Georgia Bulldogs Making Headlines During Bye Week
The Georgia Bulldogs may be off this week, but the team is still making headlines. This week, news for the Dawgs comes in the form of alleged marijuana use by two key players, and an injury update from Coach Smart.
Saturday night, hours after the Georgia Bulldogs loss to Vanderbilt police arrived at the dorm room of Natrez Patrick and Roquan Smith after a resident assistant smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the room. The incident took place inside of McWhorter Hall dormitory in the East Campus Village. Neither Patrick nor Smith were arrested due to a room search which “produced no marijuana of testable quantity.”
Both Patrick and Smith are starters at inside linebacker and are also the team’s top two tacklers. Patrick leads the Bulldogs with 42 tackles and Smith is right behind him with 39. How Georgia handles the incident regarding disciplinary measures could have a huge impact on the defense going forward. According to reports, Coach Kirby Smart has not commented on the situation and any disciplinary action will be handled internally.
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VIA Chip Towers of DawgNation:
"Neither Natrez Patrick nor Roquan Smith — both starting inside linebackers — were arrested in the incident, which occurred at 9:14 p.m. Saturday. A search of Patrick’s dorm room “produced no marijuana of testable quantity,” according to police.However, police said Patrick admitted to keeping marijuana in a hidden compartment built within a fake can of Arizona Strawberry Tea that was confiscated. Other discoveries police reported after securing a search warrant were a “green smoke buddy” (an air-filter device often used to masked the smell of marijuana when in use), tobacco gutted from Black N’ Mild cigars, several lighters and rolled up towels pushed up against door cracks, according to the incident report.It’s the second run-in with police for Patrick involving marijuana. The sophomore from Atlanta was arrested a year ago along with former Georgia player Chauncey Rivers for marijuana possession. He was suspended for one game for that infraction.Patrick was also present but not charged when Rivers was arrested again for marijuana possession last December. Rivers eventually was dismissed from the team and is now playing for East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Miss.Patrick could be looking at a four-game suspension if UGA concludes he violated the athletic associations’ student-athlete marijuana-use policy a second time."
Kirby Smart Gives Injury Update
The Georgia Bulldogs loss to Vanderbilt also left them with two injured starters. On Tuesday, right guard Lamont Gaillard returned to practice, but cornerback Deandre Baker did not.
Gaillard has started every game so far this season, and suffered a back injury with five minutes remaining in the third quarter last week against the Commodores. On the other hand, Baker started the last two previous games but didn’t play against Vanderbilt due to a sprained ankle which he sustained during practice. Juwan Briscoe took his place against Vandy while Baker remained on the sidelines wearing a walking boot and using crutches. According to Coach Smart, he “is still rehabbing.”
Next: Atlanta Braves: Braves Will Be Spending This Off-Season
Next up, the Georgia Bulldogs will take on the Florida Gators at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Catch the game at 3:30 PM ET on CBS.