Branden Smith cleared to rejoin team; Quintin Banks ‘retires’ from football
ATHENS — Cornerback Branden Smith has been cleared academically and will rejoin Georgia’s football team Friday, coach Mark Richt said.
“He is academically in good standing for the 2010 season,” Richt said Thursday night. “So we are fired up.”
Richt declined to go into detail about Smith’s academic situation.
Smith, a sophomore from Atlanta, left the team last week and stayed away while awaiting word on whether he would be cleared to enroll in fall-semester classes. The issue was related not to Smith’s grade-point average but to a placement-test score.
Smith is expected to contribute to Georgia’s team in all facets of the game: defense (as a possible starter at cornerback), offense (as an occasional threat at tailback or wide receiver) and special teams (as a kick returner).
Despite missing eight practices, “I don’t think he’ll be too far behind,” Richt said.
Smith seems pleased with how the situation worked out.
“Will be back in Athens tomorrow,” he posted on Twitter late Thursday afternoon.
“Georgia is on my mind,” he tweeted an hour later.
Banks ‘retires’ as player
Backup safety Quintin Banks, whose career has been frequently derailed by knee injuries, will forgo his senior season.
Banks “has basically decided to retire from football,” Richt said Thursday. “His knees have just not allowed him to move the way he’s accustomed to moving and move well enough to compete at this level.”
Richt said Banks will have surgery “and try to get it all cleaned up” before he graduates. In the meantime, he will stay involved with the team and “help us coach,” Richt said.
“He has tremendous knowledge, tremendous love for this team and his teammates. He’s got a wonderful spirit,” Richt said. “Quintin is exactly what we’re looking for when it comes to a good Bulldog.
“As a head coach, you hope that when a young man walks out the door he’s ready for life. And Quintin is absolutely ready. He’s turned into a really fine man, and anybody looking for a tremendous employee and future leader, Quintin is that.”
Between injuries, Banks has played in only five games in the past two seasons.
And a few other things . . .
- Richt said that, “as of right now,” Georgia has no reason to believe that any of its players will miss any games as a result of the NCAA investigation into possible improper contact between players and agents at multiple schools, including UGA.
- A.J. Green, Carlton Thomas, Bacarri Rambo and freshman Derek Owens are getting work at punt returner, Richt said.
- Richt: “If I had to say who was the leader of the football team, it’d probably be [fullback Shaun] Chapas. Not just the offensive team.”
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223 comments Add your comment
Undercover "dawg", North Ave, Atlanta address
August 13th, 2010
2:38 pm
“Kramer”, how long have you been doing METH? You sound like a blind, mindless, HOMER. Georgia is near the top of the SECOND TIER. You aint close to Florida or Bama. You are in the mix with LSU, Auburn and VANDY. By the way yall better stop inbreeding those bulldogs or soon they won’t even last ONE season. Try BEAGLES, very nice dogs.
Paul IMA Johnson
August 13th, 2010
2:39 pm
GT Sambo you have no reason to be embarrassed? Guess you forgot about O’Liar’s resume!
bigcalidawg
August 13th, 2010
3:14 pm
It really is time for the season to begin, so we can put all this jibber-jabber behind us. Once a coupla wins and a coupla losses take place for Tech and UGA we’ll have better things to focus on.
FWIW……I make a mean peach cobbler.
B-ham Dawg
August 13th, 2010
3:14 pm
Sambo… “if you look at the Bowls, you can’t really say UGA has been to significantly better ones over that stretch.”
‘01 8-4 music city
‘02 13-1 sugar
‘03 11-3 capital one
‘04 10-2 outback
‘05 10-3 sugar
‘06 9-4 chickfila
‘07 11-2 sugar
‘08 10-3 capital one
‘09 8-5 independence
Sambo explain how this is not more impressive than GT. In Richt’s worst year we still make you look inferior. What’s that I hear? King just broke another one 60 yards.
GATA
G
August 13th, 2010
3:18 pm
you beat me to the punch…Sambo is in denial if he thinks UGA’s bowl appearances aren’t more impressive than Tech’s.
Jo Jo
August 13th, 2010
3:19 pm
So much for the false rumor monger that kept saying “Branden Smith will not be back”. What a goon. He should be banned from the blog.
LawDawg
August 13th, 2010
3:20 pm
Whatever you say, dawgtard. Shouldn’t you be cutting and pasting?
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 13th, 2010
3:21 pm
You laugh about O’leary’s resume (which was ND, not GT) 10 years ago and yet you paid Damon Evans 500,000 a year – THIS YEAR!
This is why thUGA fans are dawgtards!
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 13th, 2010
3:23 pm
If that’s all you got slawdog, Good Day!
LawDawg
August 13th, 2010
3:33 pm
“slawdawg”…now that is clever. “thUGA”, “dawgtards”…..you really show your maturity on these blogs day after day. Your fellow Yellow bellies must be awfully proud to have YOU among their ranks. Stay classy!!
Swarm
August 13th, 2010
3:38 pm
Slawdawg must have used cut and paste on that codicil. I’m loving that great case of UGA vs GT in 2008 when the bees cut down the sideline and pasted 450 yards rushing on the mutts in that landfill between those bushes. That nightmare for the mutts is about to be replayed in about 3 months.
GT Sambo
August 13th, 2010
3:44 pm
UGA is Just Fine…
Of course I will admit that GT is not going to recruit as well as UGA. UGA is georgia’s land grant university. I will also admit that the SEC is a stronger conference than the ACC. GT is a research-focused technical institute. We are much closer to MIT academically than UGA. So I am happy with our position in the ACC and very happy when we get a top 25 recruiting class. UGA regularly gets top 10 recruiting classes, they should theoritically beat Tech every year. So you guys just be proud of your Music City, Capital One and Independence Bowls, but it sounds to me like maybe UGA isn’t living up to the expectations of its top flight recruiting classes. Again I’ll continue to take our coaches over yours any day.
And to whoever brought O’Leary into this… brilliant! What is it this year 9 DUIs and a pair of red panties for the UGA athletic department? I don’t even need to say more.
GT Sambo
August 13th, 2010
3:47 pm
Since we are bringing up ancient history, UGA sure was glad to see O’Leary go, since he beat them three times in a row.
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 13th, 2010
3:51 pm
O’leary really had thUGA’s number. If he hadn’t gone to ND (any irish man’s dream) nobody would have ever looked at his resume and he would have had a great career. Oh well.
THE TRUTH
August 13th, 2010
3:59 pm
Without the “Special Admissions” programs where UGag admits
dozens of illiterate athletes like King, Ealy, Smith, etc. etc. etc.
Ugag wouldnt even be able to put a team on the field.
There was a reason why Ugag had to pay Jan Kemp $1Million
and UGag President Fred Davison was forced to resign.
Its called “academice fraud.”
Its what Ugag is. Its whaat Ugag does.
O'Leary
August 13th, 2010
4:00 pm
I remember when Godsey, the slowest quarterback in Tech’s history, walked 35 yards down the middle of the field with no one in sight for a touchdown against the dogs.
B-ham Dawg
August 13th, 2010
4:02 pm
sambo you are delirious. dawgtards you are just lame
LawDawg
August 13th, 2010
4:56 pm
How about the case of UGA vs Tech 2009? Uga set a precedent by exploding for huge runs right up the middle of the Nerd defense. The same will be upheld this November in Athens.
PS dawgturd,
you are SO classy with the “slawdawg” reference. BTW, I love slawdogs and this is no discredit to anyone that does.
I-DOG
August 13th, 2010
4:59 pm
Quinton, best of luck to you!
how2fish
August 13th, 2010
5:37 pm
Dawgtards ruin this state you were right about one thing you don’t have the brain cells.
Chuck UGA
August 13th, 2010
9:01 pm
2010 SEC East Champions-to-be. Book it.
Yellow Fuzzy
August 14th, 2010
9:38 am
Our dominance on the gridiorn is only matched by our dominance with the opposite sex.
Yellow Fuzzy
August 14th, 2010
9:39 am
Has anyone seen my ball gag? The Mrs. has put out the saucer of milk and she is very impatient. I don’t want to make her angry.
Or do I?