Isaiah Crowell: Once again, he’s the ‘missing man’ for UGA
Isaiah Crowell is about to be hugged after scoring against Tennessee. (AP photo)
Georgia wanted Isaiah Crowell so much it committed a secondary violation to get him. It had 10 incumbent Bulldogs array themselves, in uniform, in an offensive set, and it had Crowell, who was on a recruiting visit, take his place in the backfield. This, Georgia was saying, is where you can be next season. (It was also a breach of byzantine NCAA rules.)
And, at least for part of the time, that’s where Crowell has been this season — ensconced as Georgia’s No. 1 tailback. He leads the team in rushing and has had three 100-yard games. He has also gone missing during games so often we’ve all taken to wondering what’s really going on. Is he taking himself out of the game because he’s tired? Does he get injured that often? Are the coaches holding him back? If so, why?
After Crowell didn’t play in the first quarter against Vanderbilt, Mark Richt told a halftime interviewer the freshman had been withheld “because we love him.” (”Undisclosed disciplinary reasons” were the real explanation, apparently.) On Tuesday, after Richt’s regular media briefing had concluded, Georgia announced that Crowell was one of three tailbacks — third-stringer Carlton Thomas and Ken Malcome are the other two — who have been suspended for Saturday’s game against New Mexico State. No specific reason was given.
Thus will the Bulldogs be minus four tailbacks Saturday: Richard Samuel was hurt against Florida and has undergone ankle surgery that will sideline him for the rest of the regular season. But the greater issue is Crowell, of whom so much was expected. To be fair, he has come close to justifying the massive hype that preceded him, but the stop-and-start nature of his season — now you see him; now you don’t — has led some to wonder if he’ll be a Bulldog long.
Some cast Isaiah Crowell as the recruit who was going to save Richt’s job, and clearly the freshman has done his part to lift the Bulldogs to 6-2 and second place in the SEC East. But there have been warning signs over those eight games that make us ask: Will the “missing man” turn out to be more trouble than he’s worth?
By Mark Bradley
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479 comments Add your comment
B'dawg
November 1st, 2011
6:46 pm
Ive thought and thought and thought about this. If I am Mark Richt, and Im not, what I do regarding what has happened. Do I sacrifice what and who I am and what I stand for, or do I do what every other coach in the SEC or other conference would do. LSU, and Florida from last year, come to mind. Mark is supposed to be cleaning out the garbage right? And he has thrown out, or cast, out the demons from last year right? Right. So what does he do now. They shouldve been suspended for the Florida game if indeed the results were confirmed last week. Here lies my questions. Do you take another chance with Crowell and risk him embarrasing him again. This is his 2nd offense already, that we know of, in 1 year. And they are getting more serious. Ken Malcome quit the team for no playing time, and was allowed to come back, and now this. Wasnt Thomas suspended for the opener?I think we should nip this in the bud, before it really blows up. I would let Crowell go.Improbably gonna take some grenades for that comment, but thats how I feel. If CMR doesnt do something drastic, he will have let himself slip into the abyss that is called selfishness and greed.
georgiagirl
November 1st, 2011
6:47 pm
Drug test take 4 to 5 days for full results, they don’t do the simple test. My drug screen took a week, to come back. So unless your know the facts shut up NUFF SAID
LakeDawg
November 1st, 2011
6:50 pm
It appears the behavior really hasn’t improved at UGA. CMR is just keeping it quite this year, trying to stay under the radar. As someone pointed out, what happened to Houston? Right when I start to think CMR has turned the corner (which would make me very happy) troubling news comes down the pike. News that indicates that CMR CAN’T DISCIPLINE THIS TEAM. Vandy, now this along with several under the radar suspensions. I’m gonna to pull like hell for UGA to go 10-2 and make it to the Dome, but my nightmare is they will go 10-2, CMR will get an extension, and then crash and burn against next years much tougher schedule. After which, UGA will retain him, because the buyout is too large. Its all about the money, after all.
LakeDawg
November 1st, 2011
6:54 pm
Will Crowell will be totin’ the rock for LSU or Auburn in 2013?
Freedawg
November 1st, 2011
6:56 pm
Come on IC, dont piss it away. Sounds like some seniors need to beat his ass
Of course
November 1st, 2011
7:00 pm
Ga knew about this last week because I remember the fans on the blogs already talking about the rumors they were hearing of some king of problem with Crowell involving a failed drug test, but beating Florida was a bigger deal then the integrity of the program.
danny
November 1st, 2011
7:00 pm
Just what do you people want. I am in no way a huge Mark Richt fan but if he would have suspended them for the Florida game and we would have lost, NONE of you would have patted him on the back for his integrity. Win or leave is what everyone of us told him before the season. What do you want him to do. I congratulate him on not being an idiot and waiting for the suspension now
Win P
November 1st, 2011
7:01 pm
Don’t suppose UGA’s kickers have been partying with the three suspended running backs?
RGB
November 1st, 2011
7:01 pm
“Georgia wanted Isaiah Crowell so much it committed a secondary violation to get him.”
And then they were surprised that he reciprocated.
Georgia has no shot at winning a national title because they play as a group of individuals: the Team means nothing. Georgia’s Individuals hurt the Team every year. And Richt gives the same old line about “this experience will make these young men better.” Better than whom? Alabama?
Saban and others hold membership on their teams as something exclusive, important, and requiring a commitment not to hurt the Team. Georgia? Not so much.
POOPDAWG
November 1st, 2011
7:04 pm
B’Dawg maybe you should have thought a little more before posting such CRAP!
Nate
November 1st, 2011
7:05 pm
Nothing like cheating to win a football game.
heartofdarkness
November 1st, 2011
7:05 pm
And I read it in the AJC: “Congressman compares NCAA to the mafia”. It may be an insult to La Cosa Nostra, But big money college sports may be a good training ground, if the congressman is right.
Heels Rock and Rule
November 1st, 2011
7:06 pm
So, if the drug test results were not back before the Fl game, why not still make the punishment meaningful?
B'dawg
November 1st, 2011
7:08 pm
I WOULD HAVE PATTED HIM ON THE BACK. Thats whats wrong with college football today. These players are treated like kings. And now they want to give them extra money to play with. BIG MISTAKE. The problems are just getting started. NCAA = NFL soon, real soon.
POOPDAWG
November 1st, 2011
7:09 pm
RGB , Name someone Saben has suspended this year? He will save his till February.
doc
November 1st, 2011
7:11 pm
crowell is starting to look more like the lost king rather than the god h walker look alike he was projected to be. bulldog nation better find themselves another candidate to fill those big shoes. i doubt this is going to have a happy ending.
sad to say they seem to have run away from the controversy as this was in the works and doubtful it came to light between 12:30, decision made and consequent news alert. seems that it was known before the press conference or it is a unique coincidence that it came afterwards.
B'dawg
November 1st, 2011
7:12 pm
Im telling you people, the guy is gonna be trouble. Doubt me if you want. I may be wrong and I hope I am, but thats my opinion.
gcs
November 1st, 2011
7:12 pm
Crowell is a waste of talent. He is a flake and can’t take a hit.
.
Delbert D.
November 1st, 2011
7:12 pm
What’s with the anti-geriatric posts on the blogs lately? If you don’t want to experience life beyond, say, 35, it’s completely up to you.
Delbert D.
November 1st, 2011
7:18 pm
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A Democratic congressman compared the NCAA to the Mafia over how it controls the lives of student athletes.
I think the Mafia should sue for defamation.
Good thing Boykin's in shape
November 1st, 2011
7:21 pm
cuz he’s playing O & D this Saturday
And, anybody else heard about Ronnie “shoot my AK47 in the parking lot” Wilson being back on the Gator roster as a walk on?
jdawg
November 1st, 2011
7:22 pm
Heels, you being a Heels fan I would presume, are certainly not talking about doling out proper punishment after supporting the debacle you call a football program. It is UGA policy to suspend for 1 game for such a first offense. And as to all of you conspirators, I own a company and we drug test our potential and current employees. We can at our discretion ask that a “failed” sample be re-tested. We would do this, in the case of say, an employee that normally was exceptional and had passed other tests with no issue. Or say, a group of 3 of them that had tested at the same time and all turned up positive. This could account for the rumors that a test was failed late last week, and a re-test would have not been prepared until yesterday or today. I suspect this may have been the case. In the bigger picture this incident will be long forgotten and resolved with time. IC will either work out or he won’t. Same for the others as well. Just please God, enough with all of the drama and conspiracy.
DougsMugs
November 1st, 2011
7:25 pm
Quincy Carter smoked dope at UGA, too. That is why he was so up and down. An incredible talent that could have set many records and won more NFL cash for himself, but he couldn’t stay away from the weed.
Talent is wasted on the young and stupid.
RTT
November 1st, 2011
7:25 pm
WITH SEVERAL REPORTS INDICATING THEY TESTED POSITIVE BEFORE THE FLORIDA GAME…IF TRUE, REALLY TAKES AWAY FROM COACH RICHT’S CREDIBILITY AND STATUS AS A GOOD CHRISTIAN MAN ….WOULD SEEM THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED AGAINST FLORIDA. BEING SUSPENDED FOR THE NEW MEXICO GAME IS A JOKE. LOOKS LIKE WINNING IS ALL THAT MATTERS, EVEN TO COACH RICHT.
CMAC22
November 1st, 2011
7:29 pm
Your so right Bradley! We got rid of two tailbacks that were unreliable & now have got a new one on board. He is either hurt or tired during games … says alot about the wonderful conditioning program at UGA! Now, he is suspended for being an idiot! Then again, we all did stupid things at 18 yrs old!
The difference is that most of us didn’t get a free ride in exchange for our services. Start making these clowns pay back a portion of their scholarships for games missed due to suspensions & it would probably curtail some of them!
DougsMugs
November 1st, 2011
7:32 pm
@RTT, punishment is punishment. Why punish the whole team?
Missing a game, even against a lesser opponent, is punishment. The suspension of Rambo and Carlton Thomas at the beginning of the year, could have been applied to a game later in the season, but it was done and gotten out of the way.
Why do you hate UGA so much? I don’t go on the TECH board or whatever pathetic team you worship, and talk stupid smack. Why are you obsessed with UGA? It is sad.
POOPDAWG
November 1st, 2011
7:35 pm
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO VANDY NOV 5 !
icedawg
November 1st, 2011
7:37 pm
Crowell has contributed, a little, not a lot. He does not look like a bruising runner. He is lightweight, quick, a slasher type runner, but apparently can be easily hurt a la Caleb King. Add to that an attitude that has believed the hype about himself and you have a poisonous mix. DAWGS need to find a bruising runner. I don’t care if he is a 2-3 star runner. Find someone who can run over people and break tackles.
icedawg
November 1st, 2011
7:43 pm
Samuel, not Crowell did the damage against Florida.
Rob M
November 1st, 2011
7:49 pm
Crowell could take a lesson from #22 for Nebraska, Rex Burkhead. This guy never takes a play off, runs hard, gets up after every run…..never comes off the field. He should also look at his fellow former Columbus High team mate Jarvis Jones. What a refreshing attitude. He gives it all he’s got, not a “it’s a all about me” player, leads by example….just a BEAST!!!! Grow up Crowell……..
Rob M
November 1st, 2011
7:52 pm
Icedawg, check out Rex B. He’s the kinda guy we ought to recruit. Also a Big 12 All Academic team member. Hell, Crowell should take a few looks at that #34 guy that played here!!!! That’s how you do it….
SWDAWG
November 1st, 2011
7:52 pm
New year – same story. How pathetic a win over Florida, FINALLY, can’t be enjoyed more than two days! A CHANGE STILL HAS TO BE MADE, and it starts at the top. Let’s stop “loving on them”, and start holding EVERYONE accountable.
UGA Rocks!
November 1st, 2011
7:53 pm
So I guess illegal drug use is just alright with Richt! He plays the players against Florida so he can get the win but then suspends the players a week later against the Patsy on the schedule. The message to players…take drugs and we will suspend you against the weaklings on the schedule. If there are no weaklings in sight we’ll withold your bubble gum. What a great coach he is!!!
Classless in Athens
November 1st, 2011
7:53 pm
@SimpleDawg November 1st, 2011 4:45 pm – You say – Crowell will be another idiot who wasted a lot of talent and a great opportunity because he is so self absorbed that he can’t conform enough to stay out of trouble. Sad.
Georgia needs to stop recruiting thugs. Start recruiting young men who have morals and appreciate the opportunity to get a free college education as well as play football.
Wake-up Georgia. THUGISM IS OLD SCHOOL!
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
November 1st, 2011
7:54 pm
people get over this whole “uga cheated against uf”…it’s pathetic. i firmly believe in mcgarity & richt that they didn’t know. some of have been to college and we all do stupid things. all of colleges this year have had issues with their athletes..its a fact of life people…get over it and move on. question is now what is the running game going to look like this saturday. and for those of you bashing crowell….no one even knows what his first so-called “offense” was.. it could’ve been he was late to practice or something. any sec team will gladly take him from uga.
SLAPAjacket
November 1st, 2011
7:55 pm
Crowell was high and we still beat the gators AZZ. What does that say about the FL D? I hope he smokes 2 before we play auburn and the golden girls in Atlanta.
OldTimer
November 1st, 2011
7:55 pm
I just googled it and yes New Mexico is a state. That’s the bad news. The good news is that they don’t have a football team, so to speak. UGA’s F-team could beat that bunch.
Tampa Gator
November 1st, 2011
7:55 pm
EW…..
Just for the record:
Janoris Jenkins – First time was caught with one half roll on him. A test record no drugs in his system. He was suspended. Second time was caught with drugs in his system. Kicked off the team.
Chris Martin – Was kicked off the team with the first positve drug test.
These are the two only positive drugs test while Muschamp has been the Florida coach…..and both are no longer on the team.
Now…..maybe Richt should follow the “model” but I doubt he will.
Tampa Gator
November 1st, 2011
7:58 pm
To be honest……the more I learn about Mark Richt…..and his recruitment practices…..I lose more and more respect for a man that preaches one thing and does another. Just like most preacher men.
You guys have fun ripping Tebow…..but he is 10 times the “Christian” Mr. Richt is. He at least practices what he preaches……
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
November 1st, 2011
7:59 pm
and another thing…everyone is bashing crowell now. go back to the recruiting blogs when he picked uga…everyone was so pumped and acting like we found the next rb for the future…now the guy smokes a little weed and he’s a sinner, thug, etc, etc. i never heard no one complain about him the past 8 games…idiots!!
Tampa Gator
November 1st, 2011
8:00 pm
And these comments have nothing to do with Georgia winning on Saturday. Richt’s program just simple seems out of his control……just too much of this stuff. Coaches everywhere need to come down hard on lawbreakers…..no matter the player or his position. I would support kicking off Florida’s best player for using illegal drugs. One warning at best. Depends on the kid and his background, I guess.
dawgfan
November 1st, 2011
8:00 pm
Good grief enough with the b!tching and moaning about our RBs “taking themselves out” of games. It Every team on the freaking planet ratates running backs. Get a clue.
Thanks.
reasonable dawg
November 1st, 2011
8:01 pm
I’ll bet that about a quarter of the negative comments on here are from just one poster using different names. These anti Bulldog fans for the most part are not that sharp anyway and the style is consistent. I’ll agree with the one poster who said they are not Tech students or they’d be busier. I suspect they made a semester or two of community college and they’re done, and certainly unemployed living on Mom and Dad’s money.
That said, I hope Crowell grows up, and I applaud Richt for disciplining these guys, cause some coaches are not gonna do anything!
BIG MIKE
November 1st, 2011
8:02 pm
You’re all a bunch of self righteous idiots. So, the kid smoked a little pot. He’s ‘A KID’. That’s why, not just Richt, but all coaches give these ‘KIDS’ every chance to grow and learn from their mistakes. Some succeed and some don’t. But you have to try. They are getting these boys from all walks of society with a lot of bad habits that were developed at the highschool level. A level most of you support as well.
Back in the ’70’s there was a lot more than pot smokin’ going on. There were full fledged Steroid programs in full swing at virtually every university and most competitive high schools. I know this for a fact. But if a kid they wanted out of the program so much as scratched his nose wrong…it was a ‘TEAM VIOLATION’ worthy of booting him from the program.
JDAWG….is absolutely correct. If a tested involving 3 players showed positive on one test, then the test would be suspect and another would be ordered. In the Military, they would be treated guilty until proven innocent by the second and possibly third test. BUT THEY ARE NOT IN THE MILITARY. OUR NATIONAL SECURITY IS NOT AT RISK. It’s college football. Get a grip people. Let these kids do what they went to college to do……….LEARN!!! I bet you did the stupid crap when you were young. And judging by some of these blogs…….you still are!!!
dawgfan
November 1st, 2011
8:02 pm
So Mark Richt suspends a couple of players for a game and he is now going to hell.
No, you are not a biased idiot at all.
Tampa Gator
November 1st, 2011
8:07 pm
Big Mike…..
Do you want me to go into my files and post all the comments Georgia fans made about Janoris Jenkins, Chris Martin, and Chris Rainey……all kids who made grass and emotional mistakes in their lives. Seriously!!!!!!
POOPDAWG
November 1st, 2011
8:07 pm
” And these comments have nothing to do with Georgia winning” Grab a dam tissue Tampa Gator your going to ruin your computer.
Pull My Finger
November 1st, 2011
8:09 pm
It’s funny how fast the nerd Techies end back up on the Dawg blogs after they finally win another game………….it’s also funny to hear fans of a program that’s been on probation twice in the last six years (FOR CHEATING!!!!! Yes, Techies, CHEATING!!!) lecture us on ethics…..HILARIOUS!!!!
Tampa Gator
November 1st, 2011
8:11 pm
Like I said…….
You guys were not at all negative and condeming when Janoris Jenkins made his “mistake”…..PS. no longer on the Florida team for that mistake. Or Chris Martin for his “mistake”….no longer on Florida’s roster. I am sure all your posts all supported keeping them on the Florida roster.
And I know all of you were ready to “understand” a kid’s mistake when Rainey made his.
Yep…..I clearly remember all of you being so “understanding” at those times. Right.
Tampa Gator
November 1st, 2011
8:14 pm
I just came on to read all the justifications and excuses you Dawg fans will come up with….and continue to come up with…..to justify all the bad behavior…..and poor leadership from you head coach….that is going on at Georgia. Well….I can go now. I have read plenty. So….remember….keep you self righeous stones away from Gator and Tech fans in the future. What a bunch of hips.