This offseason for Georgia football has not started off well. As spring practice approached, a few UGA players found themselves tied in some legal issues off the field, leading to the arrest of six different players. While this is upsetting for coach Kirby Smart and these issues need to be removed, this shouldn't have a big effect on the upcoming season.
After back-to-back 10 win seasons, including an SEC Championship, and an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship, Georgia fans are expecting a big year in 2019. The news of these arrests has turned that expectation into doubt in some fans minds and I mean, can you blame them? They have witnessed this before with past Georgia football teams led by former coach Mark Richt. Players would get arrested heading into a big season, and Georgia would underperform. The arrests were not a direct result to the performance of the team as there were other factors to consider like injuries and strength of their opponents, but they had an impact by forcing players to sit out crucial games.
That's not a major problem for this Georgia team though. Five out of the six players arrested have not started a game for the team, a couple of them apart of the incoming freshman class. The one player that was concerning to see on the arrest list was wide receiver Tyler Simmons, who was getting a lot of reps near the end of the 2018 season and is supposed to be a big part of the 2019 offense. He was arrested for disorderly conduct after a fight in a bar along with another UGA football player.
Another positive for Georgia is the timing of the arrests. Having these problems in the spring is a lot better than having these problems during the season. With four months before kickoff, this gives Smart time to fix whatever problem his players are having right now, and clear all this up before August. If he can get his team under control this offseason, there is a good chance UGA could be playing in the playoff, maybe even for the national title in January.
However, one concerning thing to keep in mind with these UGA arrests is the number of underclassmen involved. Most of the players arrested were apart of the last two recruiting classes, some of the best in UGA recruiting history. This is concerning because of the reputation Georgia could earn with the next recruiting class. If these high school seniors are seeing all these players getting arrested, which could cost them their football careers in a sense, then why would you want to come to play there.
The upperclassmen the past two years have done a great job building UGA as a solid program with minimal off-field issues. It's a big reason UGA has pulled two historic recruiting classes in a row. If these arrests continue to be a problem heading into the 2019 season, the hard work those upperclassmen put in to build the program may go to waste and might turn a promising program into disaster.
The 2019 Georgia football team has a chance to make history and win championships, something UGA fans have been craving for a long time. It's only April, and we still have a long four months before college football kicks off again. However, if Georgia wants to make this small concern become a bigger issue, Smart needs to rally his players and remind them to make the right choices and to not put yourself into a bad situation. Hopefully, he gets to them in time.
