UGA QB Mettenberger arrested in South Georgia (UPDATED)
Zach Mettenberger, a candidate to be the University of Georgia’s starting quarterback in the fall, was arrested on five misdemeanor charges over the weekend in the South Georgia town of Remerton.
Mettenberger, 18, was charged with underage consumption/possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct, obstruction and two counts of possessing fake identification, Remerton Police Chief Mike Terrell told the AJC.
The police report, obtained by the AJC, does not provide details about the circumstances surrounding Mettenberger’s arrest at 1:39 a.m. Sunday at the Flip Flops bar in Remerton, which is near Valdosta.
“I don’t have much available right now,” Terrell said in an e-mail. “We are still investigating the circumstances that led to his arrest.”
Mettenberger was transported to the Lowndes County Jail, according to the police report. He later was released on bond. He has a court date scheduled for April 27.
Under UGA Athletic Association policy, a conviction on an alcohol-related charge would mean a mandatory suspension of at least one game. Georgia’s season opener is Sept. 4 against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Mettenberger, from Oconee County, is one of three contenders for Georgia’s starting quarterback job. Rated the No. 11 quarterback prospect in the nation by Rivals.com in 2008, Mettenberger was redshirted as a UGA freshman last season and began spring practice last week in competition with Aaron Murray and Logan Gray to succeed the graduated Joe Cox as the starter.
The arrest came early in UGA’s spring break, which runs through this week. The football team is not scheduled to resume practice until March 16.
A UGA spokesman said coach Mark Richt was aware of Mettenberger’s situation and will be getting more information on the matter. Richt is out of town and would have no immediate comment, the spokesman said.
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617 comments Add your comment
Mark "Crimson Crier" Ingram
March 8th, 2010
11:01 am
No matter how hard the Gators try, the UGA Curdawgs maintain their lead in student athlete and former athlete arrest.
Is Stafford’s “beer keg press” record safe? How many reps did Zach Mettenberger complete?
How2fish
March 8th, 2010
11:01 am
Diamond Dog’s Parole Officer or better yet..make up his own punishment like the Ol Eye Gouger Spikes did…
.
March 8th, 2010
11:01 am
Bud Flu…Mettenberger is not Jesus !
He may wish he was. He got catch in one bad County, they don’t play. Just like Henry Co. don’t play. How stupid can these players be?
jaxdawg
March 8th, 2010
11:01 am
whoa DieHard, this is a college kid drinking. Newsflash: this occurs every night on every college campus in the country. There is no need to take his entire scholarship away. they should discipline him, but not in the way that he punched someone after a game. He made a stupid mistake that many 19-20 year olds make.
UGAJohn
March 8th, 2010
11:01 am
Don’t the coaches tell these guys that they are targets? I think sometimes it is wrong-place wrong-time for some, but this was carrying a fake ID with the intent to buy liquor. That is stupid and illegal and Zach should not be in college on scholarship
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
March 8th, 2010
11:01 am
A$$ painting seems to be the least of their worries. A team with no mascot is a troubled team. Will a new mascot be chosen or will they be coming back to ol’ Russ black helmets in hand? Maybe the day of the white a$$ed bulldog has passed. Maybe it is time for a new mascot. Maybe a Ford pickup?
DawgFan24
March 8th, 2010
11:02 am
The real question: What the hell was he doing partying in Remerton? Yikes! Kinda like Ben Rothelisburger in Milledgeville?
Hey Zack, take a look around Athens, should be plenty to keep you busy there!
U Gotta B Kidding Me
March 8th, 2010
11:03 am
If a college kid underage drinking is termed a thug, then I would love to see every kid, athlete or not, get arrested and you might be suprised at the millions who would have rap sheets.
Glass houses, ever heard of it?
Dawg fan
March 8th, 2010
11:03 am
funny how bama wins a NC and they start appearing on these little comment blogs for the AJC – the crimson tide are lucky they haven’t been stripped of everything they’ve accomplished as much as they have cheated over the years…
Zach messed up – who cares. Aaron Murray is going to be starting QB anyways….
get back to work you idiots.
Go Dawgs.
Dawgs2010
March 8th, 2010
11:03 am
Why was he in Remerton? I didn’t know Valdosta was a Sprink Break destination? QB battle is offically over.
Porty
March 8th, 2010
11:03 am
DieHard, there is no way that happens. His mother works in the athletic offices at Georgia. There is no way they make an example of him. I’d agree that we shouldn’t be shocked at the Under Age Drinking charge but I’d like to hear more about the Disorderly and Obstruction charges. Richt is, however, soft on those boys. He’s got the Bowden “aww shucks” mentatlity.
foothills
March 8th, 2010
11:03 am
1st of all… I dislike UGAG. However, the kid didn’t have a gun, no drug charges,and he was on spring break. Underage drinking by a college kid with a fake I.D. Big deal. Slam the puppies when they steal a car, or disfigure someone in a nightclub.
WHAAAA
March 8th, 2010
11:03 am
Timmy Tucker,
I figured you would try to sweep this one under the rug, so to speak???? I can actually say that you showed some real journalistic integrity for once.
Jim007
March 8th, 2010
11:04 am
Just another example that today everyone is under the microscope.
You do not even have to be an athlete, in the news , or whatever.
Do something wrong and the whole Planet knows in 20 minutes.
If we had today’s technology 40 years ago, not many of us would not be without incident !
dawgster
March 8th, 2010
11:04 am
Guys, these are still 18 and 19 year old kids, Coach Richt and the coaches will handle it as they well should, will definitely put him behind now…Remember before everyone goes to bashing the kid and the program that this happens to all programs, Bama included….Anyone that has not made dumb decisions or was lucky enough not to get caught at this age is lying if they post otherwise on here…The AJC will jump at this kind of stuff, but lets not get into bashing the young man for a mistake, and lets hope this is not a pattern for him, but for now give him and the program the benefit of the doubt and see how he handles the consequences that will come…Be prepared dawg nation the bashing from the other programs is about to start,,,
Alabama, how cute
March 8th, 2010
11:05 am
Why don’t you Alabama folks worry about a functional economy, paving your roads, and removing the 40+ year stigma of George Wallace. Reflect on that the next time you drive to Atlanta for a flight because the world doesn’t know or care where Birminham is located. You’re reading the Atlanta paper from your home in Georgia I presume because their is no industry to speak of in Alabama. Get a clue.
As far as that crown of the state of Alabama…..the Bama football program. In the last 10 years………Mike Dubose, Mike Price, Denis Franchione, Mike Shula……….just stop. Assault Weapons, Larceny, Theft, Assault………you know glass houses and stuff.
DawgFan24
March 8th, 2010
11:05 am
Whew, for a second there, I thought the headline read “QB Murray Arrested” Thank God!
Glory Glory
March 8th, 2010
11:05 am
I LOVE all you moron TROLLERS from other Schools that just cannot wait for any bad news from UGA.
Who on here wants to even pretend like you didn’t drink, and go to bars on Spring Break when you were in college??
TO HELL WITH YOU HATERS.
He will pay with a suspension, and hopefully learn responsibility.
GO DAWGS!!!!!
ATL Steve
March 8th, 2010
11:05 am
Seems like we have a lot of “Bamas” on this blog…I wonder why? Oh yeah, you don’t have a newspaper in the state! All you Tide fans, you should be proud but let’s not go pointing out others faults!
Johnboy
March 8th, 2010
11:05 am
Well Zach, you just fluck the leadershp test for QBs. See you in 2011! Enjoy your year off. Dumb A$$!
RAMBLE ON!!!
March 8th, 2010
11:06 am
ahhh yes, Spring is in the air.
jacketnation
March 8th, 2010
11:07 am
It’s a shame that a fine Christian man and excellent coach like Mark Richt has to put up with the Thugters and the University of Ghetto Academics. You get your fake student I.D. the first week on campus, then your free to visits any of the 50+ bars within staggering distance of campus.
Tech Student athletes get a real education (2 semesters of Calculus required) and still excel athletically (Dwyer, Morgan, Thomas, Roddy Jones….).
DawgGirl32
March 8th, 2010
11:07 am
Well that’s one way to narrow down the QB race.
Defending National Champs- It’s funny you ask “How many players have been arrested over the past year for the dawgs?”
Unless you count the players that were “arrested” for expired licenses (I believe there were 2), UGA had one player to be arrested in the last year: Montez Robinson. Alabama also had one player arrested in the last year for domestic violence: Courtney Upshaw.
“Glad Saban doesn’t run his program like Richt does his.” That’s also pretty funny. Nick Saban is no stranger to off-the-field incidents. In his first 14 months on the job, 8 football players were arrested.
Pot meet kettle.
FLDAWG
March 8th, 2010
11:08 am
The guy hasn’t even taken a snap of any meaning and yet he is out drinking and acting like a big shot because he might be the next QB at UGA. If you are going to be drinking under age, don’t act like a jerk and cause a scene, and for heavens sake don’t get arrested. Way to put the team first Mett.
ASHVILLE DAWG
March 8th, 2010
11:08 am
First Rothensberger (sp) in Millegeville now Mettenberger in Remerton. It’s obviously is small town Georgia’s discrimination against folks with long last names!! Just obvious as heck. I suggest we march on these towns and get the QB’s released. Oh wait big Ben has left the state and Zach is back home in Oconee for spring break. Zach that’s why everyone goes to Florida for spring break, they expect drunken college kids….I’m just saying………..
Tailback U
March 8th, 2010
11:08 am
A dose of realism here. The situation worries me more for
his lack on intellegence as it pertains to the timing .
As has been stated kids do foolish things yes but he is in
the middle of keen competetion for the starting qb position.
Hopefully he will prove differently as he matures as a qb and
a person but what this doesn’t say much for him on an
intellegence level. C’mon Zach you should be better
than this . It’s hard to win a job when you are sitting on
a bag of ice fighting over leg room with UGA in his dog house.
.
March 8th, 2010
11:09 am
Turn the other ….What?
I don’t like it but I can forgive him.
haha
March 8th, 2010
11:09 am
another winner recruit…
Tim
March 8th, 2010
11:09 am
What an idiot. Vying for a starting job at an sec school and you do this. Stupid kid.
Gram
March 8th, 2010
11:09 am
@ Debdoes: I hardly think taking a drink ranks up there with killings, robberies, etc. Almost every kid I’ve known has taken a drink before they were of age. It’s not a big deal.
MamaDawg
March 8th, 2010
11:09 am
Man, how stupid do you have to be?? You are working on ‘winning’ the starting QB position for the fall…and you go out and make yourself look stupid??
bama
March 8th, 2010
11:09 am
first all uga you guys sucked last year so please dont compare to us it makes you guys look sad and secondly i would make this kid the starting QB today he knows how to party I like that
Underachiever.
March 8th, 2010
11:10 am
Ok, let me go over the details.
College Sophomore 1 year away from being 21, drinking on Spring Break? Hhahahahh only thing this is good for is a laugh. Made me think about when my ID fell apart when I handed to a gas station worker one time. Life ain’t over Mettenberger cause everyone loves a comeback story!
Larry
March 8th, 2010
11:10 am
what a dumbass. kick him off the team.
5 Buck Box
March 8th, 2010
11:10 am
Remerton is notorious for this kind of stuff. It’s a town inside of a town, bars and college students only. I hate to say it but Mettenberger probably thought he could get away with any thing down there because he is a UGA quarterback. Remerton will arrest anyone, it’s pretty much the police departments only source of income. Sadly, a underage consumption is treated like murder when you are a quarterback for a major university.
UGAJohn
March 8th, 2010
11:10 am
This is extreme, but I think the players should have a midnight curfew. The disorderly conduct I agree is concerning. Glad they did sign a QB this year b/c it seems they need to be 4 deep at every position due to suspensions and to a lesser extent, injuiries.
Rabun Dawg
March 8th, 2010
11:10 am
Dawgster, very well said!! I concur.
jellybeandawg
March 8th, 2010
11:11 am
You cant blame Richt or the UGA program for this. I dislike Richts lack of coaching abilities and overall attitude more then anyone but what 18 year old male doesn’t drink on Spring break when given the opportunity??? Not many…
BG
March 8th, 2010
11:11 am
Wow, Underage drinking!! This arrest wouldn’t get this kid a suspension at UF, Bama,UT, or any other SEC school. Who cares the kid was drinking beer and got drunk.
ncdawg1992
March 8th, 2010
11:11 am
How about this… you can only post if you NEVER drank alcohol while under the legal drinking age… If the Bama Boosters (who, by the way, seem to have replaced the annoying Gator boosters… looks like the mongoose killed the snakes… but now we have a seriously annoying mongoose problem) and the Techies continue to post, I call BS. This thread would suffer an instant death…
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
March 8th, 2010
11:11 am
Making a mistake means turning left when you meant to turn right. Carrying a fake ID and buying booze is not a mistake -that is a conscious decision to break the law. Disorderly conduct and obstruction are not mistakes, either. A$$ painting is also not a mistake. The mistake is having no discipline on the team – and as a result abundant unsportmanlike penalties on the field. I wish they would call a penalty on the a$$ painter and the one who held me down while he was painting. Coach Grantham better be as good as advertised because the whole program is in his hands now. Richt is no longer in charge.
bama
March 8th, 2010
11:11 am
first off*
Keep em coming barkeep
March 8th, 2010
11:11 am
Well I guess that’s progress…..it took 16 post before M Vick’s name came up. At least the UGA jocks are consistant, blotter fodder every year.
UGA QB Candidate Arrested « MrSEC.com
March 8th, 2010
11:12 am
[...] Mettenberger did a really stupid thing in getting arrested early yesterday morning.Mettenberger was arrested near Valdosta and charged with underage possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct, obstruction, and two counts of having a fake [...]
1eyedJack
March 8th, 2010
11:12 am
Ok, stupid move. 19-20 year olds are notoriously stupid, but that doesn’t make him a “criminal” or “thug” as some of you haters call it. All the charges are misdemeanors and not a felony in the bunch, unlike stealing a dead girl’s credit card, selling drugs, or knocking off a 7-11.
He’ll get suspended at least for the first game and there goes any real chance he had to win the QB job. It will be a heavy penance and could signal the end of his career at UGA.
The really sad thing is that CMR surely warned the team of this kind of behaviour before letting them go for spring break.
bama
March 8th, 2010
11:13 am
If my QB didnt drink i would be worried. Its college you get wasted give him a break
51 Remembers 19
March 8th, 2010
11:14 am
I’m an Auburn fan but this story is a non-issue. Who doesn’t remember having a fake id? This incident could occur for any student (not just athletes) at any university.
bama
March 8th, 2010
11:15 am
not trying to put race into this….but we all know he wont be judged as bad as other guys cause he is a QB and white
Redstic
March 8th, 2010
11:15 am
Compare the Dawgs to LSU: The Tigers have not had one incident with a football player since 2008 when Perrilloux was kicked off the team.
This has alot to do with who is leading the program.
Meanwhile, Bradie James, former LSU linebacker and starter for the Cowboys had a fundraiser for breast cancer last Thursday in the Stadium Club section of Tiger Stadium. The cost to attend was $56, his jersey number. Says alot about his charactor and one of many examples of former Tigers who have gone on as Coach K at Duke says to “be good men”.
Robert
March 8th, 2010
11:15 am
Good lord people do you all live under a rock somewhere. This is a college student, What how dare he drink! OMG what a tragety. Please!!! I’m sure this has’nt ever happened before, OH what a thug. Idiots!!