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
MY 2 cents
October 18th, 2011
6:00 pm
Franklin got butt hurt and couldnt take the pain. Welcome to the SEC buddy boy.
Bob
October 18th, 2011
6:01 pm
As far as Mike Sleeze is concerned, it’s all about the ratings (and money). Chop blocks are dangerous and should be outlawed in college as they are in the NFL. Vandy and their POS coach should be disciplined for this…and we should have benched SW after his second personal foul. We are the most undisciplined team in the SEC.
D'Lerious Dogg
October 18th, 2011
6:01 pm
Florida has played better competition. That should provide an edge in the upcoming game.
Charlie Brown
October 18th, 2011
6:03 pm
Why’s everybody always chop-blocking on me?
Move on It could have been like this
October 18th, 2011
6:03 pm
http://www.sdsucollegian.com/2011/10/11/dead-coyote-hanged-from-usd-sdsu-rivalry-billboard-2/
Tech Buzz
October 18th, 2011
6:05 pm
the sec needs to suspend the loose cannon grantham, but with georgia’s connections, nothing will happen to him.
Weak Bark
October 18th, 2011
6:07 pm
“SIT DOG(S)! STAY!
bugs
October 18th, 2011
6:07 pm
I am a neutral Tech fan.The Vandy coach has a lot of potential to be a real
head case.With all his faults,Paul Johnson wouldn’t take one ounce of crap
from that nut case.I’m afraid Ga. is about to get burned.
recruitnik
October 18th, 2011
6:07 pm
so where was the punishment for the bama player who kicked the vandy player in the head?
Bull Sh*t
October 18th, 2011
6:09 pm
@ Sunny,
What other game has ended in a tussle on the field? Please elucidate…
D'Lerious Dogg
October 18th, 2011
6:10 pm
Don’t know why y’all want to make up excuses. It don’t matter what Vandy did. Don’t you get it? That ain’t what this is about. It ain’t about chop blocking and it ain’t about playing chippy. It’s about Coach Grantham’s behavior on the field. That’s all.
You either like it, or you don’t like it – but that’s what it’s all about.
I’d say it’s better to say nothing than to make excuses. It looks petty.
UGAmutt
October 18th, 2011
6:15 pm
Florida’s Problems:
1)Muschamp hasn’t been able to recruit to his system. UM left him with track star athletes and a handful of real football players.
2)Charlie Wies is not, and never has been, capable of handling a backseat. He has also never won on a CFB level competing against competition like he’s facing in the SEC.
3)Dan Quinn is a paperweight on that coaching staff.
4)RBs lack size and strength for a pro-style offense.
5)QB attrition/ineptitude/lack of experience
6)Entitled opinions and overblown egos that have been since, crushed.
7)Overrated preseason predictions
8)Special Teams (yeah, I know we suck at that too)
9)Poor execution and explosiveness on the offensive line
10)Playing Alabama, LSU, AU, and UGA in consecutive league play
11)Weak OOC schedule did not prepare them for the big games this season
Weak Bark
October 18th, 2011
6:16 pm
recruitnik
October 18th, 2011
6:07 pm
so where was the punishment for the bama player who kicked the vandy player in the head?
3333333333333333333
Addressed and if you had your facts you would know that he was not kicked, the bammer player jerked his leg away not towards the vndy player.
Sunny
October 18th, 2011
6:18 pm
@Bull Sh*t,
Liberty Bowl 2010 and Auburn 2010 are two of the most recent incidents. Let’s not pretend Georgia is a model of good sportsmanship and big, bad Vandy has a history of taunting and brawling.
Dawgs1
October 18th, 2011
6:20 pm
All folks on here trying to spin this event for their own philosophy.
I am with sogadog; Franklin is out of line and try[ng to solidify his job and hoodwink recruits at others expense.
Easy to sway a 17-18 year olds opinion in such a heated situation when he is in the locker room of one side and not exposed to the whole story.
AltamahaDawg
October 18th, 2011
6:20 pm
That Vandy game has more lives than a cat.
It wasn’t pretty but I still believe we gained more than if it had been.
ole dawg
October 18th, 2011
6:20 pm
excuse me, how does Auburn get away last year with all the spear hits and personal fouls and NOT one citation issued and Vandy and UGA obtain possible punishment; SEC where is the justice of fair equal treatment. Auburn and LSU were head hunters and forearm throwers ALL last year, did SEC not see those games. Politico smells really bad!!!!
Preston
October 18th, 2011
6:21 pm
What a mess. A war of words with the likes of Vanderbilt. Why can’t our guys just get outta there after we win the game and go home with the “W”. The last few years have seen either their guys stomping on our logo on the 50 or vice-versa. Now this. For crying out loud it’s Vandy here. We should be ashamed that we can’t blow these guys out like the other premiere SEC programs. It’s almost a show of respect by “rubbing it in their faces” instead of just getting the hell outta there with a narrow victory. I love the fact that CTG took up for his player because the players love that their coach has their back. No matter what. CMR is gonna have to let everyone know that he has his assistants’ and players’ backs instead of apologizing before he sees film of what happened too. I love his class but he took the Vandy coach’s word before he even spoke with any of his own guys first. Not good at all.
Easy14
October 18th, 2011
6:24 pm
Is Franklin serious, rubbing our face in it? Where in the world did he come from…..trash talk in college football, like it or not, is a way of life. Weak excuse for allowing himself to get in a verbal exchange with an opposing player. He was the fuse for the whole incident!
Weak Bark
October 18th, 2011
6:26 pm
Fact: If UGA was half as good as LSU,AL,ARK they would have been up by 28 at the start of the 4th qtr and avoided this issue.
UGAmutt
October 18th, 2011
6:27 pm
I will say this, neither CTG nor Franklin issued any sort of apology to one another. This is not taking ownership for the individual responsiblity in the incident. F8ck Franklin for being such a p^ssy about the whole thing. If he was really interested in burying the hatchet, he would have obliged a statement to the effect, “and I apologize to Coach Grantham for any indications he may have had that I was going after one of his players, I simply (fill in his reason)” Instead what we get is a bald-faced lie about him looking to shake Richt’s hand as he’s barreling down the hash at the 40 right on Shawn Williams. By the same token Grantham should have the humility and integrity to say something to the effect of “I thought I was handling an issue where my players needed support. Instead, I embarrassed myself and I would like to personally offer my apology to Coach Franklin” (while thinking in his head) “apologize for giving you so much free press coverage for a never-was program”
D'Lerious Dogg
October 18th, 2011
6:27 pm
Preston,
Maybe, just maybe, Coach Richt knew more about the actual events than do you?
T.
October 18th, 2011
6:28 pm
Gatormeat
Remember the Florida Flop,Such honor.
Georgia is a charter member of the SEC, Georgia will no longer be in the SEC, Whwn thereis no SEC.
TW
October 18th, 2011
6:28 pm
UGA has beome nothing more than a place where top talent goes to get laid for 3-4 years before going pro.
In the circles of real teams we are an absolute joke and will remain that way until the fans grow some balls.
Go enter Richt in a ‘nice man’ contest, give UGA a real coach. I am tired of getting laughed at by Bama, Auburn, Florida.
Games like Vandy the other night used to be unnacceptable. Now it’s just who we are.
Disgraceful.
D'Lerious Dogg
October 18th, 2011
6:30 pm
Petty.
PR
October 18th, 2011
6:30 pm
“Now it’s just who we are.”
TW… you ain’t Georgia.
T.
October 18th, 2011
6:30 pm
Weak Bark
They were up 23-7 at one point.
Weak Bark
October 18th, 2011
6:32 pm
How classy is Trooper Taylor from Auburn doing the Gator Chomp this past saturday night. TG has more class than Trooper ever had.
Desert Fox
October 18th, 2011
6:33 pm
since both teams (select players and coaches) share equal responsibilty in cause and effect then suspensiions are uncalled for. Reprimands is equal and just punishment. Suspensions only hurt both teams which as a whole were not involved.
Weak Bark
October 18th, 2011
6:34 pm
T…that is two scores and not 28.
hotdawg
October 18th, 2011
6:35 pm
U gotta b joking all the bs that happened to us and nothing happened I e….nick fairly brandon spikes the phantom celebration vs lsu last year if anybody from ga gets in trouble….I say man…f!$* the second officials and I smell a rat…what did we ever do..ok we did dance on the field at fla but that’s old
Weak Bark
October 18th, 2011
6:35 pm
Punches thrown with a flag means suspension.
D'Lerious Dogg
October 18th, 2011
6:35 pm
Trooper is not known for having class. Still, he apparently has an appeal to a certain demographic segment of the population. He is a good recruiter, so they say.
GaDawg
October 18th, 2011
6:35 pm
Just watched the video again on you tube. First there was no dancing or celebration on the Vandy “Star”. This whole incident happened on the 35 to 30 yard line. Franklin was not looking for Richt and his security guard was not pointing Richt out. Security might have thought another coach was Richt wince they were both wearing tan pants with red windbreakers. Richt was down on the 30 yard line closer to the 25. Grantham had to turnaround to see who Franklin was yelling at. Williams dismissed Franklin and that probably peed him off. We do not know, and probably never will, what was actually said to make Grantham so mad.
Franklin needs to learn not to start a fight because someone else may finish it for him. To me this is much to do about nothing. Glad Grantham had his players backs.
D'Lerious Dogg
October 18th, 2011
6:38 pm
Also petty.
SiddyBoy
October 18th, 2011
6:38 pm
I was pretty critical of CTG on several blogs.Even though I didn’t agree with his response(which the world has seen), it is just that-a response. Not shown on the 8 minute slow-mo You Tube video, is CJF pointing at Sean Williams. I don’t know what Franklin said to him but he(CJF) had no business saying anything to a UGA player or a UGA assistant coach !!! He(CJF) even admitted that he sought out an assistant to complain about the UGA players.CJF you should have waited for CMR you coward.
Calhoundawg
October 18th, 2011
6:38 pm
@TW — why don’t you just castrate yourself and become a Tennessee fan? There having a wonderful time of things right now. By the way, I think you’d look great in Orange!
T.
October 18th, 2011
6:40 pm
Weak Bark
At 10:06 left in the third Qtr. it was 23-7.
TW
October 18th, 2011
6:41 pm
PR – you are exactly why we are now in the Kentucky teir of the SEC.
GT will hand us our a$$es this year because of panities like yours.
It’s a man’s game. Grow a pair or get lost. Any one of 30 colleges coaches out ther would have gotten us ring during Richt’s tenure.
Get off your knees, boy.
Calhoundawg
October 18th, 2011
6:41 pm
@TW — sorry, I was assuming you were a man.
T.
October 18th, 2011
6:42 pm
True it was only a two score game,but its certainly better
than 33-28.
GR82BAG8R
October 18th, 2011
6:43 pm
hotdog, you also danced on Vandy’s emblem the last time you were there.
D'Lerious Dogg
October 18th, 2011
6:43 pm
Don’t matter what somebody’s got posted on youtube. Don’t matter what caused it. What matters is what everybody in that stadium and everybody watching the game on TV saw with their own eyes.
Trying to spin it just keeps it from going away.
Strap
October 18th, 2011
6:44 pm
This is bullcrap. Franklin acted like a frikkin child and yelled at one of our players! All these AJC reporters need to at least acknowledge that Franklin started the whole sideshow! Richt lost alot of my respect this week for not having his teams back here.
TW
October 18th, 2011
6:45 pm
Calhoundog ain’t fit enough to lick Uga’s balls.
We are a sad excuse for a football team because ferries like you and PR enjoy seeing Auburn, Ala, Fla laugh their backsides off at the talent Richt pees down his leg each year.
TampaGator
October 18th, 2011
6:45 pm
UGAMutt……
Nothing super sensitive by taking offense to someone making light of the death of an entire football team at Marshall. That is just lacking in anything of value………..but your personal attacks on coaches at Florida and people who are just posting on here for fun and out of the love of college football…..speaks volumes about your character…..or lack of it. For that, I will not read or respond to any more of your posts.
D'Lerious Dogg
October 18th, 2011
6:46 pm
@Strap
Did Richt keep enough of your respect for you to support a contract extension if he goes 8-4 this year?
GR82BAG8R
October 18th, 2011
6:47 pm
This like a penalty where the ref sees the retaliation and flags it and not the instigator. Grantham’s slo-mo expletive tirade is now a legend on YouTube and is not what the SEC governing board wants to be what fans and sponsors associate with SEC football. They will act.
McDawg
October 18th, 2011
6:48 pm
so BS
TG TG TG TG TG TG TG TG TG TG
TW
October 18th, 2011
6:48 pm
Guess it’s not surprising we can’t run the ball anymore given the limp-wristed fanbase.
Maybe the Dawgs could play in a flag-football league? Powder-puff? That way they could ‘practice’ at the pool all the time…
geez….