SEC discipline likely forthcoming for Georgia, Vandy players, coaches
ATHENS – Georgia expects to hear back from the Southeastern Conference sometime this week regarding possible disciplinary action against coaches and players in the wake of last Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt.
UGA and Vanderbilt were each asked to submit reports about the post-game skirmish that took place following the Bulldogs’ 33-28 win over the Commodores. After the game concluded, Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin and Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham ended up in a shouting match at midfield. Both coaches could be subject to fines, suspensions and/or reprimands from SEC Commissioner Mike Slive for showing a lack of sportsmanship with their finger-pointing, obscenity-laced exchange.
Meanwhile, there is a very good chance discipline could be forthcoming for players based on their actions during the game. Georgia noseguard Kwame Geathers was flagged for a personal foul for punching Vanderbilt center Logan Stewart at the end of of the Commodores’ second offensive play of the fourth quarter. Geathers’ punch was retaliation for a late-hit by Stewart in which he intentionally clips the back of Geathers’ left knee, an extremely dangerous angle that could have resulted in serious injury. Stewart was flagged for clipping on the play and could be disciplined for the hit.
Georgia senior center Ben Jones was flagged for a similar penalty in the 2010 Mississippi State game and was suspended for the first half of the Bulldogs’ next game against Colorado. Georgia’s next game this year is against Florida in Jacksonville on Oct. 29.
“We’re not sure what’s going to happen,” Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity said Tuesday. “We’re at the mercy of the SEC. We don’t know if anything is imminent or not. Our only experience is with Ben Jones last year.”
Jones’ discipline was not announced last season until right around kickoff of the Colorado game. At the time it was stated that both Georgia coach Mark Richt and Slive had reviewed tape of the Mississippi State game and agreed that a one-half suspension was warranted.
Here’s the release UGA sent out that day:
University of Georgia center Ben Jones will sit out the first half of the Saturday game against Colorado as a result of a late clipping penalty he incurred in the closing minutes of last week’s game at Mississippi State.
UGA head coach Mark Richt and SEC Commissioner Mike Slive both reviewed game tapes and conferred during this past week. Both agreed the half game suspension was in order.
“It was poor judgment on Ben’s part,” said Richt. “He feels very badly about the incident and has sent a note of apology to the Mississippi State player. I have talked with (Mississippi State Coach) Dan Mullen and he appreciated the concern and Ben’s apology.”
Meanwhile, McGarity does not believe Georgia is an undisciplined team. He pointed out that the Bulldogs entered last Saturday’s game as the SEC’s fourth-least penalized teams. Georgia has been flagged for five personal fouls in seven games this season and all have come in the last two games, two against Tennessee and three against Vanderbilt.
“That’s not a reflection of our team this year,” McGarity said. “The Vanderbilt game hopefully was an aberration. We had a bad second half against Tennessee and lost our composure against Vanderbilt.”
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532 comments Add your comment
plsstop
October 18th, 2011
4:17 pm
acting like Will is like CTG! He does not try to start fights with other Coaches. Yelling at the ref,sure,don’t we all. Name me one time he went after a Coach when he was a DC,One,name it!!
Foots McToe
October 18th, 2011
4:17 pm
I swear. You leg humpers are clueless. I guess sniffing around the gas hole has addled your brains.
South GA VU grad
October 18th, 2011
4:18 pm
I have seen the video. No proof Franklin did anything inappropriate. Can’t say the same for Grantham. You may want your son to play for Grantham but I certainly wouldn’t want that for my son. I prefer my son to be led by men with class, dignity, and honor.
Newman
October 18th, 2011
4:19 pm
It doesn’t matter what Frankilin did. Grantham is an out of control embarrassment. He acts and talks like a middle schooler. He laces his comments with profanity as the team goes off the field during home games in front of lots of youngsters in the east end zone. This is twice he’s embarrassed the program on TV.
Rick
October 18th, 2011
4:20 pm
If Coach Franklin wanted to talk to Coach Richt after the game what was he doing at the hash marks on the 40 in the middle of the UGA players? If he had gone to mid field and had confronted Coach Richt and said what he did about our players what would Richt have done? What would MaGarity have done? Shake their hands? I hope not. Franklin got what he wanted but a little bit more when he confonted Coach Grantham. Thanks Coach Grantham.
ADMan
October 18th, 2011
4:20 pm
I’m really disappointed in Coach Richt…he should have already publicly backed his coach. I’m starting to wonder if his holier than thou attitude is what we need to build a NC caliber team in Athens….when Saban and Spurrier publicly bad mouth other teams, coaches and players the media all drool over how good of a coach they are…when a Georgia coach takes up for his player he’s chastised and belittled by the AJC for his actions….looks like a double standard if you ask me.Give me a coach with backbone and I’ll show you a winner every time.
01HAWK
October 18th, 2011
4:21 pm
UGAmutt……………………..Alabama does the same thing to Ole Miss that we did, and they’re worldbeaters. But we just did what we expected to do.
UGA 27………………………………OLE MISS……13
BAMA 52…………………………..OLE MRS. 7
YEA……………………………Those scores are very comparable.
How about this one.
BAMA 34………………………………………….VANDY……….0
UGA 33 ………………………………………..VANDY……….28
How about that score. That is comparable also, HUH ?
Lakedawg
October 18th, 2011
4:23 pm
Can’t blame Kwame for retaliation for a side knee cut that could have ended his year,after play basically over. Just wish he could have been a little more discreet with it.
Think Franklin and Grantham get warnings if another incident rest of year, big fine.
Attention needs to be on Gaaytors. Good to have Tree back in the middle, after watching 35 and 45 whiffing 3 or 4 times as the Vandy QB ran by them.
7576DAWG
October 18th, 2011
4:25 pm
Hopefully nothing will happen to our team , players or coaches but if this doesn’t motivate our defense to play hard for 60 minutes against Florida nothing will. A coach that stick’s up for his player’s unconditionally has my respect and admiration . After reviewing film if our players were doing something wrong then you take it up with them then but Grantham did exactly what a real man would do in that situation. This is FOOTBALL NOT GYMNASTICS.
DAWGinVA
October 18th, 2011
4:26 pm
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…. This topic has been beat to death! I really don’t see the big deal. A couple of coaches exchanged words. The End. Let’s move on.
backbone OR
October 18th, 2011
4:26 pm
Crazy man? I’ll take the backbone without the crazy,Thank you! And yes those type of coaches are out there.Your coach is postal bulldogs.If you can’t see it maybe you are too.
Destin Dawg
October 18th, 2011
4:26 pm
Franklin WAS the instigator… he wasn’t looking for Richt. ?? he was attacking our Kids.. Man on kids.. NOT ..man on man…… Grantham’s the man !! Go dawgs !!!
Tim
October 18th, 2011
4:26 pm
Slive will need to suspend Muschamp for using foul language on camera.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7119493/florida-gators-muschamp-apologizes-foul-language
Heisenberg
October 18th, 2011
4:27 pm
Coming into a UGA blog is like entering a paranoid alternative reality. If I did not know any better I would think the media, the SEC, Vandy coaches, bowl selection members and the refs are all out to get the Dawgs.
Has UGA beaten a team with a winning record in the last two years?
jarvis
October 18th, 2011
4:28 pm
Are David Archer and Hutson Mason father and son?
Willie Martinez
October 18th, 2011
4:28 pm
Tech’s offense, through its use of misdirection, incorporates a strategy of distracting the referees so that it can hold defensive players illegally. That is why you see so many running plays of over ten yards so far this year. The ACC refs have discussed it at length, and they began cracking down on it in last week’s game at UVA. Tech is likely to win two or three more games for the rest of the year. They will have holding penalties on at least six plays against Miami.
Tater Tot
October 18th, 2011
4:29 pm
Franklin reminds me of the little kid on the playground that could never get his way so he would go tell the teacher about it after having layed in the dirt throwing a hissy. Polesmoker.
GaTruth
October 18th, 2011
4:29 pm
How does Vandy come away looking so victimized? They play a great game (for them) and had plenty of late hits and no-calls. Yet it gets portrayed as though the center that clipped Geathers was the only indiscretion. What a load! While Williams did have a bad late hit on the WR, his 2nd was retaliation for #38 (9?) who went after a Dawg. The PF flag? OK. Discipline after the fact? The SEC should inform the coaches to handle and get out of the d@mn way.
Bulldog 1986
October 18th, 2011
4:30 pm
Let’s just get it over with and start calling ourselves the Georgia Politically Correct Poodles so we can suspend everybody for showing a little emotion. Are we supposed to be robots now? Time to play flag football and lace up the red panties – blame Richt and his goody-goody holier than thou attitude. Fire his butt and give Grantham a shot. At least his side of the ball is playing like they care!
Destin Dawg
October 18th, 2011
4:30 pm
Grantham is really cool compared to Muschamp,, He’s crazy !!
Joe
October 18th, 2011
4:30 pm
well well well……as is typical of the SEC we will get hammered I am sure….yet, …..auburn gets to play with a player they paid money for…….way to go Slive!
Jesse Pinkman
October 18th, 2011
4:30 pm
If Vandy hadn’t started chop blocking in the second half they would not have scored on offense.
ADMan
October 18th, 2011
4:30 pm
South GA VU grad…How can you make the comments you did unless you heard what Franklin said to Williams…Franklin started this by his unprofessional actions towards Williams and then tried to cover up his actions by telling one lie after another to make himself look good….I’d worry about the kind of coach you have. What kind of example is he setting for his players whan he condones lying and cheating (cut blocking) in order to win at all costs….Vandy’s got a problem on thier hands…and his name is Franklin….I’d prefer my son be led by a man with a backbone, who backs his fellow players or workers…not one who lies to make himself look good.
GaTruth
October 18th, 2011
4:31 pm
@ Willie Martinez – not criticizing, asking: How does a defender distract a ref?
sogadog
October 18th, 2011
4:31 pm
Why didnt Franklin pick up the phone Sunday afternoon and address his concerns with CMR? Why yell and point at UGA players on the field after the game? Because the cameras were rolling and Franklin wanted to play up his “we dont take it at Vandy anymore” BS. Franklin deserves an academy award for his performance during this whole thing.
I wish CMR would publicly support Grantham and tell Franklin to stick it somewhere.
Half Century Dawg Fan
October 18th, 2011
4:32 pm
South GA VU grad
October 18th, 2011
4:18 pm
Your right, it’s all TG fault. He crossed that field seeking out Franklin and jumped in his face ranting and raving for no reason at all.
btgt69
October 18th, 2011
4:32 pm
“undisciplined team” ,,,, huh,,, ???? How many arrests, how many booted off,,, Harrick, Kemp, “red panties” what’s his name?,,,,a tradition unlike any other
GT techie
October 18th, 2011
4:33 pm
Yeh.. we got Miami, Clempson, Virginia Tech… Ouch…. and UGA.. no bowl ??
Dawgville
October 18th, 2011
4:34 pm
Grantham is an embarrassment to UGA no other way to put it. This is about winning with class and this guy just doesn’t get it. 2nd public incident in less than a year and he should have been suspended following the cut slash incident against a UF player last year. Get him out of here RIcht!!!!
pcola-dog
October 18th, 2011
4:34 pm
Soooo we know nothing more today than we did Saturday night and you write the same info with a catchy title. Come on Chip!
Joe
October 18th, 2011
4:37 pm
So a Vandy player takes a hit on our guy that could have ended his career and our guy will end up sitting the next game……wonder what the sorry SEC office would be saying IF it had ended his career……..I am fed up with the SEC and can only hope that the player who tried to injure our player gets hurt and NEVER plays football again. There is NO EXCUSE for a player to try and hurt another one….he needs to be kicked off that team..if his coach had any type of spine- he would address that instead of crying a river about “we aint gonna take it any more”
Roll Tide
October 18th, 2011
4:38 pm
Richt can’t control his players, just like he can’t control his coaches. I hope you loser uga fans don’t fire him, that way Saban can keep raiding your recruiting base. If you guys make it to the SEC championship, Bama or LSU is going to destroy you. Richt sucks.
Fleming Island Dawg
October 18th, 2011
4:39 pm
plsstop…. Coach Muschamp went after the refs at halftime during the TN game. He had to be seperated from the ref by Florida’s Director of Football operations. How many coaches go that far after refs? That should carry a larger fine since the ref did nothing to provoke the coach and was lucky someone was there to get in front of Muschamp.
GT1990
October 18th, 2011
4:40 pm
If I remember right,You all work for me! So get back to work your 10 min smoke break was over 1/2 hr ago.
UGAmutt
October 18th, 2011
4:41 pm
Did not say that the score was comparable on any game but margin of victory for LSU-MSU and UGA-MSU
That said, this is more of what I was refering to, Hawk:
ole miss vs uga rushing 207 passing 268 defensive rushing-14 passing-149
ole miss vs ala rushing 389 passing 224 defensive rushing-38 passing-113
while alabama is clearly a better team running the football (btw mr. heisman and lacy and fowler) both teams showed a balanced offense and a dominating defense. Richt is more pass-oriented to keep his game even, and is unsufferably conservative. However, Alabama showed the only way to be any more dominant than we were in that game, and yet we got zero respect.
LHarding Dawg
October 18th, 2011
4:42 pm
And Roll Tide, you suck too. I would guess you might be a waiter in downtown Atlanta. Just guessing!
Gator Bob
October 18th, 2011
4:42 pm
Not too impressed with UGA this year – nor Florida for that matter.
However, Florida will win the SEC EAST:
Here is how:
Florida wins out – finishes SEC with 5-3 (beating UGA and USCe)
UGA gets beat by Auburn and Florida – finishing 5-3
USCe will lose to Arkansas and FLORIDA – finishing 5-3
Florida wins head to head against UGA and USCe.
UGA will finish the season – 8-4
Richt will return for 2012 – and will be improved next year.
2012 – SEC EAST will be a 2 horse race – FLORIDA and UGA.
Cognitive Dissonance
October 18th, 2011
4:43 pm
What Coach Grantham did was commendable. I think that we should place a statue of Coach Grantham outside of our stadium with spittle spraying forth profusely from his gaping maw as he gives the traditional “choke” sign to passersby.
We could even hire some Tech nerds to come over and wire up a motion detector and sound system so the statue could bark like a rabid dog whenever anyone approaches it.
How cool would that be?
Delusional Dawg Fan
October 18th, 2011
4:43 pm
What a fanbase base! Blame everyone but their out of control D coordinator who has a history of out of control behavior. Grantham is pure class. Yes, blame the AJC who rides UGA’s jock, blame Slive and the SEC. UGA’s fan base is fantastically delusional especially those of you who actually believe UGA is a top tier SEC program.
Dap01
October 18th, 2011
4:43 pm
Perhaps, Grantham can use the CAM DEFENSE and say he had no knowledge of it. Either way Farley is slime and the SEC and NCAA are slime for letting Auburn be the ultimate cheaters last year. How can anyone ever be sanctioned again.
Dap01
October 18th, 2011
4:44 pm
Grantham is the best coach UGA has.
The Ole Ball Coach
October 18th, 2011
4:44 pm
What should Muschamp get?
Dap01
October 18th, 2011
4:46 pm
CMR was real quick to take Vandy’s coaches side. Perhaps he should have at least asked his coach before taking sides.
That is ok. Vandy will still be a mid level team like Tech.
Young Ball Coach
October 18th, 2011
4:46 pm
“What should Muschamp get?”
He should get back to Georgia – where he belongs.
You know… Georgia. The home of Cecil and Cam Newton.
Trial Lawyer
October 18th, 2011
4:47 pm
Don’t forget CMR has got to go and let’s get a real coach
Fleming Island Dawg
October 18th, 2011
4:47 pm
Only seen him slightly out of control one time. Seen other coaches, who will remain nameless, go after refs with as much self control Only words were said no punches i thought this was football not tennis. Then again tennis can have just as bad language. Show me a coach who hasn’t heard the F-Bomb!!! Get over it.
ADMan
October 18th, 2011
4:47 pm
Roll Tide…we’re still laughing at your commentshere in the office…what a load of crap you spew…you wouldn’t know a good coach from a bad one….how much did you get paid for helping poison the trees at Auburn?…a real class fan if I’ve ever seen one…I’ll bet the Tide Nation is proud of you…..your such a badass….Let me guess you weigh 250, 5′9, with a dip under your lip and subscribe to Penthouse…Classic…LOLLOLLOLLOL!
AuburnGuy
October 18th, 2011
4:47 pm
Hey Joe @ 4:30pm. In case you have been on another planet lately, let me fill you in on a little information. Last week the NCAA said they found no, repeat in case you don’t understand this, NO evidence whatsoever that Auburn paid anybody anything or even came close to doing ANYTHING wrong last year. Get the hell over it, you whiny little nincompoop! It’s over,over,OVER!!! If you’ve got any information to the contrary other than what the other bubbas tell you at the local watering hole then tell it to the NCAA. Otherwise for God’s sake shut up and go away, it’s OVER!!!!!!
Parade of Knuckleheads
October 18th, 2011
4:47 pm
Enter your comments here
crusher
October 18th, 2011
4:48 pm
No problem. Put in a scrub next year and aim for Franklin’s knee. See how he likes being aimed at.