UGA lifts Ealey’s suspension (updated with comments from Richt)
(Updated 9 p.m. Saturday)
ATHENS — Washaun Ealey’s suspension lasted less than three weeks.
The Georgia tailback, suspended indefinitely from all team activities by coach Mark Richt on Feb. 8, has been “reinstated to full team standing,” UGA said Saturday.
That makes Ealey, Georgia’s leading rusher the past two seasons, eligible to participate in spring practice, which begins March 10.
“He’s done a very nice job of doing what I asked him to do,” Richt said Saturday night, “to take care of his business what I call the Georgia way, staying on top of things and being punctual and being prepared. . . . He’s done it with a very good attitude, and now I think he’s ready to integrate back in the rest of what’s going on at Georgia. I’m happy for him.”
Earlier Saturday, Richt said in a statement that Ealey will rejoin team activities Monday.
Ealey, a rising junior, was suspended after failing to report on time for an early-morning punishment run.
The incident was not Ealey’s first brush with trouble at Georgia. He was suspended from last season’s opening game because of an arrest for hit-and-run of a parked vehicle and driving with a suspended license.
“I didn’t think he was handling his responsibilities as well as he should,” Richt said Saturday night, referring to the Feb. 8 suspension. “When I felt like he was back on track, I was going to have him go back to doing what everybody else was doing.”
Ealey played in 12 games for Georgia last season, starting seven and rushing for 811 yards and 11 touchdowns. He rushed for 717 yards as a freshman in 2009, when he played in nine games.
His role could diminish with the arrival this summer of Carver-Columbus tailback Isaiah Crowell, a prized recruit who signed with Georgia this month. Richt said on signing day that he expects Crowell to play “heavily” as a freshman and possibly to get the first carry in the Sept. 3 opener against Boise State in the Georgia Dome.
– Staff writer Ken Sugiura contributed to this report.
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534 comments Add your comment
Jim
February 27th, 2011
12:05 pm
The boy hasn’t been the same since Brandon Spikes tryed to poke his eyes out. Maybe he thinks his actions are child’s play compared with what Spikes got away with!
The Truth Detector
February 27th, 2011
12:19 pm
If anyone thinks that the running back situation is settled please think again. The arrival of Crowell is not going to be as big as most fans believed. The presence of Ealey is required to enforce the level of competition. There may have been promises made to Crowell, but in reality the lack of depth is more relevant than any dog fans really wants to admit.
Georgia will with no doubt be a much improved football team, but not at the level expected from die hard bulldog fans. Too many key player losses, youth and and underlying level of mistrust in the core of the team.
If UGA finishes 8-4 and plays in a decent bowl game the bulldawg nation should be proud, but in reality, the 7-5 to 9-3 level is more in line, and if the first two games go against the Bulldawgs we will see an implosion of the squad and even beating a team like Auburn in Athens will become a tall order.
The biggest question is: Can Mark Richt get the chemistry back? Two years ago it was the defense and coaches that took the blame, last year it was the youth at qb, the play calling and the loss of AJ Green as blamed. The recruits are signed, the coaching staff has been revamped and now within 3 weeks the foundation is being formed. What comes of the next 5 weeks will determine the mental toughness for the 2011 season.
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
February 27th, 2011
12:23 pm
@Stinger 2…….. I, too, want IC to gain over 1,000 yds. and be a Freshman All-America. Why not set lofty goals? Would you prefer that his goals are to be a decent reserve running back and stay out of the limelight as much as possible”?
Ealey will lead the dawgs running attack but by season’s end IC will be very well known nationwide.
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
February 27th, 2011
12:31 pm
@Yas……….What would you know about decent, intelligent people?
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
February 27th, 2011
12:52 pm
@CMR and global warming(9:29 am post)…………………….You have offended “simpletons or morons”. I insist that you apologize to simpletons or morons everywhere. You da man! Go DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
February 27th, 2011
1:06 pm
@Buckeye Just crawl back under your rock. None of what you say comes from personnal knowledge and true dawg fans are aware of that. We like CMR and nothing you or your ilk have to say about him will alter that. Sheesh! The nerve of some people’s children.
Delusions of grandeur
February 27th, 2011
1:11 pm
So he was reinstated. Gee. Who couldn’t see that coming. SOS with Georgia when it comes to real disipline. There is reason why you guys are calle thUGA.
woebegong
February 27th, 2011
1:13 pm
I meel so honored when I come to these blogs. All of this high powered coaching talent telling me what is wrong with UGA, CMR and the players. Did you all learn this vast knowledge playing in the Pee Wee league or middle school? How about you all just worry about your own favorite team and reserve your comments to them. You really only make yourself appear to be childish, and show you know very little about UGA football as it is.
Bill Lyle
February 27th, 2011
1:38 pm
I will check back on this so called “blog” in 90 days and if the same juveniles from Auburn, Tech and Bama are posting then that will be the last visit.
Geoff
February 27th, 2011
2:07 pm
Ealey will transfer. Enough of this favoritism, Richt gotta go. Too many seasons in a row now where Georgia keeps winning less games than the year before, 7 out of 8 of last 8 seasons. Ealey averages more ypc than Herschel Walker and matches Moreno in yards per carry. Crowell won’t get near either.
woebegong
February 27th, 2011
2:08 pm
meel=feel. don’t want to get attacted by the spelling champs on here. Sure wish I could type though, LOL.
Dave
February 27th, 2011
2:10 pm
When Richt makes his mind up pre-season, Richt doesn’t change his mind. Look at Cox, then Murray. Richt stays with guys, even after they prove they’re nothing but guys who choke under pressure. Now Richt has made up his mind about Crowell starting, Ealey is a targeted scapegoat for a failing program, like Mettenberger was. Richt thought the team would get bwetter when he booted out Mettenberger last year. Richt was wrong. Ealely’s best chance at playing in the NFL is to transfer.
Man Up
February 27th, 2011
2:14 pm
I agree with all about the entitlement, without a doubt, Murray has slacked in the weight room, and it showed up in abysmally poor 4th quarter performances all season long, man, rarely will you see a QB allowed to start who’s that out of shape. And Murray never gets disciplined, even when he opts to play soccer and risk his team’s season. Just blatant favortism at work. Murray has put on very litte weight gain, compared to work out warriors like Christian Lemay.
needums
February 27th, 2011
2:21 pm
I’ll believe he’s all in when I see it on the field.
Randy
February 27th, 2011
2:21 pm
Crowell won’t get enough carries to gain 1000 yards. He’d need at least 200 carries. Bobo or Richt won’t let a RB get that many touches. They don’t believe you win the SEC by a run first offensive approach, they believe, who knows why, you win the SEC being pass first. Crowell will fall far short of his goal like the many backs before him. Georgia under Richt just doesn’t curn out 100 yard rushers, rarely even lets a back get 100 yards rushing in a single game. Likes to rotate 4 or 5 guys for the running game. It is odd, Richt’s record is 40-3 when he gets a 100 yards rusher.
Randy
February 27th, 2011
2:24 pm
Why would Bobo continue to rotate RB’s when Ealey gets 11 td’s on 150 carries, and King gets 2 td’s? It’s absurd!
McDawg
February 27th, 2011
2:38 pm
that is great news
Randy
February 27th, 2011
2:45 pm
Let’s look at what happens if Ealey & Lemay both transfer. You’re left with 6-7 starter Murray, who went 0-6 against winning teams. And Crowell, it’s hard to imagine Crowell exceeding Ealey’s 5.5 ypc average at Georgia or td per 20 carries ratio, both matching Herschel Walker. Crowell gets beat pass blocking, Murray gets injured from a blinside missed block by Crowell, and Hutson Mason comes off the bench to try and save the season, trying to survive Crowell’s missed pass blocks.
Boobie Bowden
February 27th, 2011
3:06 pm
Coach ‘em down, boys, coach ‘em down.
Flip
February 27th, 2011
3:17 pm
Look, we all know Richt plays favorties over Washaun Ealey.
Last year, Murray committed 4 turnovers against Florida and wasn’t benched.
Ealey committed 1 fumble and was benched.
AJ breaks NCAA rules and Richt stands up for AJ and tries to get AJ’s discipline shortened, Ealey allegedly loafs during a workout, according to Joe T’s feelings, and Ealey gets barred from the buildings and suspended indefinately?
AJ & Murray loaf in the wight room, don’t add weight gain, perform terrible in the 4th quarter because they’re out of shape, and neither get discipliuned for not giving 100% in the weight room.
Players don’t respect Richt anymore because he just plays favorties.
Georgia has never lost a game where Ealey either:
1- gets 25 carries
2- gains 100 yards rushing
Yet Bobo continues to put his trust in Murray?
Jerseys for Sale
February 27th, 2011
3:56 pm
Heard AJ was selling his combine jersey on Ebay. You guys see that?
Valdosta Cat
February 27th, 2011
4:11 pm
Apparently, UGA is quite relevant because there are so many posts on here from people all over this great nation. It seems also that most of the haters on here don’t have other outlets to vent their venom. You know who you are. I won’t give you the pleasure of mentioning your name . I consider it a form of flattery when you have the “regulars” on here whose only purpose is to bring the UGA faithful down. It won’t work. Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!!
harold
February 27th, 2011
4:36 pm
UGA & RICHT ARE 13-12 THE LAST TWO YEARS. BUT HE HAS GEORGIA FANS DREAMING BECAUSE THEY CAN’T LIVE IT LIKE TENNESSEE, LSU, AUBURN, ALABAMA AND FLORIDA. I GOT SOME PROPERTY FOR SALE……………
kb
February 27th, 2011
5:19 pm
I see the we finally beat an SEC team Buckeye over here again, there”s a Northwestern board somewhere for you to trashtalk on and have relevance@Randy,talk about dreaming Lemay not going anywhere and neither is Washaun.Murray had a very good freshman year, it was a down year for the team, it happens if you’re a Georgia fan you need to grow a pair and get over it.
David is wrong
February 27th, 2011
5:28 pm
David- I know Zach personally. You are wrong. Go away.
King Gators
February 27th, 2011
5:43 pm
Blah, blah, blah… coach’m up, suspend’m, blah, blah, blah, kicked off team, transferred, arrested, no driver’s lisc/insurance, blah, blah, blah… see you in Jacksonville for your annual beating.. Go Gators!
Wash Out
February 27th, 2011
5:45 pm
Ealey the Thug returns. I guess Richt notified him in person. The brainless moron certainly couldn’t read a letter.
Buh Bye
February 27th, 2011
5:48 pm
In the 1986 Jan Kemp trial, O. Hale Almand Jr., a lawyer for UGA, offered a justification for the favorable treatment accorded the athletes, citing a hypothetical player. “We may not make a university student out of him,” he told the jury, “but if we can teach him to read and write, maybe he can work at the post office rather than as a garbageman when he gets through with his athletic career.”
That trial exposed UGA for the football factory that it was, and exposed Vince Dooley as a fraud and a sleazebag. It also derailed Dooley’s plans for a political career. That’s why we see the decrepit old fraud doing TV commercials even now.
Mark Richt is just the latest in a line of sleazy UGA coaches who coddle athletes and discard them after four years of football. He recruits illiterate morons he knows aren’t smart enough for college, but he doesn’t care, as long as they help him line his pockets with millions of dollars each year.
Suntanned Saint Mark isn’t all he appears to be, is he?
Boise State did what?
February 27th, 2011
5:51 pm
Boise State 66, UGAy 13.
The start of another looooooooooong season for dawgtards.
kb
February 27th, 2011
6:34 pm
@boise did what , Will you be putting your money where your smart ass mouth is? and @buhbye your a tech troll, posting the same old thing on every UGA blog , Tech was on academic probation in 2005 and 2006 or would you like to discuss flunkgate, or players taking classes at Morris Brown.Funny how paul kung fu panda johnson recruits the same players.they just don’t want to attend the North Avenue Trade School.
Sting Time
February 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
St. Richt not kicking somebody off the team isn’t really news.
Sven Ottke
February 27th, 2011
8:29 pm
Surprise, surprise. Tail continues to wag the dog in Athens.
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
February 27th, 2011
9:10 pm
@Tech 54: Thanks for your continued classy contributions. I am sure there are many more of your type of Tech Man but all schools, including UGA, have their cronic bedwetters and slimeballs. Again, THANKS.
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
February 27th, 2011
9:22 pm
@Harold………..What planet have you been on the past several years. CMR has a winning or .500 record against ALL the teams you named exept Florida but don’t let the facts get in your way.
404
February 27th, 2011
9:44 pm
King and Ealey wont be there after Spring Training.
Bank on it.
kral
February 27th, 2011
9:48 pm
404 I am sure glad you just gave us the 411..man
kral
February 27th, 2011
9:49 pm
smell a side bet 404..
kral
February 27th, 2011
9:58 pm
i just love a negative one and done..let’s you know their character..just a little insight anyway
AAA
February 27th, 2011
10:12 pm
It is so sad each night at this time when kral has been drinking and gets on the blogs. Just say it, I am an al _ _ _ lic and I need help. We are there for you.
acstas87
February 27th, 2011
10:41 pm
Richt is likely counting on Crowell’s present to keep Ealey in line. For the first time Ealey might actually lose his starting job. Richt only kicks troublemakers off the team when the media spotlight is intense and his job is at stake (see Mettenberger), and with no external pressure the FSU mentality dominates.
kral
February 27th, 2011
10:42 pm
I do appreciate the concern triple A you must be a good person concerned about my welfare and all..will you please help me also with that Winston smoking problem..you are a friend
Alabama | MrSEC.com
February 27th, 2011
10:47 pm
[...] Trey Thompkins and Georgia routed South Carolina 64-48 last night.4. UGA tailback Washaun Ealey is off of suspension after three weeks.5. Freshman Isaiah Crowell wants to rush for 1,000 yards as a freshman.6. John Calipari says [...]
kral
February 27th, 2011
10:49 pm
you the man you got old kral pegged..might be right..but i fit more in the functional alchy range,,take care of alot..but work to not let it interfere with the nats,,,day of judgement will come…but bless your soul for your concern..call me out…look in the mirror..ooh what do you see..most of the time when I just shave..pretty goog control wouldn’t think aaa..but that’s okay..judge
rightwingextreme
February 27th, 2011
10:52 pm
it sounds like the kid may have gotten the message…..however, next violation and the kid is out. he’s been warned.
kral
February 27th, 2011
10:52 pm
no aaa you do not think you just jugde..what your success rate 50%
kral
February 27th, 2011
10:53 pm
another one and done..kinda like a ho ain’t it
kral
February 27th, 2011
11:17 pm
triple a just stick to selling car insurance, warrinties,or something because as a counselor your’re just not there for me…offer road-side service,,24hr.emergency service..but do not help a trodden soul unless you mean it
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
February 27th, 2011
11:32 pm
@Harold…..Tennessee ain’t won no BCS Championship. Their last one was when Tee Martin was their QB. That was years before BCS came to be.
whatever
February 27th, 2011
11:33 pm
Oh yea, CMR – way to go. I noticed you ended his suspension just about in time for spring practice. Yea – you really should that BullThug Ealey. I bet he is LAUGHING at you behind your back – thinking “i’s suckurd dat DA coach again” What a waste – I guess CMR has learned a thing about how to manage his BullThugs.
lakerga
February 27th, 2011
11:50 pm
its quite obvious that no one on here has ever seen lemay. !5 pounds is an exageration to say the least. He is 175-180 at most. and if he did put on 15 pounds of muscle since mid january the next thing we will be writing about is the steriod use at UGA. So fess up has anyone on here ever seen him in person since he got to UGA? I have and he is a twig. Murray is solid already. And mason is solidly above 200-205. The thing you should worry about is keeping the red shirt on him. If he is (and I doubt it) the next great thing. He needs to grow and learn for a year at least. We better hope Mason is the one if Murray gets hurt. If not were back to a green undersized freshman who has not even taken a hit in a real game since his junior year. WOW that sounds fun.