The Dashboard: My biggest surprise of SEC Media Days

NASHVILLE – One of the biggest surprises during Georgia’s portion of SEC Media Day wasn’t what was said but what wasn’t.

While head coach Kirby Smart no doubt came prepared to defend his program once again against recent allegations by the Atlanta-Constitution that Georgia "tolerates" sexual misconduct, there was no need for him to utter a word.

He wasn’t asked.

Color me surprised. Not because I think Smart should have been asked, but in this age of big headlines and salacious storylines, one thought many in the media–especially national pundits who praised the AJC article when it first came out–would have some questions.

But none were forthcoming.

In my opinion, the reason was two-fold.

One, Georgia’s nine-page rebuttal to the article and the meticulous way in which Georgia’s counsel scripted the letter and the language no doubt opened some eyes.

So too, did colleague Jason Butt’s tremendous work of digging even deeper to find the apparent story behind the story, which undoubtedly left some wondering about the validity of the story to begin with.

Bottom line, Georgia’s decision to address the allegations of tolerating sexual abuse paid off, as neither Smart nor his players were bombarded with questions that many thought were inevitable.

In fact, the only off-field question posed to Smart dealt with the problem of several players getting popped by the police for super speeding, something Georgia’s head coach has acknowledged is a big issue and needs to be addressed.

“I'm disappointed anytime we have traffic incidents. It's very evident when you look at it, we've had traffic citations and incidents throughout the history of being at the University of Georgia. We actually don't have more now than we've had in the past. What concerns me most is the safety of our players, and when you drive at high speeds, it's unsafe,” Smart told reporters. “We don't want that to happen. We're going to do all we can to take that out and make sure that's eradicated. But I'm also smart enough to understand and know that 18- to 20-year-old is when this happens. It's when it happened to me as a student-athlete. That's when speeding happens. What we want to do is take that out and make it safe and not have high speeds. As long as they don't get a speeding ticket, it should not be a super speeder.”

However, trust me when I say that the AJC’s story and Mr. Butt’s article on Sunday have been a popular subject behind the scenes here at the Grand Hyatt.

Several media types, and even a couple of national pundits, asked me about the background of Georgia's disagreement with the AJC article, and Jason’s subsequent story on Sunday involving writer Alan Judd.

In other words, this isn't a story that my colleagues somehow missed. Most know, but are waiting to see what happens next before offering any thoughts of their own.

It’s been a difficult offseason. Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy's tragic deaths continue to haunt the program, and looking from the outside in, it’s difficult–and disappointing–to see the mistakes a handful of Bulldog players have made by speeding in light of what happened back in January.

Players do need to be smarter and be accountable–to themselves, the team, and each other–something center Sedrick Van Pran stressed while meeting with beat writers earlier in the day.

“I think ultimately the biggest message I want to put out is we are always looking to better ourselves, and we are always looking forward to creating the best version of the University of Georgia in all aspects–on and off the field,” said Van Pran, who has been one of a number of upperclassmen who spoke up in a recent team meeting about the proper way to behave.

“I can’t really get into specifics,” Van Pran said. “But ultimately it was about holding each other accountable and holding each other accountable for the mistakes that have happened.”

Hopefully, those lessons will finally be learned.