‘Academic issues’ sideline UGA’s Branden Smith (PLUS: another AD applicant)
ATHENS — Branden Smith — expected to contribute to Georgia’s football team on defense, offense and special teams — is not currently practicing with the Bulldogs because he is “working through some academic issues,” coach Mark Richt said Monday.
Richt said the situation will be resolved “soon –- by the end of the week.”
Asked if he expects Smith back with the team, Richt would only repeat: “Branden is working through some academic issues right now.” Richt wouldn’t say what the “academic issues” are.
Smith, a sophomore from Atlanta, was not on the field for either of Monday’s two practices. He participated in Georgia’s first few practices of preseason camp last week but is believed to have missed practices on Friday and Saturday.
He would be a big loss for the Bulldogs.
As a freshman last season, he played in 13 games, seeing action in all facets of the game.
On special teams, he returned 16 kickoffs for 279 yards, a 17.4-yard average. On offense, he lined up occasionally in various spots — running back, quarterback and wide receiver — and rushed for 209 yards on 17 carries, including touchdown runs of 61 yards against South Carolina and 52 yards against Tennessee Tech. And on defense, his primary role, he showed promise at cornerback.
He entered preseason camp in close competition with senior Vance Cuff for a starting spot at one corner.
Smith is the only player facing academic issues, Richt said.
Another AD applicant
Chris Welton, a sports marketing executive who was a starting defensive back on Georgia’s 1980 national championship team, confirmed that he has added his name to the list of applicants for UGA’s athletic-director position.
Welton’s application was submitted after the 49 that were revealed last week in response to an open-records request by the AJC.
Welton, who has finance and law degrees from UGA, was an associate at Atlanta law firm King & Spalding before an executive position with the Atlanta Olympics led to a career in sports marketing. Welton created a company that became the marketing agency for the International Olympic Committee, then sold that company to the IOC in 2004. He is now president of Helios Partners, an Atlanta-based sports marketing firm.
Welton wrote in his application letter that UGA “has only grown in stature and quality” since his days as a student there.
“Nonetheless, the University faces a number of issues relating to athletics requiring attention and skilled management,” Welton wrote. “While the Athletic Association has been extremely successful from a financial perspective, legitimate concerns exist regarding the performance of certain teams, academic performance of athletes and off-field behavior of athletes in particular.”
Etc.
Linebacker Richard Samuel and safety Quintin Banks missed Monday’s football practices. Banks is “day-to-day” with a swollen knee and Samuel might be out “a week or two” with an injured leg, Richt said. He didn’t have specifics of Samuel’s injury. . . . The Bulldogs on Monday held their only two-a-day drills scheduled for this preseason. The final half hour of the afternoon session was in a heavy rain. . . . Georgia’s first scrimmage of the preseason is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
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167 comments Add your comment
12-2
August 10th, 2010
6:27 am
We average the # 52 Total Offense the entire Coach Richt Era.
We also the last 4 years have averaged # 96 in Penalties, 14 interceptions, 21 fumbles and # 3 in the nation in Fulmer Cup Standings
and have NOT been to the SEC Championship Game ANY of the last 4 year either.
The way fix that is to cheer them on.
Tell them they are great.
Forgive them for ALL this.
Not.
12-2
August 10th, 2010
6:34 am
Georgia Bulldogs return 10 of 11 Starters on Offense. That’s the good news ? The bad news is that we return 10 of 11 Starters on Offense who were in fact in the bottom half of EVERY SEC Offensive Category, and do so with Mike Bobo again as Offensive Coordinator and his gang of out-of-position lousy coaches on his staff.
Georgia is in the BOTTOM HALF of The SEC in :
Scoring Offense
Total Offense
Rushing Offense
Passing Offense
Passing Efficiency
First Downs
Penalties
Time Of Possession
Georgia is in the bottom half of The SEC in every offensive category.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein
12-2
August 10th, 2010
6:36 am
I love being
10 wins 10 losses over last 4 years vs SEC East teams
Especially when the only team we played who was ANY good at all, was Florida.
Someone please explain how that makes us great ?
footlong dawg
August 10th, 2010
6:43 am
12-2.. ” Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again ” thats’ YOUR blog… you ain’t Albert but you are INSANE. or been on drugs all night !!
Paddy
August 10th, 2010
7:12 am
destindawg, I am with you, let the games begin and the fun start. Way too many children on this blog with nothing to add. Football in the state of Georgia is going to be exciting. The state of Florida is set up for great football again. With UF & FSU both having the top Offensive Lines in the country to make things happen. I am not sold on Miami as much as others.
Go Dawgs beat everybody!!!!!
JB
August 10th, 2010
7:26 am
Wait a minute….I’m reading about all the degree’s Chris Welton has , a lawyer for King and Spalding, started, runs and sold businesses ……..and he’s a Georgia grad…………How does that happen, I mean Tech folk think THEY are the only ones who can work and think and put one foot in front of the other and have a house with plumbing and grass to cut……This must be a mistake……..He’s a fry cook at McDonalds and lives in a trailer…..He must……..This needs looking into……
59bulldawg
August 10th, 2010
7:29 am
This is not good! Buckle down and study son . . . we need you!
JB
August 10th, 2010
7:33 am
Welton, a starter from Georgia’s 1980 National Championship team, in his letter to be AD, sounds like he is not happy with losing to Florida every year and winning 8 -10 games a year……Don’t know if any of you picked up on the story yesterday, but Georgia has more players on SEC rosters than any other state. I like Mark, be we are under achieving in Football with the players coming out of this state.
Fred in Columbus
August 10th, 2010
8:10 am
You see Gator Chump: Urban Crier and the gay_turds offered him as well. Funny Stuff…
Thumper
August 10th, 2010
8:20 am
WOW!…..A college kid struggles with classes. Why don’t we convene Congress and have them investigate this aberration? Why this is just unheard of.
And yes….we all know that tech people have VASTLY superior intellect and that all tech football players major in astro-physics with a minor in bio-medical engineering. We get it. Nobody at tech struggles. Good for you guys. Pat yourselves on the back and flaunt that 6.75829 GPA that you all have.
Sleep well tonight knowing that every single UGA student….grad….and fan is obsessing over all things tech.
Yep
August 10th, 2010
8:23 am
AKA – he flunked a class, which brought his GPA below the minimum, and he is disputing the grade. Best of luck to him, but challenging grades rarely works.
dawgster
August 10th, 2010
8:33 am
Yep, where did you get your information, since exact issue has not been released..if you are going to discuss someones personal issues, then at least cite the source and not just rumor…thanks
Paul in RDU
August 10th, 2010
8:38 am
12-2 = buLLdawg
Same mix of capitalization and lower case
Same long posts in the early hours of the morning
Same story in the posts
footlong dawg
August 10th, 2010
8:48 am
NOT a story !! wouldn’t even come out at most schools and why does AJC jump on it until results are released..
Papadawg
August 10th, 2010
8:50 am
JUST STUDY, DANG IT
St. Richt
August 10th, 2010
9:09 am
Wow, just wow. Thats about all I can say… Looks like someone in the athletic department is gonna be meeting with the professors to explain how things are done in Athens. St. Richt to the rescue. He was able to watch his mentor “take care of” these sorts of things in Tallahassee and now he’s putting that experience to work in Athens. Georgia fans should be proud.
That Guy
August 10th, 2010
9:27 am
I’m sorry to disappoint all of you dawg fans, but the summer semester is over for Georgia, so he’s definitely not studying for a test. My best guess – grades just came out and he failed a course. The Georgia athletic program is doing everything that they can to make that “F” a “D”, which they probably will do, because let’s face it, football is far more important in Athens than academics. That’s why the issue is not being made public, because it is something unethical.
JB
August 10th, 2010
9:30 am
That guy…………Got all the info and inside scoop ? Geez……..
St. Richt
August 10th, 2010
9:31 am
Okay, so what exactly does the tanned one hope to “have resolved” by the end of the week if summer semester has already ended? Might be worth investigating a little more AJC….
That Guy
August 10th, 2010
9:33 am
JB – I know for sure that the Georgia summer session is over because they start the fall semester next Monday, so yes that is factual. As for the rest of it: “My best guess”, meaning I am simply speculating, and there is no concrete information to back up my statement. I am making an educated guess.
Come on JB, use your context clues..
SSDD
August 10th, 2010
9:35 am
How illiterate do you have to be to be flunking “remeidal” courses?
News from Athens
August 10th, 2010
9:37 am
Smith is out for football season.
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 10th, 2010
9:37 am
Does he even know his middle name???
les nessman
August 10th, 2010
9:43 am
tech rules, dawgs drool….
JBDawg
August 10th, 2010
9:48 am
I don’t understand why there is so much speculation about the details of Branden’s academic issues. We don’t know ANY details. There have already been many possibilities suggested on this blog, and there are possibilities that have not even been addressed. For instance, an “I” (incomplete) is sometimes given to a student under certain circumstances.
Is an “I” enough to cause Branden to miss a week of practice? I don’t know, but the NCAA rule book seems thich enough to address the topic.
I don’t believe that CMR would say that everything should be okay by the end of the week if he didn’t truly believe it to be true.
ugablows
August 10th, 2010
9:55 am
wtf?
football players don’t flunk out at uga…..no worries ugay fans, they are probably just covering up some other incident with this horsecrap
shankit
August 10th, 2010
9:57 am
Does Morris Brown allow Georgia players
to take “Industrial Management” or is this
school limited just to Tech players?
News from Athens
August 10th, 2010
9:58 am
Youre not listening.
He’s out.
Schmeckdawg
August 10th, 2010
10:00 am
Does Quentin Banks have a hoo ha? Has that kid ever not been hurt!! Same thing goes for Samuels in regards to the 2nd half of last year!
@ JB
August 10th, 2010
10:01 am
thUGA has alot of smart people attending, some that even graduate. What GT fans are saying is we have a higher number of smart people and Forbes and the NCAA agrees with us!
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 10th, 2010
10:08 am
How does anybody fail a class at thUGA? I guess if you’re color blind, the coloring books could be confusing.
LawDawg
August 10th, 2010
10:10 am
To all the jealous haters:
This type of story happens at EVERY school in the nation. Get your heads out of the AJC a$$ and look around the country at academic issues. There are also MANY more arrests and players trouble elsewhere. One difference is that the idiots on this blog don’t bother to look at national sports news- only the “dig up and stir” AJC stories. Look at ESPN and tell me that UGA has the only problem. The AJC needs to do a story on the Yech athletes and the amount of time spent in a classroom or taking tests (ZERO!). The REAL story would shock everyone.
@ shankit
August 10th, 2010
10:10 am
You are one of Jan Kemps dullest dawgtards ever!
LawDawg
August 10th, 2010
10:11 am
Please explain what “dawgtard” is.
LawDawg
August 10th, 2010
10:13 am
I get it…you are jealous about the “we run this state” statement. Very clever. Come up with something more original.
Two horrible fumbles cost
August 10th, 2010
10:15 am
BS did explosed for one nice and very timely TD in that wild SC game. He had two or three very costly fumbles that led directly to UGA losses and one was in the KY game.
I have never been sold on his cover skills, beyond the fact that he is blazingly fast.
Good luck to him and may he work hard on this issue. Football can end for these kids in one flash, then the old college education can assist them in life. A no brainer but their “advisors” or “uncles” tell them to only think of the League.
Go Dogs.
blord
August 10th, 2010
10:17 am
don’t worry the Jan Kemp school of dumb A$$ will get him qualified.
That Guy
August 10th, 2010
10:19 am
LawDawg – Obviously Georgia isn’t the only program around the nation that has issues with athletes’ grades, conduct, etc. But Georgia is nationally known for misconduct around the nation, on and off the field. Of course other schools get in trouble, but Georgia just gets into it more often.
And that’s an absurd comment about Tech athletes and their attendance to class and tests. Do you have information to back that up? Because I’d love to hear it.
Mad Hatter
August 10th, 2010
10:23 am
It says volumes about the academic standards at UGA when an athlete can’t pass the jock courses that they take. Richt is really getting desperate when he recruits illiterate morons like this guy.
The World’s #1 Party School = The Cesspool of the South.
Amen. And just look at the red panties falling from the sky!
Mad Hatter
August 10th, 2010
10:27 am
Please explain what “dawgtard” is.
DAWGTARD = DAWG + RETARD
That would be obvious to anyone but a dawgtard.
@ LawDawg
August 10th, 2010
10:31 am
Hey you win dawgtard of week honors for proving how just how stupid a thUGA law grad can be in 2 posts or less. Congrats!
I-DOG
August 10th, 2010
10:32 am
AJC,
Where is the headline that UGA leads the SEC in Academics? Ahead of Florida and Vanderbilt and that isn’t newsworthy? There was a tiny little blurb about it a few weeks ago, but I didn’t see any commentary from Mark Bradley or any of the others about how great that is. Instead we get the headline that one player may miss time due to academics. I know that negative reporting sells papers, but why can’t there be a positive headline every now and then especially with something as great as UGA leading the SEC in academics?
LawDawg
August 10th, 2010
10:44 am
I know of “tutors” that ABSOLUTELY have taken tests for student athletes at Nerdville.
UGA does NOT get into any more trouble than other schools around the country. Get you head out of the sand and look at National sport publications. Also, the arrests in Athens are pretty petty compared to elsewhere. That is a fact!!
I guess this “dawgtard” person is an absolute know it all!! He’s pretty intelligent (by changing his alias) and clever (dawg + retard). I bet you have lots of friends and multiple lady friends. I mean, who wouldn’t be attracted to such awitty individual?
LawDawg
August 10th, 2010
10:45 am
teeheehee,
Mad Hatter is talking about….shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh- “red panties”!!!
Sven Ottke
August 10th, 2010
10:49 am
This is a done deal. He’s done for the year. Academically ineligible. You can throw all the lip service at it you want, but he’s toast. Couldn’t pass the jock classes at UGa. Pathetic.
St. Richt
August 10th, 2010
10:51 am
Georgia leads the other SEC schools because they “take care of” any academic issues that pop up. Vandy and the others let the student atheletes earn grades on their own. A novel idea… And LawDawg, shut your trap if you don’t know what you’re talking about. I played at GT and while there were some inherent “advantages” relative to tutoring, no tutors ever took tests for players. Give me a break.
UGA does NOT get into any more trouble than other schools around the country
August 10th, 2010
10:58 am
The single dumbest post ever in the history of blogging. For someone to think this means they can’t read. Funniest part is that it’s posted by a dawgtard named lawdawg. A lawyer that can’t read and can’t recognize facts. You make thUGA proud!
Slawdawg
August 10th, 2010
11:01 am
Keep posting lawdawg, the rest of dawgtard nation is hoping you quit making thUGA look worse.
Sambo
August 10th, 2010
11:03 am
12-2,
If the Heisman trophy is only about numbers, then why did Ndomakong Su finish 2nd in the voting last year? Why did Gino Toretta win a Heisman trophy? Why did Charlie Ward win a Heisman trophy? The Heisman is one trophy that you can definitively say it is NOT all about the numbers.
LawDawg
August 10th, 2010
11:15 am
No one embarrasses themselves more on these blogs than you jealous losers who can brilliantly change their alias by way of cutting and pasting and by typing “thUGA” and “dawgtard”. Yeah, your fellow fans (whoever or wherever they are) must be damn proud to have you in their ranks. But, then again, your facts are based on what idiots like yourselves post on these blogs. What about the 9 football players fighting in a Knoxville bar at 2am and NOT one got suspended. Or the 8 football players busted at Notre Dame for underage drinking and disorderly conduct? Again, no suspensions. What about the on going problems with fighting at Southern Cal and Oklahoma State? Zero suspensions. Multiple felony arrests at FSU? Assault at Nerdville with a football player beating up a girl? A girl? What was the punishment?
BTW, St Richt…
I do know what I am talking about and DO, in fact, know of these tutors who took tests for Yech athletes. You claim you don’t know about this? You sir, did NOT play at Georgia Tech- poser!!