Former UGA RB Washaun Ealey lands at Jacksonville State

Washaun Ealey has found a home.

Jacksonville State football coach Jack Crowe announced on Thursday that Ealey has enrolled in classes there and will compete for the Gamecocks this fall.

Ealey, a rising junior, was the Bulldogs’ leading rusher last year. He was granted an unconditional release by UGA coach Mark Richt after the two reached a “mutual decision” Ealey would be better off continuing his football career elsewhere.

Ealey was one of two SEC transfers to join the I-AA program this summer. Linebacker Clarence Jackson is coming to Jacksonville State from Ole Miss.

“Both of these players are experienced SEC players,” Crowe said. “We expect both of them to come in and make an immediate impact on our team.”

played in 21 games for Georgia with nine starts during his two seasons with the Bulldogs. He rushed for 1,528 yards and 14 touchdowns, including 811 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games as a sophomore.

213 comments Add your comment

hey mike

June 2nd, 2011
10:37 pm

ealey didn’t let “you” down. he doesn’t play for you. he doesn’t know you. get a life. the kid is a teenager who has some athletic talent. he’s made some mistakes, probably because numerous adults have not given him the proper guidance in his life. lord knows he won’t get any from you either, sadly.

good luck washaun – i hope this tough life lesson will benefit you in your adulthood.

Russ

June 2nd, 2011
10:37 pm

At least he will get a better education

Vineyard

June 2nd, 2011
10:45 pm

I never figured out why Ealey stayed as many years as he did when you’re playing for a passing oriented coach. It’s not like Richt will ever lead the SEC in rushing, he’s simply not capable of scheming rushing gameplans obviously. Ealey made the best move, I think Georgia was 10th in rushing last season in the sec. Richt still thinks he’s at FSU the way he throws the ball around. Kind of funny watching Richt’s team lose more games every year, down to 6 wins, but Richt’s still trying to win passing the ball, hey, like Richt said, it worked for Spurrier in the 90’s. Isn’t this 2011?

Rooster

June 2nd, 2011
10:47 pm

Great to hear Ealey’s headed down there. He will rush for over 1500 yards in 2011. Tank it to the bank!

Summit Dawg

June 2nd, 2011
10:59 pm

Hey Mike…..shut up!!!! The kid didn’t need to waste two more years under Richt and BOOBOO….He’s used to touching the ball more than those two offensive genies were handing it to him…..I am the biggest DAWG fan, and waited 70 years for him to be the first from my high school to wear a UGA uniform…..he did, and did it proud for two seasons……I wish him the best and hope he does well at Jacksonville State!!!!

Summit Dawg

June 2nd, 2011
11:01 pm

Amen Vineyard….well said, and my feelings also…..What the heck happened to “Running Back U?”

Mike

June 2nd, 2011
11:05 pm

Summit Dawg… why didn’t he stay?? we have the best QB in the SEC and the best Center in the SEC, plus coming into a season that is make it or break it for the coaching staff, what better way to show what your made of? You make no sense, if you hate our coaching staff so bad than take the “Dawg” out of your user name and become a Gator fan you waste of space

Mike

June 2nd, 2011
11:11 pm

“ealey didn’t let “you” down. he doesn’t play for you. he doesn’t know you. get a life. the kid is a teenager who has some athletic talent. he’s made some mistakes, probably because numerous adults have not given him the proper guidance in his life. lord knows he won’t get any from you either, sadly.

good luck washaun – i hope this tough life lesson will benefit you in your adulthood.”

Yeah, I am pretty sure he didn’t let me down directly, I said as a fan, and pretty much he did… constantly getting into trouble off the field, fumbling on the field and not stepping up when it counts. He had every opportunity but gave up cause he felt competition, news flash, “You have to work for what you get!!!!” I know that’s news to most young people these days, but you actually have to earn it, not given it just because. Also, guidance?? that kid has had all the guidance possible for 2 years, he chose not to take it.

Jeff

June 2nd, 2011
11:17 pm

This statement by ugab at 10:02 summarizes a lot of you insane, wrong-priority Georgia fans:

“We have to get a coach who wants to win football games We need a coach that can make the players believe they can beat any team on any given day.”

Ok, Jim Tressel was like that. He sure won a helluva lotta games. You know what? Tressel is a cheating bast*rd and he EMBARRASSED Ohio State. Who the hel up there CARES how many games he won now? OSU is the LAUGHINGSTOCK of college football!

No, thanks, you Richt-haters… I’ll take a coach with some semblance of character and principles and a sense of right and wrong. Coach Richt expects these young men to come to Georgia and, God forbid, ACT LIKE YOUNG MEN!!! Be responsible! Take charge of things! Work hard! Improve yourself! Compete on the field and in life! Do the right thing! Respect authority and follow the rules! These guys are NOT “just young kids”… they are 21-year-old MEN who are HIGH CALIBER ATHLETES in a HIGH STAKES world of college football. I don’t feel a BIT sorry for Ealey or Mettenberger or any other player who pis*es away a golden opportunity to play college football. I would have shaved 10 years off my life to play ONE DOWN at UGA between the hedges… these clowns today think they deserve stuff just because of who they are. It’s sickening.

This attitude of entitlement not only is corrupting college athletics, it is corrupting America. There are more takers and fewer workers… nobody believes in doing the right thing… everybody looks for someone to blame… and everybody wants the easy way out. And our current joke of a president and the previous as*-clown congress cowed down to every want and desire by this pathetic entitlement class of Americans.

Thank God for people like Mark Richt, and the tens of millions of honest, hard-working, high-character people in our nation… I hope to God there are more of us than there are of you.

I for one am VERY PROUD to have Mark Richt as Georgia’s head coach. I would MUCH rather win 6 or 7 games honestly and with some semblance of class than win 11 or 12 with no character (like Miami of the 80s… or Florida of the 90s… or Ohio State of the 2000s… or Auburn last year). People, listen closely — THERE IS MUCH MORE TO LIFE THAN FRIGGIN’ FOOTBALL GAMES. God will not judge us on how many bowls we won or how many times we beat Auburn, he will judge us on if we did what he said and did the right thing and displayed character, class, and integrity, and made the most of our talents. Mark Richt will be able to stand up on judgement day with a clear conscience… I doubt many of you people on this blog will be able to do the same.

Oh, and don’t look now Richt-haters, but CMR has put together a GREAT recruting class, and Georgia could be a FORCE in the SEC for the next few years. Remember, we didn’t think much of the average 8-4 team of 2001… and then the amazing 2002 season happened. Let’s support our coach, our team, and our university and show some respect and class. GO DAWGS!!!!!

dawg from a distance

June 2nd, 2011
11:24 pm

Periloux squared. Hope this 2nd chance serves him well.

go DAWGS!

Mike

June 2nd, 2011
11:25 pm

Jeff, I like it. Well said, GO DAWGS!!!!

UGA fan

June 2nd, 2011
11:29 pm

By the way, some of you morons need to get over the Ealey love fest… he was OVERRATED coming out of high school, anyway! why is he so revered by you all? If he was a five-star prospect, don’t you think a top ten team like Bama or Texas or OSU or Florida or USC would have snatched him up?

Ealey is NOT better than Herschel… he couldn’t hold Herschel’s helmet on the sidelines. Ealey had EVERY CHANCE to succeed! Don’t you think Richt and Bobo would’ve given him the ball 25 times a game if he merited it? HE DIDN’T DESERVE IT! He fumbled, didn’t block well, and didn’t hustle his butt off on the field… THAT is why Ealey didn’t work out at Georgia. It has NOTHING to do with the coaches.

Thomas Brown has half the size and half the athlete of Ealey, but he was part of some great UGA teams, wasn’t he? It’s because he worked his butt off.

Case closed. Ealey is not the second coming of Emmitt Smith… he’s more like KiJana Carter. Have fun cheering for a lazy guy like Ealey at Jack State… I’ll be busy watching some great SEC games in Athens and watching some STUD running backs like Crowell and Malcolm carry the ball for Georgia.

hey mike

June 2nd, 2011
11:30 pm

Deification of these teenagers by sycophants like yourself is a great disservice to these kids. You salivate over their rival.com ratings and giggle about their recruiting visits and press conferences. You promise them stardom, adulation and NFL dreams… then when the O-Line stinks up the stadium and the only receiving threat gets suspended, – you bail on them faster than Sarah Palin bailed on Alaska.

Shame on you and your ilk. This is still AMATEUR athletics supposedly. These guys are teenagers. Mistakes will be made. If you want to badger an athlete – go after some of these Braves or Falcons who are drawing million dollar salaries and performing at a high school level…

hey mike

June 2nd, 2011
11:40 pm

@ Jeff –

You wrote : “I would have shaved 10 years off my life to play ONE DOWN at UGA between the hedges”

but you also wrote: “THERE IS MUCH MORE TO LIFE THAN FRIGGIN’ FOOTBALL GAMES”.

so which is it? Sounds like you may think that football is really more important than life…

WHAT????

June 3rd, 2011
12:08 am

Gamer,

To even mention Ealey in the same breath as Herschel is idiotic! Walker had more talent and integrity in his nose hairs than Ealey had in his entire body. Don’t be a moron!

richie_rich1986

June 3rd, 2011
12:13 am

Goodluck Ealey…

Jeff

June 3rd, 2011
12:24 am

To hey mike at 11:40 –

You asked which is it? Well, when i was a dumb 16 or 17 year old teenager, yeah, I thought sports was the most important thing in the world and I thought the end-all, be-all was Georgia football.

NOW, as a mature adult, you have PERSPECTIVE… and that needs to be shared and explained to the NEXT generation of teenagers. We try to learn from our mistakes and faulty thinking as teenagers, and we need to impart our wisdom and life experiences to younger people. We need to explain to them, “Hey, this is important, but not THAT important.”

To be clear: Football NOT more important than life. As a KID, yes, we think so… but once you hit your 20s, you should be able to have some perspective and realize it’s just a game.

There is the problem — too many rabid college sports fans do NOT see that line and do NOT have that maturity and do NOT have any perspective. THEY are the ones that pressure the kids, that force the firings of coaches, that become the dirty boosters and slimy car dealers that have the “Winning is everything” mentality and choose wins and temporary glory over character and integrity and doing the right thing.

So, hey mike, as a kid, yeah, I would’ve given anything to play football at Georgia. And I wanted Dooley and Goff to do ANYTHING to win football games. Now, as a mature adult, I want my teams to have class, character, high standards, good morals, and integrity… the wins don’t mean as much. They are great, yes, but it’s not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to do things the RIGHT way.

I hope most Georgia fans realize this. I would rather be Georgia ten times out of then than be Auburn… that school sold its soul for a trophy last fall. Say what you want, but we all know some dirty things have gone on there for years. To me, as a fan, that would taint the wins… but to some people, winning is everything, unfortunately. I hope we all see past that and NEVER become those ‘winning is everything’ people.

Castle Pines Canine

June 3rd, 2011
12:59 am

Good for him. Hope he is a success there

7576DAWG

June 3rd, 2011
1:07 am

Chip
Other than the friends of Ealey finding out where he will be this is a non issue for everyone else. I have never followed or care to follow any of the players careers at Jacksonville State and could care less what happens to some kid or shall I say child who had the opportunity to play for THE DAWG’s and decided he would quit. RUN HOME TO MAMA , I KNOW THEY DIDN’T TREAT YOU RIGHT AT GEORGIA. It’s ALL their fault.

aarh

June 3rd, 2011
1:07 am

A Pretty Good Dog- I never understood it to be that Richt had named Met the starter after the spring game. The only thing that was reported was that Met had outperformed him in the G-Day Game, but that Murray had outperformed him the rest on the spring scrimmages. A lot of people annointed Met the starter solely based on the fact that he played better in the more heavily hyped G_Day Game, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was going to start over Murray.

Toe Meets Leather

June 3rd, 2011
1:19 am

grammar and UGA. Two things that do not go together.

RED DOG 77

June 3rd, 2011
1:24 am

I hope you glowing examples of mankind feel real good about yourselves. Just think back people, where were you when you were his age? Did you have scores of people patting you on the back saying you were the greatest?………Did you come from a poor family? did you need a little guidance?………Yes Washaun Ealey blew-it at Georgia, did any of you football gurus blow-it in any of your lifes choices around his age?…………..Folks, I can say but one thing to those who would judge this young man harshly……….I make mistakes almost everyday, mabe not big mistakes, but then again I’m almost 60 years old………I have one little piece of advise for judgmental folks like you……….Take a look at your own life, if only for one day……then mabe you might grow-up, no matter how old you are…………Regards, RED

RED DOG 77

June 3rd, 2011
1:34 am

@7576Dawg………My post was for people like you, I sincerily wish you the best, and hope you grow-up someday………RED

RED DOG 77

June 3rd, 2011
1:35 am

@Jeff…….Great post brother!………GO DOGS !………….RED

Monroe's first Redcoat

June 3rd, 2011
2:15 am

Can he take Caleb King with him?

Stinger2

June 3rd, 2011
3:53 am

Based on the variety of comments above, the Bulldog Nation is truly a divided house. Nothing wrong with that. Everyone has a right to sxpress their opin ion.

Yellow Fuzz

June 3rd, 2011
5:17 am

Mike

June 2nd, 2011
8:19 pm
Your an idiot Washaun, I am the biggest UGA fan there is and you blew it. All you needed was work ethic and a heart and you would of been fine, who cares if we are loaded at running back the one who shines through would start and get the most carries. You were scared and wanted an easy ride, so you got it… good luck getting to the NFL now at that school. You let me down

HAHAHA. AND THE SAD PART IS THAT “MIKE” ACTUALLY FEELS THIS WAY. THIS IS THE PROBLEM THAT I HAVE WITH THE MORONIC DOG NATION. AH’S LIKE MIKE DO NOT DESERVE A VOICE THAT THE INTERNET PROVIDES. Sorry he “let YOU down AH!

7576DAWG

June 3rd, 2011
5:28 am

RED DOG 77
I don’t regret one thing that I have ever done. I was a risk management major at Georgia in the early 70’s and have always listed the pro’s and con’s of everything I did before I chose which way to go. I even turned down a baseball uniform from coach Watley at Georgia because I was good but felt I had limitations and could not make it to the major league level. The demands from the team of my time was too much to ask when I was more interested in getting a degree.
The criticism I have for Ealey is he is a quitter and is no longer a 18 year old freshman. He should be entering his Jr. year and the average kid should have grown in maturity tremendously not regressed.I have no sympathy for kids like Ealey just because they might not have come from the greatest home environment. He was given a great opportunity to mature and grow into an adult with values that anyone would be proud of and all at the expense of the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA. I wish someone had paid the nearly $50,000 that it cost me for my son to attend Georgia for 4 years. Ealey’s lack of appreciation and his continual attitude of entitlement until he left is why he can not be grouped into your category of a kid that we should feel sorry for.

7576DAWG

June 3rd, 2011
5:47 am

I believe you spell the old baseball coaches name Whatley not Watley. Sorry for the spelling.

Off the bench

June 3rd, 2011
6:03 am

7576 you are full of it dude. No way you “turned down a uniform” haha.
Red, as always, you are so wise. I do agree with you today, maybe cause I am as old as you you coot.
Mike you are a piece of crap in my opinion.
Jeffy boy you ain’t got a clue…..

Dublin Dawg

June 3rd, 2011
6:21 am

I’m with you on that yellow fuzz

Paddy

June 3rd, 2011
6:48 am

Jack Crowe is a great coach. Very old school and tough as nails. If you go to JSU, don’t plan on “easy street”. Guess thats why they win so many games and play a good schedule of Div 1 teams year after year.

Louis

June 3rd, 2011
6:58 am

Driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of an accident, public drunkenness, stealing items from campus buildings, and counterfeiting. These are the qualities that Jack Crowe overlooks when recruiting players who have been kicked off of other teams. Crowe is a bottom feeder who will bring in anyone that can play, regardless of their character. Don’t forget, JSU was ineligible for post season play in 2009 because of the poor ACADEMIC performance of their football team.

falcon

June 3rd, 2011
7:16 am

Time to turn the page. What’s done is done. Good luck from here on out WE. Gotta keep your nose clean man.

Reebok

June 3rd, 2011
7:16 am

as a Tech fan, I hope this young man is able to make a fresh start and take some great things out of his remaining 2 years of eligibility. good luck, Washaun.

kyle

June 3rd, 2011
7:17 am

Jacksonville State fans: Your team now has a cancer…….in no way does TEAM concept enter this morons head…..

THE Dixie Redcoat Band

June 3rd, 2011
7:33 am

20 years after H. Walker left UGA, we still talk about him and he still does good things.
20 years from today will anybody be talking about washout ealey…probably not.

bad brad

June 3rd, 2011
7:36 am

@Russ 10:37pm…
What do you know about an education at UGA? My daughter just graduated Magna cum laude and leaves next week for her new career in the Silicon Valley. I’m betting your ignorant arse couldn’t get into UGA.

It Ain't Rocket Science

June 3rd, 2011
7:40 am

Mike,

Ealey is no teenager. He might act like one but he is 22 now I believe. His biggest problem is that he is not a team player. His mind has been on the NFL, probably since the time he enrolled as a freshman. Football is a team sport. He will probably do OK at JSU if he can keep his studies up and play for the team.

barneyb

June 3rd, 2011
7:41 am

Hope Washun uses this as a life lesson and grows up. If not, I hope Jack Crowe bounces him out of Jacksonville as fast as they got him.

Johnny Beach

June 3rd, 2011
7:43 am

Ealey HAS ANOTHER CHANCE. It is now up to him.

It Ain't Rocket Science

June 3rd, 2011
7:50 am

I bet that Ealey does not plan to be there anymore than 1 year. He just wants to get the best exposure he can to become a blip on the NFL radar. 2 years for him will only be if he doesn’t perform well, due to injury, attitude or whatever. He is a student/athlete about as much as Cam Newton was at Auburn.

UGA FALCONS

June 3rd, 2011
7:52 am

It is clearly evident that Washaun helped move along his early exit from the University of Georgia. Mark Richt added a cataylst to the process, when he publicly called out Washaun at Bulldog Club meeting in Augusta, after Washaun did all the things the coaching staff required to lift his indefinite suspension. In bashing Washaun, do remember he was Georgia’s most productive back, and he is just a young college adult, who like us ALL, have made mistakes. Thanks for your time at Georgia Washaun, and the best of wishes to you at J’ville and beyond.

Real Eagle

June 3rd, 2011
7:57 am

Honest Ingine–When you win 6 National Championships you can start thinking about being the real GSU!! If you were “real” you wouldn’t have to keep telling everybody you were REAL!

Thoroughbred

June 3rd, 2011
8:15 am

Jacksonville State has a history of taking in transfers from D1 schools. It’s all good though everybody knows Eastern Kentucky University runs the Ohio Valley Conference.

Swimmer

June 3rd, 2011
8:20 am

UGA averaged 35 runs per game.

75th in the NCAA.

Ealey had no choice, he had to go to a team committed to the run that actually knows how to run the football effectively.

UGA is not the place for any rb. If you’re a QB or receiver, UGA is ok, but if you’re a premiere back like Ealey, time to move on to a running oriented coach who is excellent at run game plans.

75th in runs per game, not enough carries to show your stuff.

And when you consider UGA runs a platoon style offense where they rotate in 5 or 6 carriers, it’s basically splitting 35 carries a game with 4 other mediocre backs who are 5-6x less productive in td’s than Ealey.

Swimmer

June 3rd, 2011
8:22 am

UGA’s 142 rush yards a game.

Ranks #73 in NCAA.

Not worthy of Ealey.

The Rock

June 3rd, 2011
8:23 am

The Rock says the Jacksonville PD will soon make Ealey a new visitor to their detention center.

larry

June 3rd, 2011
8:42 am

surprised me he didnt get the reverend Jesse{the philanderer} Jackson and fat boy Al Sharpton to go to Athens and protest and say he was a VICTIM and was being singled out because of being a negro- seems thats the routine they automatically fall back upon- government mules ,all of them

Monticello Mike

June 3rd, 2011
8:42 am

Have fun being the “Premier Back” at JSU, you loser.