GREENSBORO – This week’s arrest of wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint for speeding and reckless driving was the latest in an unsettling trend.
Since Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy's tragic death in January, four incidents involving Bulldog football players arrested on similar charges have raised some eyebrows across the college football world.
Following Thursday’s spring athletics board meeting at Ritz Carlton on Lake Oconee, president Jere Morehead and athletic director Josh Brooks addressed the concerns.
“There are going to be growing pains with young people, so I’m confident Coach (Kirby) Smart will continue to address those issues as they arise,” Morehead said. “I know that Coach Smart is addressing it, but I leave it to him to determine what he wants to say publicly, or not say publicly. I trust his judgment in that regard.”
Bulldogs involved in driving-related charges include former defensive tackle Jalen Carter, linebacker Juman Dumas-Johnson (Jan. 10), wide receiver De’Nylon Morrissette (May 8), and Rosemy-Jacksaint (May 14).
Brooks – who earlier was given a six-year contract extension and salary boost to $1,025,000 – offered a similar response.
“Just like you would as a parent, you want to look at every level you can pull,” Brooks said. “There are obviously disciplinary measures, there are educational measures. We’re going to look to intensify all of those efforts. I don’t think it’s just one thing you do. There’s discipline, there’s education and I think there’s no shortage of things we’re going to keep doing to rectify this problem.”
No hints on what SEC might have in mind regarding schedules
Future SEC schedules – specifically whether or not the league goes to an eight- or nine-game schedule – figure to be the main topic of conversation during next week’s SEC Meetings in Destin, Florida.
However, whether or not Georgia prefers the eight- or nine-game route, Brooks isn’t saying.
“As it relates to the schedule, we’re not going to comment publicly on that right now. With respect to the SEC,” Brooks said. “We have meetings next week and you’ll find out more about that when that’s over. We keep the SEC first and we’ve got internal meetings we’ve got to have and us being public about that doesn’t help those meetings we’re about to have.”
Morehead said he was ready for the subject to be closed but could not say if there will be an answer by the end of the meetings.
“I am ready for it to be done. We’ve talked about it and talked about it. I’m not sure it will get completed,” Morehead said. “We’ll see. There’s just a lot of dynamics still playing around on that issue.”
Whichever way the league goes, money will be the driving force.
“I may be saying more than Commissioner (Greg) Sankey would want me to say, but obviously if you go to a nine-game schedule, you have to be compensated for going to a nine-game schedule,” Morehead said. “Some dynamics still have to play out with our media partners.”
Next two years in Jacksonville. But after that ...
Georgia and Florida announced Wednesday that they’ve agreed to pick up the option to hold the annual game in Jacksonville for the next two years. But after that.
“The first factor to that is it’s a great financial situation for both schools. It also doesn’t get reported enough but the City of Jacksonville is subsidizing this game,” Brooks said. “When you look at what they give to each school before a ticket is sold, it allows us to keep those tickets at a very fair price, probably the most inexpensive neutral site game of this magnitude by far. I think that’s a big part of it, the way they operate, and it’s been great.”
What happens after that, however, remains unclear.
Jacksonville wants to keep the game at TIAA Bank Stadium, which is scheduled to undergo major renovations starting in 2026. Those repairs are expected to make the venue unavailable for two years.
Per Brooks, other options would then be on the table.
“Moving forward, we’re going to look at every option: different neutral sites, home, and home. We’ll lay it all out there and evaluate it. We have time to do that because that won’t be until 2026 and 2027,” Brooks said. “I’m excited to look into what the possibilities are there and go from there.”
In other UGA athletics news
- Updates to the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall museum are slated to begin this summer. The emphasis on that project will focus on honoring Coach Vince Dooley as well as Georgia’s national championships.
- Brooks announced that the men’s basketball team will be taking a summer tour of Italy to play games.
- Brooks also announced a new basketball weight room in Stegeman Coliseum for both men’s and women’s basketball. The project budget is $1.8 million, with renovations set to take place between May-August, 2023.
- The Georgia Bulldog Club raised a record total of $86.4 million in 2022 and has already topped that mark with a new school record of $97.7 million in 2023.
- In addition to a record-setting 3.19 GPA this year for Georgia student-athletes, Faculty Athletics Reps David Shipley pointed out that men’s tennis led all men’s teams with a 3.71 team GPA, while women’s cross country led all women’s sports with a 3.75 GPA.
- A total of 99 Georgia student-athletes received their degrees on May 11 and 12.
- A total of 78 Georgia student-athletes were named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll, while 75 were named to the SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll for having a GPA of 3.0 or higher and a minimum of 24 hours.
