When someone you’re responsible for keeps taking the rules lightly, you know it’s time to knock some sense into them. That is the case for Kirby Smart, as he deals with more incidents of Dawgs players landing in fixes. That, too, particularly for traffic-related incidents. Despite shaping Georgia into its current stature in college football, Smart continues to be bothered by such incidents, which can often be easily avoided.
Since 2023, 24 driving-related incidents have come by way of the Georgia Bulldogs. Most are speed-limit violations, but there are some serious ones on this list, too. In January 2023, after the Bulldogs celebrated their national championship win, OL Devin Willcock and staffer Chandler Elroy lost their lives in an accident. When this accident alone should’ve kept players wary of their on-road conduct, they continue to end up under the hammer. This has come to a point where it must be embarrassing for Smart to see these incidents occurring.
The latest to add to his growing list of pains are OL Marques Easley and WR Nitro Tussle. The former was involved in a crash accident, while the latter was arrested on speeding and reckless driving charges.
Chris Gordy of Locked on SEC shed light on Smart’s troubles in a March 21 video. “I just don’t know how this keeps happening […] It’s always going to turn around and fall back on the head coach, Kirby Smart. How does Kirby not, kind of, get a hold of this stuff?”
The traffic incidents have become endless for Georgia football players. There was the case of CB Daniel Harris. He was arrested for reckless driving in September 2024. Running back Trevor Etienne had a DUI charge. He was also arrested.
To add to Smart’s woes, traffic violations aren’t the only cases his players get embroiled in. In October 2024, Colbie Young, who is currently on the Bulldogs’ roster, was arrested on battery and assault on an unborn child misdemeanor charges. The program suspended him for the season. However, he was later instated by Kirby Smart after the former got cleared of the charges.
Gordy then stressed, “What’s the lesson learned here? […] It comes back to the head coach, and what does Kirby do to clean this up?” He also remarked how it is embarrassing for the coach to be discussing this problem with the press as well. “I think he addressed this in the last SEC media – I think the last two SEC media days, he’s had to answer questions about this. And yet it keeps happening,” Gordy noted.
Dec 2, 2023; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart during the first half in the SEC Championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Gordy suggests that Smart establish some serious punishments to keep players in line. Having a slew of criminal records is an absolute downgrade to the fact that this is also a team that has won national titles. “Kirby’s gonna have to address this stuff, again, and … I think you have to start resorting to … half a year suspension. You’re going to have to turn up the punishment for the next kind of traffic-related incident.” He also notes that this is not the team of a particular season that keeps repeating these mistakes. “This is multiple, multiple years of different guys from different recruiting classes, at different groups.”
It is surprising that amidst a culture strengthened by a coach like Smart, these incidents keep happening. And it’s high time that Smart considered coming down hard on these guys when they act so irresponsibly. With Easley and Tussle, Smart seems to have decided that he has to draw a line.
Kirby Smart makes a harsh call to keep players in line
Easley and Tussle have landed themselves in huge, huge trouble. Smart and Georgia’s management placed the two second-years on indefinite suspension. This means they will miss out on everything until their matters, or really until the staff and others think that they’ve learned enough to be worthy of getting back on the field.
Easley will be taking this punishment harshly because the wait until his first Bulldogs appearance just got longer. Tussle, on the other hand, a 4-star prospect, got a total of 8 minutes of action in 14 Georgia games last season. That seems to be it for him because it’s not anytime soon that either of these guys will be in action. Easley also has the more serious offense between the two, so who knows? It might just continue to get tougher for him.
It is truly embarrassing to have a head coach with a legacy like Smart’s to address these incidents so frequently. He continues to take Georgia to new heights, and these issues keep being a pesky irritant. Only so much can be done with the coach imposing harsher rules. The players also have to meet him at his level to prevent such accidents from happening.
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