The Crowell era at Georgia is over.
Crowell was dismissed from the team, it was announced at about 5 p.m. on Friday. That was about 14 hours after the star-crossed tailback was arrested on three weapon charges, including two felonies.
“We have a dedicated and committed group of men who are working hard to prepare for the coming season,” head coach Mark Richt said in a statement. “Our total focus will be directed toward the team and this effort.”
Not much softening of the blow there. I wonder if Richt is calling anybody to help his former player land elsewhere.
****************************************************************************
UPDATE: Okay, there’s this.
Get The Picture 
I’m honestly surprised that the IC era lasted as long as it did.
I’d also be surprised if Richt doesn’t help him with the transition. Has there ever been a dismissed player that Richt didn’t help on the way out?
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I bet he is trying to help Isaiah. He wants them to have a chance. Isaiah didn’t shoot anyone or use the gun so why wouldn’t he. He helped Metttenberg who did committee a crime against a woman. I hope Isaiah turns his life around.
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Let me preface my comments by saying that I have never been a big fan of Crowell thinking him to be a bad team player, immature and basically another Ealey, and I have effectively said so on this very blog before. That said, I do believe in fairness. I know that I am in the minority about this but I think CMR rushed to judgment. I haven’t seen any evidence that proves the gun was Crowell’s. He was driving another person’s vehicle and he says he didn’t know the gun was under the seat. His conduct at the scene is consistent with the way someone would act who did not know that a gun was in the car. He did not try to avoid the roadblock by turning around or going down a sidestreet. He gave his consent to the car being searched. The police said that they “smelled marijuana” which was the probable cause for searching the car in the first place, yet no marijuana was found. Frankly, I think the “smelled marijuana” business was a fabrication to justify the search. Absent fingerprints or an admission by Crowell or testimony from a witness establishing the gun to be Crowell’s the criminal charges go away. If Crowell gets booted from the team based on these facts every other person in the car should go too as they all had equal access to the area where the gun was found. I guess we would then be down to 68 scholarship athletes on the team. But then we could, of course, give more scholarships to additional walk-ons.
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Mr. Mayor –
I despair, but I disagree. My sad reading of the account is that IC was doing – at best – profoundly stupid service by admittedly being at a club where weed was about, and even more culpable because he was toting 4 freshmen around. Richt doesn’t act, what do those young gents think is bidness as usual?
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Well, while we’re on the subject, I don’t think Mettenberger got a fair shake either. I have a feeling CMR and all the rest of us are going to live to regret that one. Here’s hoping we don’t end up regretting this one, too. Karma. It can really be a bitch.
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Mayor, I actually agree that I think CMR rushed to judgement. I don’t see how he was out of town this morning yet got enough info to boot Crowell by 5 PM (probably sooner since they had to prepare the press release). I think one of two things, if not both, may be true: 1. Those good reports we heard during the spring about Isaiah were smoke and mirrors. 2. Far less likely, in whatever conversation (assuming there was one) Isaiah and Richt had, Crowell actually confessed the gun was his. I find this unlikely because he had to know a confession would be an automatic dismissal.
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You guys have to remember that it doesn’t matter who actually owns the gun– because IC was in possession of a contraband weapon, HE owns it (because no one else legally can). The holder is the owner. His vehicle= his illegal gun. His vehicle and his illegal gun on campus=all kinda bad shit.
Crowell is essentially guilty as charged; no trial is really necessary on this point, as his guilt is admitted and clearly established, and he is, according the regulations and laws I’ve read on these and other pages, a felon as of now. Can he even be a university student any longer, given his crime occurred on campus?
Criminal lawyers, please correct me if I’m misreading this.
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Mettenberger got booted not just for the groping, but for lying to CMR about said groping.
He got more than a fair shake IMO…
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Sigh…I had high hopes for the kid.
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Now someone else’s team will get to realize them, ala Mett.
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Nah, IC will just end up being someone else’s headache.
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Son of a biscuit!!!!
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“If he’d only chosen Ohio State…” – Urban Meyer
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Three thoughts:
1) Hope our soft-commit from Yulee Florida read about this
2) Hope Marshall and Gurley learn how to pass block (cause we know they won’t play if all they can do is take it to the house every down)
3) We’re going to enter the season with less than 70 scholarship players
3.5) Samuel back to Tailback? 1 foot and a cloud of dust. I just threw up…
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That item 3.5 I wish you didn’t feel the need to diminish his contributions. It kind of sucks… I’ll leave it there.
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Its hard to diminish his contributions since they alread aren’t all that significant. Samuel had a nice long run against Arkansas and a grea drive against UF.
Apparently, that’s enough for some UGA fans to completely ignore the entire body of work, which is totally mediocre.
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I believe Homer Dawg’s point is that you can suggest Samuel may not be the strongest option without going out of your way to mock a kid who has exhibited *amazing* selflessness for the team you supposedly root for. Samuel is likely a much better RB than you are a Georgia fan.
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LMAO. You have a dry pen, lol.
~~~
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Cam Newton redux?
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+1
Bidding starts at $180,000 (minus legal costs).
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Hahaha
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If (and that’s a big IF) Crowell can resolve the gun charges favorably the smart thing for him to do is enroll at Hutchinson CC, play there next year, then try to sign with another major college. I recommend that he get Cam’s father, Reverend Newton, to broker the deal with Auburn. Worked last time. Don’t try Starkville as Miss State already has established that they won’t pay.
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Sad, but I can’t say I’m surprised. Sometimes you have to just end it. What a waste of an opportunity. I hope the kid has a successful life, and selfishly hope it doesn’t come at our expense. Ugh.
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It would be helpful to understand why an imminent multi-millionaire feels the need to commit three felony weapons violations. This isn’t pleasure-seeking doobie or hootch consumption, or a convenience-driven scooter violation, but stone cold shooting-iron possession. And FWIW, this is a vice hardly limited to people of IC’s background–far from it, especially in GA.
Now that social commentary is over, I do have to ask: exactly how many 5-star running backs does Georgia have to recruit to get one on the field for an entire season?
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Campus is a dangerous place. What with all the acorns you could slip and fall on, plus the hippies throwing frisbees. If I were IC, I’d surely be packaing a 9mm with the serial numbers filed off.
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Completely agree. Additionally, I’ve seen a couple of large birds and many highly aggressive squirrells hanging around.
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Thanks for the laugh, bevo… Much needed.
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“And FWIW, this is a vice hardly limited to people of IC’s background–far from it, especially in GA.” Especially in Georgia….. dude you don’t get out much do you?
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Dunno, spent many years in metro Atlanta and then more years in DC–got mugged once in the former and twice in the latter–and still think compulsion to put a roscoe under one’s car seat is often stronger in places where there’s little danger of getting killed. But seriously, don’t want to taint this charmed space with politics. So we can agree it’s saddening for the kid and maddening for the program.
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Georgia is a state…. Atlanta is not Georgia. I’ve built there and it is not a comfortable place to do business. More than likely IC had that “roscoe” for show. ” –and still think compulsion to put a roscoe under one’s car seat is often stronger in places where there’s little danger of getting killed.” Sir let me share with you ain’t nobody carrying any cash in Atlanta or DC that has a compulsion to store a “roscoe” under the seat of a truck. Most of the construction industry ends up being a cash business when it comes to paying labor costs. It is a necessity not a compulsion. Worked DC and never got mugged, but I am a very careful guy.
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What the hell is your point? That people in Atlanta carry guns under their seats but people in the rest of Georgia do not?
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Goodness Cube ya sound somewhat cross there. Not trying to make a point with you and if you don’t get it’s not my bad. Public schools? But hey I’ll bite.
Violent Crime Comparison per 1,000 residents
Atlanta: 14.05
Georgia: 4.03
National Median: 4.00
You see what I did there?
If IC is packing he is play packing. Not the real thug he wants to portray yet the results may get close to real. It’s all about the image. It’s all about the image. Now move along boy and find someone else to front on.
We good?
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It was a Luger. ‘Nuff said.
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So that was indeed your point. It’s just that it wasn’t clear at all. Your writing skills need a lot of work but don’t feel too bad. However, you may want to be less cocky since you have no reason to be that way.
Have a good night cranky homer.
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I thought i was clear. U might want to brush up on your comprehensive skill set. And manners.
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Perhaps Mike Mills will post here some day and you can tell him how he doesn’t know much about the music business.
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What the hell is your point? LOL.
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I hope no more tongue-in-cheek comments. All that talent wasted is a real shame. We get down to Columbus periodically and, for lots of folks, IC being a bulldog was a real point of pride. I think I feel the sorriest for all his fans who had such high hopes for him
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Well I guess that solves the whole two-players-wearing-number-one issue.
I guess.
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Look like you gave Seth an idea for a clever tweet
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on a sad day, it’s delightful to see a fellow tucker high, lumpkin school, and gold dome alumnus, ed kilgore, post on the blog.
on a sad note, IC had so much in front of him. and i bet all the money in my pockets he’s at the clarke county jail praying with the kid. saban wouldn’t have time for that shit.
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This is going to sound really bad but if Mark wants to save people he is in the wrong business. He is a good Christian man and I know that this hurts him and I know he will do whatever he can to help IC just as he has done before the other 4 or 5 times he has chosen to recruit kids that are not ready for college. He needs to stop recruiting talent that won’t get to play because of personal issues or he needs to go into full time mission work. I don’t know if it’s Richt or Garner but somebody needs to learn that the Athens cops are not going to cut the team any slack at all, so kids that might get by at other schools are going to get hammer at UGA. I can’t remember the last season we started play without suspensions or dismissals. We are not a damn reform school, that would be UT.
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it’s all a gamble with recruits, but i am proud to have richt.
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If other schools didn’t have highly ranked recruits that flamed out (a certain UF turned Auburn QB comes to mind), then I might agree with you.
No, actually I wouldn’t agree with you even then.
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Thank you Will. What a fuckin’ stupid post. We all recruit the same guys, if anything UGA is more restrictive. WE ALL GET BURNED.
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Sorry for the language, it has been a hell of a day.
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Exactly. I guess if he had held up a baby elephant instead of that puppy on Signing Day none of this would have happened. All the too schools were after IC.
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We had a pool going for IC & how long he would make it as a member of this team. Let’s just say I didn’t win, but the winner was awfully damn close.
It was all fun and games when we set this pool up, but honestly, I feel like shit about this now. Hate to see such potential wasted.
That being said, hopefully we have another freshman of the year running back on tap. Hopefully this will be the end of recruiting players that simply can’t live up to our expectations as human beings.
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You can’t know, though. Sometimes it’s just immaturity. Did a lot of stupid things myself when I was his age but eventually I smartened up.
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But weren’t we just celebrating how much he supposedly had matured during the spring practices?
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People can be wrong. So you don’t recruit a star player in your home state because he’s immature–at 17/18 years old? Mind you, “no prior record.” Just immature.
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It would be interesting to meet the 18-21 year old versions of the jackasses that post this kind of crap, wouldn’t it?
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You know what, obviously he HAD matured, the evidence is there. Just a really stupid set of decisions.
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A distinction without a difference, Scott, when you’re 19 or whatever the hell he is. Come on.
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Sorry, meant for ScoutDawg. It’s late.
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You can’t know for sure… you are absolutely right. My last sentence was designed to spark a discussion along these lines. Are we recruiting the wrong kind of players? Are we failing them once they get to campus? Are our expectations too high?
I don’t have the answer, but I am interested in the question.
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When I saw him on signing day, I didn’t think he would last more than two seasons. He seemed to have no understanding of how serious his life had just become. Nothing that happened over the next 11 months with him (FB pics, “talks” with coaches in front of the library, suspensions et. al) changed my mind (and I thought he had NFL talent and was unfairly attacked for missing time when he was injured). He struck me as being unprepared for the spotlight he found himself under and was never able to adjust.
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Nothing I say is to defend the tailback formerly known as Cro Well, but what in the hell are the campus police doing operating a “check point” on campus at 3 AM on a Thursday night/Friday AM? I am sure Bobo arranged this.
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It was Dan Wetzel’s roadblock. He was handing out flyers telling everyone that he was sorry for ruining Christmas.
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Love Richt but he has to quit recruiting these thugs. No background checks at all or just doesn’t care. He just offered and got a commit from a bigger thug than Crowell, Ealey, and Moody put together just because the kid ran a quick 40 time at camp. When it comes out, remember you heard it here first!
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The Newbergians have a don’t ask, so they don’t know policy, so a guy can be a 5-star recruit and have all sorts of problems….how upset would you have been if Crowell had gone to Bama…think about it.
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Dude—NO PRIOR RECORD. Get off it!
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See, I tole ya, I tole ya and nobody listened.
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and one more….I did a similarly stupid thing with a pistol when I was a couple of years older than Crowell, luckily I was in my hometown, they called my daddy, and that was the end of that (well till I got home.) But I certainly was not a potential college superstar who had everything in the world to lose by having a pistol under the seat of his car.
Nine MM Luger….huh didn’t they stop making those things before the end of the second WW? Gun could be 75 years old….maybe he’s a collector.
Worked for me.
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Let’s just hope this mistake resonates or I fear that the future headlines from him will be even less savory.
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I am not normally one to say “I told you so,” but alas I can’t resist reposting my comment from March 3rd (after the post comparing IC to Herschel), after which I was attacked on this board:
Scott
March 3, 2012 at 9:17 PM
Wow, the revisionist history continues. I can’t believe all of the Crowell-apologists on this board. You know when you find yourself repeated having to defend a guy, maybe there is something to it.
Reality check: Crowell is a punk with a bad attitude, just like he was in h.s. He can’t be counted on, and I’d be shocked if he ever amounted to anything at UGA. His minor “injuries,” softness, and disciplinary issues which took him out of games is really just another way of stating that Crowell is a selfish player and not a team player. I do not want him on our team.
Crowell is taking away valuable practice snaps during from the real team players who will have to step up and carry us when Crowell takes himself out by the second quarter. If Crowell announced he was leaving the team tonight, I would open up a bottle of champagne.
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That makes you internet clown number 2,738 that claims to know things that the rest of us don’t. Congrats.
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Thanks for the kudos. Look, I had written IC off back when he took himself out of practice preparing for the outback bowl. So yeah I am glad we no longer have to deal with the headache. He was never going to change and there was NEVER any indication otherwise.
Maybe his departure will help land that RB recruit who is waivering bc of concerns of playing time. At the very least, IC won’t be taking reps away from the guys who ultimately would have been carrying us.
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“He was never going to change”??? And you’re so sure of this how and why, exactly?— your amazing clairvoyance with matters of the human psyche? You may as well have your little shack and crystal ball set up off 78 in Winder, Madame Scott. No, I don’t want my palm read, thanks.
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Do you attend practice?
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You’re just being a dick all over this thread aren’t you? Relax.
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He had 335 yards the last 9 games of the season. That much I remember.
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I had zero yards last season. Obviously I’m a selfish thug.
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He had 51 yards the last 5 games of the season. 850 for the year…..the guy had a future for sure.
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I am happy is gone. If that make me a dick then I guess I am a dick.
He was the same immature brat at UGA that he was at Carver-Columbus. He self-destructed in the state h.s. playoffs against Calhoun and cost his team a title. In that game he had to be benched because he kept drawing unsportsmanlike penalties after he was tackled hard on a few carries. So he remained on the sidelines sulking and throwing a tantrum at his coaches and was never a factor.
It’s called CHARACTER, and his is fixed and constant.
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Slow your roll Scott. Go back and look at the thread. The richard ref was not posted to you.
just sayin’
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gotcha…now i see.. thanks HomerDawg.
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Huh! Somebody say sumtin’?
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Trying to make a friend b/c I called out your poor written communication skills? Relax.
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Did u get a boo boo? I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. “There now we can be friends again.”
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Ah, the drunk piano player. I know, let’s have a spelling contest. You can’t even spell your name right.
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U r way too serious kid. I got a chuckle out of ur comment. “Are we not entertained?”
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What flavor you drinking, Jesus?
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Too soon, Seth.
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This is a tragedy for more than just us. I was heartened by his teammates backing him up through the winter and spring, with his dedication in the weight room and such, but this just makes me sad, and I’m usually a happy guy. This young man has just been turned away from who would help him the most in Mark Richt; at this point, its really not about football, but being able to grow from your mistakes, and this young man will not get much of a chance beyond this. I know many of you are upset about the upcoming season, and rightly so, but this has impact far beyond the next year for IC. Georgia will be fine, plenty of backs to replace him, but this young man is now tainted by this for years to come.
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Hey Senator, Gurley is keen to the #1 and he will have it. The disbute will carry on.
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Nostalgia demands someone put up “John Prine – Souveniers”, don’t know how they slipped away from me……
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As this day closes and I continue on my 5th Hopsecutioner, I will say that this news has hurt the program both on and off the field. But, I think we have a good set of kids to take his place. Malcome seems to have overcome his Crowelness, Keith Marshall is really to good to be true, and Gurley, I believe, will be the best of them all. Not the mention Richard who has all the heart. We’ll be ok. …….I hope
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IMO – The most significant thing that hurt us with Crowell was the departure of Thomas Brown
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You guys will be better off without him. This was inevitable and was considered an inevitability by any but the most optimistic UGA fans. And really, I say this with all due respect. I feel bad for the guy and hope he gets his priorities straight while he still has a chance to live a life outside the criminal justice system, and I don’t for a second think UGA has any more of a problem with this kind of thing than others. But you guys will be better without him. Better to inaugurate the Marshall era now than to keep tooling around with a guy like Crowell.
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Thanks for your insight GM. I think you guys would be better off without Lattimore, too, and get back to passing instead of that bullsh!t ground game that’s so boring.
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Well said Big Dick, that COCK just thinks he got a leg up for this years’ game. Well, for the first time in about 6 years WE are going to have a decided schematic advantage with our DEFENSE.
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Not what I think at all. I never expected Crowell to suit up for Georgia in 2012, so this doesn’t change my expectations for the game. See you in October.
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Thanks GM, well put. I feel kind of down because I hate to see someone that young blow their future. A weapon under the seat is considered concealed in Ga. If you don’t have a concealed weapon permit just lay the weapon on the passenger seat. Of course, file the serial number and you go to jail anyway.
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Bad advice. In GA it is a weapons carry permit. Without one you cannot carry a loaded weapon in your car, concealed or not concealed. If you don’t have a wcp you have to unload the weapon and secure it in a container or bag to carry it in your car.
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So I have to have a WCP to put my shotgun in my truck and go to a dove shoot, or to go deer hunting? What freakin’ moron came up with that law? Show me a plastic bag that a Browning A5 will fit in.Damn, Georgia has too many damn Yankees, before long this state will be like NY, run by idiots!
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I am fascinated by the “Richt should not have recruited this guy” comments. I sense they come from the same group who chastise CMR for not recruiting to the full allotment every year. Whatever… In both scenarios, I’m willing to give him and the coaching staff the benefit of the doubt that 1) the pressure to bring the best talent (in State, no less!) to UGA is immense in order to be competitive and 2) maybe they do avoid “problem” recruits that leave openings in the total number finally signed. In any event, CMR is the one that has to live with the consequences, and both problems do justifiably cause concern for his future success at UGA.
I would also think that IC was on a “3rd strike” internal probation, and this incident left CMR with no choice but to respond with a dismissal. Might be a different outcome if this had been a first-time affair that he could have let play-out some more with respect to the charges.
Sadly, it seems the best thing CFB could do with all of their new-found playoff money would be to develop, enhance and strictly enforce a mentoring program for these athletes instead of just handing them cash (under the stipend proposals). Frankly, a kid with IC’s potential is probably worth million$$$ to the university, yet I suspect very little is invested in tutoring these guys through more than remedial math, english, etc. …plus football skills, of course.
It’s a sad day when a kid like this is dismissed from an opportunity when all involved can see his chosen life path is a dangerous one at best, and everyone in charge goes back to their offices to count the money. Don’t get me wrong…IC MADE BAD CHOICES when afforded the opportunity of a lifetime. But it WAS obvious what was going on, and I’m just suggesting that too little is being done by those closest to the situation to try…try mind you…to do more. And before some of you blast away at this…no, I don’t suggest you lock these kids in a room, and yes, no matter how much money you spend some folks will still make bad decisions. My point is that handing cash to these kids will not be an improvement, but teaching better life skills that many have likely NEVER had at home is certainly worthy of a few of those dollars rolling-in from the TV money, no?
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Yep…what he said.
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Yes, AusDawg85. This. Please see my (more recent) post upthread re: the clarity of IC’s guilt forcing Richt’s hand as well.
Additionally, re: recruiting, Richt can’t really come out say, hey, we didn’t really want an IC-type because he is butthead and bad actor, and when he doesn’t recruit the guy he will get publicly blasted for it. Richt, I’d think, also has to assume that the culture of the clubhouse and team will help a problem-child or two overcome his flaws (“senior leadership,” and all that). You have to believe in your own program helping increase the maturity and devotion of all of these kids, no?
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Any coach in the country would have taken IC out of high school.
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As will be proven in two years after he comes out of a JUCO school. That is if, and this is looking like a very questionable if, IC can actually stop this downward spiral he’s on and stay out of jail.
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I bet he doesn’t have to go JUCO. He may go far away, but there will be someone who will be able to convince their administration to take a chance on him. Washington State, Texas Tech, and Arkansas State sound like three possible landing places…I bet the Laner has a scholly or two to offer, and he doesn’t have state guidelines to deal with his school.
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Maybe Tubberville will him because he knows you’ve got to run the ball to win in the Big 12
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You’re right…and Washington State, too, duh, there are going to be some big-team run-oriented offenses there in Pullman, in that not-really-at-all sort of way.
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You guys are dreaming. He’s going to JC and then sign with…..Auburn. That’s if he doesn’t transfer directly to Auburn (remember he’s from Columbus). One way or another we’ll all be seeing him in Sanford–wearing an Auburn jersey.
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9mm Luger? Who carries that?
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The name is Bond, James Bond.
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Do you think they meant Ruger? I wondered about that too
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My dad was on the pistol team in the service and collected old firearms. He collect a luger while overseas . No one carries them. Expect to pay 6 to 25 grand for a German one. Knock offs can be had for less. Maybe someone got hold of a stolen knockoff and filed the numbers off. No one would do that to a collectable. They could have meant Ruger. Sturm, Ruger & Co. is a manufacturer of American-made firearms. Policemen are usually very astute when it comes to firearms so there is that. FYI Hitler didn’t carry a luger and neither did James Bond. Bond carried a Walther PPK.
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And best of all, Adolph killed himself with a Walther 32 PP or PPK
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Nah. That was all a fake. Adolph shot one of the guards who looked sort of like him in the head and had his body burned so that everyone would think it was him. Adolph and I still are living in Paraguay. Man, the girls down here are really hot!!!
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A little different . Hitler was shooting himself with a .32 cal version. Mr. Bond was using a .38. Not that it should matter at that range……Hitler did add cyanide to be sure.
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The English officers used .32 pistols. They got slaughtered during those differences with Turkey back in the day. That is what encouraged the .45 development . USA also developed some fighter planes for the Brits during WWII. You might be surprised at what you can learn as a kid sitting around a bunch of military guys playing cards.
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“9mm Luger” is also the designation of a specific type of cartridge-which is, after all-how handguns are normally categorized…
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The proper name for the cartridge is 9mm Parabellum. My Uncle brought three back from Europe in WWII. His outfit liberated a concentration camp and the SS Colonel in charge had shot himself. My Uncle found a matched set of Lugers with consecutive serial numbers in a walnut presentation box. The other Luger was a battlefield pickup. That SS officer also had a pair of dress Nazi daggers in a scabbard that he picked up. The matched Lugers were stolen from him before he could get back to Ga. but his sons have the other Luger and the daggers. My Uncle would never talk about the concentration camp, all he would say is that after seeing the camp it was a long time before his outfit took any German prisoners.
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Perhaps our players getting arrested and in trouble is part and parcel of not oversigning. I’m not saying trouble doesn’t happen in places where coaches oversign, but perhaps knowing there are 3 guys behind you to take your job encourages better behavior. Thoughts?
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Ruger and Luger are definitely not synonymous. If you’re going to get a felony weapons charge, at least man up and carry a .45!
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Wrong spot-meant to place 2 posts up. But while I’m here, Crowell had plenty of competition in Malcome, Marshall, and Gurley this year. Over signing wouldn’t have made a difference.
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“Oh I beg to differ sir.” If we are charged with manning up…. let’s “go all the way.” 😉
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The .45 has an interesting history.
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+1
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I think I would have kicked him off the team for sassing coaches – I was rooting for the kid but was not his biggest fan. Still, I was encouraged at the reports that he was growing up more for his own sake than for Georgia football, which does not live or die with any one person, however talented.
But even if the gun belongs to him, we need to remember that he wasn’t doing anything *actively* wrong in this incident.
Carrying a gun in a “school zone” is a bs law to begin with. He wasn’t letting kindergarten kids play with it, he wasn’t walking around on campus with it that we know of, he was using a roadway through campus. The guy *lives* in a school zone – it’s not like he was entering a school zone with intent. For all we know the gun never leaves his car and he may lock it in his trunk – I don’t necessarily think that is likely, but we really don’t know the story yet.
Again, not saying what is or isn’t likely, here, but we still haven’t heard if the gun for sure belongs to him. He wasn’t drinking, apparently – a point in his favor. Cops can do some field tests for marijuana, apparently they had no reason to think he’d been smoking dope, either – another point in his favor.
The only thing he really was doing wrong, in my opinion, was carrying around a weapon of questionable origin – if he indeed knew about it and it was his. I’m not stupid – I’m just saying that chance exists. You can also consider the possibility that IC just wanted to buy a gun, but isn’t very smart about the difference between a gun with a serial number and one without a serial number, or the rules for carrying one around.
I guess what I’m getting at is, for all the reasons you can dislike the kid, he seems to have committed two felonies in the most passive and accidental manner possible. I think this was probably just the last straw for a coach who was sick of a kid’s bad attitude but didn’t have grounds or enough wins lately for the Bulldog faithful to understand his getting rid of him.
His biggest mistake was not the gun itself, necessarily, but the fact that he hadn’t built up a store of good faith and good will from his teammates, coach, and fanbase that would have been credited to his account in this situation. In his arrest the other night, he was arrested for (basically) stupidity, not for any actual bad behavior, but he was convicted by his bad behavior of the past…
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The gun is illegal; therefore, since it was in his car, it is his. In the eyes of the law, contraband is owned by the person possessing it at the time they have it, and the person arrested with it owns it.
In getting arrested for this he is a felon, has violated university guidelines, and may not even be eligible to be a student any longer. His biggest mistake was the gun itself, actually, yes; these are harsh circumstances, no doubt, for what could have been a very naive and quite stupid screw-up. But if IC did not know the risks of carrying untraceable weapons on campus, he does now.
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I was not arguing about the law or the legal definition of who is or is not a felon – a classification that is very often not suited to the level of the crime. But a law simply existing is not itself justification for its existence. I wasn’t arguing that there aren’t penalties to breaking laws, but rather that the punishment does not fit the crime in this case.
I don’t know what qualifies as a school zone gun felony, but it appears that it extends to even some situations where a gun may be technically legal *in certain situations* and where the same gun is technically illegal based on the license of the owner and where he’s keeping it in his car – beyond his grasp, etc.
But this is a different issue than the serial number – and I bet you there are a whole lot of people whose mind it never crosses that if they cut through campus with an “illegal” gun in their car they’re committing a felony. Do you think a banker in a Benz at noon pulled over on campus would get hit with a felony for having his gun with him if it failed to meet the definition of a legal school zone carry and the cop didn’t feel threatened? Me neither – the cop would probably give him a stern warning to get his act together and let him go. Although IC may have taken that option out of their hands – once the serial number issue came up and they knew they were going to charge him, they may have felt obligated to be thorough and add the school zone charge as well.
My larger point was that in this case, the law will be giving Crowell two felonies for having done…what? Forget the law for a second – what punishment do *you* think is appropriate here, if you saw he had a clear record and could find no evidence that the gun had been used in a crime? Two felonies? Really? Perhaps they will use the threat of pushing the felony to trace the gun to the guy who gave/sold it to him – that would be a worthwhile use of that charge…
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I appreciate and understand your giving him the benefit of the doubt. My point is that I think Richt could not afford to do the same because of the charges and obvious guilt. I get your point about the charges being a bit much.
I guess my opinion (if you’re asking me personally) is that he should not have had an illegal gun anywhere in any circumstances; gun ownership carries a rather large responsibility, just like driving a car; is it right for it to be a felony to have an unlicensed one? I don’t know what to think there. So I’m deferring to the law on that and thinking that IC should have known about it when he came upon this Luger/Ruger. He should know by now that for him, as for the other players, the stakes are high are with stuff like this.
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+1
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College players need some kind of ‘den mother’ to protect them from themselves while acclimating to life as an adult. Considering the value of players to the university, this should be obvious. It’s foolhardy to unleash kids on campus and expect them to act as responsible adults. Either go the den mother route or sign 30+ recruits every year to make up for the attrition one can expect from the unsupervised players being dismissed. Crowell’s situation is nothing new – its happened over and over and over, only the name changes. I blame the adults who pick up their paychecks, then throw their hands in the air and say nothing can be done. As much as I hate to say it, Mark Bradley had a point – a lot of our recruits aren’t buying into what CMR is selling, or this wouldn’t happen so frequently.
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What is about running backs specifically, I wonder? Weird coincidence?
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He is an idiot for carrying the gun in the first place? second he will go to a D 1 AA school and run all over and then declare for the draft or some shat, but believe you me this kid will be in and out of the league in a year or twoa t the most, back in Columbus, driving a bus.
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How ironic…..he “wouldn’t get on the bus” and soon he will be driving one?
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