crap."
by Wonton Beef Stew on Feb 3, 2012 11:35 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Official statement from Richt:
It’s a privilege to play college football and to be a part of this team and University. Along with that privilege comes certain responsibilities. Mistakes were made and part of our job is helping them learn from mistakes. Going forward, we are committed to assisting them find opportunities where they can continue their education.
(from the Seth Emerson story linked above)
Apparently Sanders was involved in the theft issue, too.
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
Anybody else?
Seriously, not only is this incredibly stupid to do something that costs you a scholarship, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. Two days after signing day, three guys screw up and get kicked off the team. We could have gone after three more guys for signing day, but instead we’re three short.
by Swarles_Barkley on Feb 3, 2012 10:38 AM EST reply actions
Hell, we were already more than three short.
Why didn’t we recruit more DBs? We were already going to be thin there and we just got even thinner. Instead, we signed the second smallest class in the SEC and we’re going to be well under the 85 limit it looks like.
We’re gonna have the personnel of a team that’s on scholarship restrictions by being down 5-10 scholarship players. I really don’t understand what good that accomplishes.
by DocSkraynj on Feb 3, 2012 10:49 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Ok, reality check -
Coach Richt didnt sit in his office and go “You know, I bet in a few weeks we will lose 3 guys for being stupid, I better get more.” You can’t predict this, you can only set a team standard of zero tolerance.
by chuckdawg on Feb 3, 2012 10:51 AM EST up reply actions 5 recs
He didn't have to, though.
We were going to be under the limit anyway and signed 6 fewer guys than we were allowed to. We definitely could’ve signed more anyway, even without these dismissals. So, it’s not a matter of predicting this. We were going to be thin in the secondary without some more DBs anyway. We got a couple, but many people were saying we’d be in trouble if anyone got hurt because we didn’t recruit more DBs.
Plus, most people expect attrition of the dumb variety every year. Why take the risk and assume the stupidity will conveniently not happen at a shallow position? What if we had lost 2 olinemen instead of 2 DBs? It would certainly look like we should’ve recruited a couple more OL recruits (which we should’ve).
The dismissals dont create the problem, they just exacerbate it. We were under the limit by an abnormal amount… Now, we’re down 3 more.
Do EE guys count against the limit? If not, we could probably get by 5 EEs and 25 guys next year and still be fine.
You and I were bound to not agree on everything haha. But I think that under-signing is a pretty bad plan. Things like this happen every year at every school.
by DocSkraynj on Feb 3, 2012 11:05 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I would have liked another DB and OL. But from what I saw, there werent that many good DBs to be had,
and until today, we had three underclassmen, and several upper classmen. If we signed one more DB, I would have thought this was a great, great class. But saying we should have got more DBs because we didnt look in a magic 8 ball that we would lose three due to theft doesn’t make sense.
I agree undersigning is not ideal. But it isnt a cause of losing three guys for theft.
I guess I just thought we should have 1 or 2 more DBs.
Not because of this specific problem, but because we have 4 senior starters (one of whom may start the season suspended) and only one young gun (Swann) who has shown much promise. Sanders and Marshall were next in line but rarely played other than STs. So, I thought we needed at least another good CB and a good S in this class. This just makes not finding a couple more guys that much worse.
by DocSkraynj on Feb 3, 2012 11:13 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
And I already agreed that one more DB would have made this a stellar haul. However, it was a good recruiting class given what we had, until a few hours ago.
And too my knowledge, there just wasn’t a 4 or 5 star DB out there to get. Now, we still have time to go scrounge up some, and I am sure we will.
Geno Smith
was a must-get kind of player. And we’re replacing 4 starters in the secondary next year. Holsey tried to commit to us and we told him we couldn’t take any more DBs (according to him). Travis Blanks was the other really good DB we may have had a good shot at but didn’t pursue that heavily. I’m also not convinced that we couldn’t have gotten Redmond from MSU if we had tried harder.
There were DBs. We mostly just didn’t recruit them that hard or gave up early.
by DocSkraynj on Feb 3, 2012 11:23 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I am not believing anything any recruit says, I can tell you that.
And we have no, zero, no way of knowing exactly how deeply we did or did not pursue someone. You could contact a kid and say “hey, this is UGA” and they say “No thanks” click. There is absolutely no way to know.
And again, I have already stated I would have liked one more OL and one more DB. I already agreed. I am just also stating this was a very good recruiting year and there was no way to predict the attrition that happened today, and stockpiling “just in case” is what, well, other schools do way in the other direction. Until today, no one was that vocally adamant about not getting another DB, just statements of “it would have been nice.”
Fair enough.
I’m not really disagreeing with you beyond saying there were DBs out there and it didn’t seem like a high priority of the staff this year. But that’s based on what recruits and the recruiting “experts” say (which is only worth so much, I agree).
Still sucks that other teams oversign so much and have ways to handle this and we punish ourselves by not even signing enough recruits to fill all of our scholarships.
2013 could be (and needs to be) a huge recruiting year for us.
The Darby kid that was said to be close with Marshall and Gurley
there were other top notch DBs out there, like the NC commit Jiles out of Florida we went after late. Just, we went after them too late in the process I guess.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
True, since Richt targets for 85...
although there was “room to wiggle” if the rewarded walk-ons were aware they were one year rewards and not likely to carry over in to the coming season (like the OL Bodin, or WR Bradberry, or the RBs Van Dyk and Harton, among others), so that was your wiggle room so to speak.
Of course, that’s using Richt math which stops at 85. Sanchez math includes that wiggle room, expecting a couple kids to be knuckle heads like we are seeing, and tries to target 88 leaving a built in buffer when said knuckle heads act like so.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Which is why I think oversigning should be a solid 85, + either 2 or 3 for a buffer. And make it a solid, no kidding thing.
I can even count how many certain other schools have. But it certainly looks like CMR went for right at 85, which is very admirable.
I don't consider self-inflicting problems admirable
the stance, albeit an noted moral one, has bit him in the butt how many years in a row now? Sooner or later, banging your head against that same wall hurts and we need to stop.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Yea, but you can't say we dont oversign and then oversign, right?
(not flamming or trolling, serious). It has bit him in the butt, but the damage would be much less if certain other schools followed the same policy.
Depends on how one defines "oversign"
exceeding the 85 mark at a time when it doesn’t apply, where you know you’ll be well within that limit when it does matter in Augusta, is different than how those certain other schools do things.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Agreed.
There’s a difference between hedging against inevitable attrition and being Houston Nutt.
Manager, Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs weblog.
Go 'Dawgs!
Seriously!
I gotta say… (and don’t read anything into this) I wonder what our recruiting would look like if Grantham were the head coach.
And (read into this one as much as you want) I wonder what the offense would look like.
by DocSkraynj on Feb 4, 2012 12:44 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Actually, if these 3 guys hadn't been idiots
we’d have been sitting at 86 total (counting rewarded walk-ons who have scholarships) and that’s one over the limit. We aren’t signing to 25, we sign to 85.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Sorry.
I didn’t count any of the walk-ons who got scholarships. Figured those didn’t count since they’re not guaranteed to be on scholarship every year.
by DocSkraynj on Feb 4, 2012 12:45 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
But we aren't signing warm bodies
I assume we targetted more players, and just missed. It happens.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
So I think the final count
including walk ons, for our secondary, is 15 total guys. That includes guys that play special teams and redshirted last year, as well as Dawson.
UGA Class of 2013
Just imagine if Smith, Rambo, Commings, and Williams had left.
Don’t forget about Jordan Love’s departure, too. How many rabbits you got in that fancy hat, Coach Lakatos?
Next year they're all gone.
We’d better recruit like 6 DBs this year and 3 or 4 of them need to be ready to play. Swann can’t do it all by himself after this year.
OL and DB need to be the priority for 2013 (like they should’ve been for 2012… well, DB, OL, and RB).
by DocSkraynj on Feb 3, 2012 11:08 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
oh, well.
I’m sure there are a few 3 star guys out there who didn’t commit.
/such as Josh Shelton
//get on it, coaches.
If there are kids out there, SEC caliber, and available
we need to be on them quicker than tankertoad on a Chik-Fil-A.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
On the bright side, we don't have to worry about kicking these guys off the energy bus in August.
It’s good the Energy Bus is getting warmed up nice and early. This sets a tone and atmosphere for all of 2012. Coach Richt told them to get on the bus or else. This is the “or else” part. The guys busting their tails in class and the gym and practice will feel like they are not only on the bus, but it’s got a nice safety roll bar, airbags, and a nice system.
by chuckdawg on Feb 3, 2012 11:49 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
It's times like this
that I’m glad I’m so damned busy at work I don’t have time to read this blog.
/crapIjustreadthisblog.
Editor @ Dawg Sports. 3rd degree Red 'n Black Belt.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Regardless of what they did
I think we have seen that this level of action taken by Coach Richt indicates that these young men should not be part of a positive program that is focusing on winning. It is sad to see 3 young men lose out on an opportunity if a life time, but
I HATE ORANGE, and DGNBs
by Dawg2011 on Feb 3, 2012 12:43 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
Richt's discipline may pay off in a big way pretty soon.
“When I look at schools, I start with the coaches and how they discipline their kids,”
- Robert Nkemdiche, in an ESPN interview
You can read the story here
by Dawg from Canton on Feb 3, 2012 1:34 PM EST reply actions
/Nkemdiche commits to Alabama
//Decommits, then commits to Auburn.
Never completely trust what a 17-year-old kid says.
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
He may be a 17 year old kid
But if I were coach Richt, I would remind him of this quote and what it means every time I saw him or talked to him on the phone, which would be every day until he arrives on campus or signs a LOI. That being said, it looks like it could be pretty hard to get him from Alabama (unless Mack Brown retires and Texas decides to use all of their Longhorn Network money on a new coach.)
by Dawg from Canton on Feb 3, 2012 2:40 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe he means "if they discipline, I won't go there"
The quote didn’t necessarily say that he thinks discipline is good.
The 984 Has Spoken!
I thought about that
But it would be weird for him to tell ESPN that he doesn’t want to play on a disciplined team. Of course, people have said dumber things on TV.
by Dawg from Canton on Feb 4, 2012 9:39 AM EST up reply actions
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