It would be very easy for senior safety Richard LeCounte to call it a day, thank the fans for his time in the Red and Black and head out to start preparing for the NFL Draft.
Following his motorcycle accident upon returning from Georgia’s game at Kentucky, there are probably not a lot of people who would have blamed him.
Late-season opt-outs are now common-place in college football where players will err on the side of caution to not risk injury and check out before the regular season or bowl game is complete.
However, LeCounte did not want it end like this.
Shortly after his accident, the former Liberty County standout took to Twitter and let everyone know that he planned on coming back, and according to head coach Kirby Smart, there is a chance LeCounte suits up Saturday when the Bulldogs entertain Vanderbilt (4 p.m., SEC Network).
“There is a chance that Richard can get back,” Smart said. “I don’t know how realistic it is for this week but he’s doing more. He is running now, and he is with us. He is back into things. There is a chance that he can get out there and play by this week.”
That certainly qualifies as good news.
LeCounte’s physical presence has been missed over the Bulldogs’ past three games.
“He always makes big plays for the defense and always gives us a good kick of energy, things like that,” said safety Christopher Smith, who replaced LeCounte in the starting lineup. “Since I have been starting in his place, he’s been giving me good tips and things. When he sees something, and I come back on the sideline, and he will tell me what he saw, and I’ll go out and use it to get better on the next drive.”
Defensive end Travon Walker and wide receiver Demetris Robertson have both known LeCounte for a while.
As a freshman, Walker’s high school team Upson-Lee played LeCounte’s Liberty County squad.
“I played against him my freshman year in high school, so to see that energy transfer from high school to here has made a big impact on me,” Walker said. “As for the team, Richard is just an outstanding leader, he’s very vocal and that helps a lot.”
Robertson, who grew up in Savannah, approximately 40 miles from LeCounte’s Riceboro home, has memories of his own.
“Richard is my boy, I remember growing up with him,” Robertson said. “He is a true leader, he is a playmaker, a ball-hawking safety … he can come down and hit you. He is infectious in a great way. He just brings the energy on and off the field.”
Even Smart recalls LeCounte from a very early age.
“I don’t know if I’m correct in saying this, but I think he was the very first commitment that I received upon getting the job,” Smart said. “I still remember the day that he was an eighth or ninth grader and he visited Alabama with Raekwon McMillan (LeCounte’s former teammate at Liberty County). He came over and I got to meet him then. His personality was so infectious. The whole time I recruited Raekwon, I got to know Richard. That relationship carried over when I got the head job here and he was one of the first to jump on board.”
The loyalty that LeCounte showed by sticking with Smart and the Bulldogs is evident now as he attempts to come back when others would already have packed their bags.
“He has been so loyal to Georgia in an era when that’s not normal. It is normal to decommit, move here, decide late,” Smart said. “He committed early, he was a great player, he stayed an extra year for his senior year, and he loves the University of Georgia. That makes somebody special and people will remember that for the rest of his life.”
