Isaiah Crowell among 3 tailbacks suspended for failing drug tests (UPDATED)
Updated throughout . . .
ATHENS – Three Georgia tailbacks – including star freshman Isaiah Crowell – have been suspended for Saturday’s New Mexico State game for failing UGA-administered drug tests last week, two sources familiar with the process and the decision confirmed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Crowell, junior Carlton Thomas and redshirt freshman Ken Malcome will have to sit out 10 percent of the Bulldogs’ competition dates, as is UGA Athletic Association policy for a first-time violation of the student-athlete drug policy. The tests, which revealed marijuana use, were administered last week and the results were confirmed via private lab on Tuesday, the sources said.
Georgia coach Mark Richt would not confirm the reasons for the suspensions beyond his statement that it was for “violation of team policies.”
“We have certain standards in all that we do and their actions do not reflect the Georgia way,” Richt said in a statement released by UGA Sports Communications on Tuesday afternoon. “They will serve their suspensions, learn a lesson and I’m sure will be better men for it.”
Richt failed to mention the suspensions during his half-hour weekly news conference two hours before the news release was sent. He was asked about both Crowell and Malcome during that session with the media. Richt declined subsequent interview requests through UGA spokesperson Claude Felton. None of the players involved were made available.
Meanwhile, No. 2 tailback Richard Samuel underwent season-ending ankle surgery on Tuesday morning, meaning the Bulldogs (6-2) will be down to their fifth-string ball carrier when they play the Aggies (3-5) this weekend at Sanford Stadium.
Sophomore Brandon Harton, junior Wes Van Dyk and freshman Kyle Karempelis as the only true tailbacks available to play Saturday. Harton (5-foot-6, 174 pounds) and Van Dyk (6-0, 203) are both former walkons who were awarded scholarships this past summer. Karempelis (5-9, 180) is a first-year walkon out of The Wesleyan School in Norcross. Only Harton, with 11 carries for 33 yards, and Van Dyk, with one for one yard, have played in a game this season.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo indicated after practice Tuesday night that Harton and Karempelis would be the Bulldogs’ first two options. Georgia could also utilize fullback Zander Ogletree in the running game.
“I think it’s an opportunity for a lot of guys to step up,” Bobo said. “We may have to change some things up and do some things different to move the ball. Other guys have to step up and make plays. I feel confident in those two guys and Ogletree and the backs and tight ends and receivers we have to move the ball.”
The Bulldogs could also give offensive snaps to defensive backs Brandon Boykin and/or Branden Smith, both of whom have played often on offense this season. And Bobo also dropped the names of two freshmen: Safety Nick Marshall and cornerback Damian Swann.
“There’s a lot of guys out there could be possibilities,” Bobo said.
It is the second suspension of the season for Crowell, who missed the first quarter of the Vanderbilt game for an academic-related issue. Thomas also missed the season opener due to a suspension for another undisclosed violation of team rules.
Crowell’s coach at Carver-Columbus High School, Dell McGee, traded text messages with him on Tuesday.
“I just reminded him of where he came from and not to take things for granted because they can be taken away from you,” McGee said.
Crowell was rated the No. 1 running back prospect in country when he signed with Georgia last February. He currently leads the Bulldogs with 689 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.
Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity insisted that the suspensions were not delayed discipline disciplinary actions from the week of the Florida game.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “We don’t pick when we do certain things. When certain things are found, we act right then.”
According to UGA Athletic Association student-athlete handbook, a one-game suspension can be the result of violations of three different policies: Drugs, alcohol or academics. But a violation of any policy cannot be enforced at a coach’s discretion.
“At the point a violation is discovered, if a suspension is required the penalty is enforced for the next competition,” Georgia senior Felton said. “Whatever the infraction was, it would have occurred this week.”
Georgia athletes are subject to preseason drug tests in every sport, random drug tests by the NCAA and periodic/non-random tests by the athletic association. In most cases it takes five to seven days for a lab to analyze the results.
– Chip Towers
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1,146 comments Add your comment
dawgster7
November 1st, 2011
4:13 pm
If i ever these guys preach about”TEAM” again I will throw up! Clearly these guys have no idea about what it is to be a part of a TEAM and not letting the TEAM down!
Bronc62
November 1st, 2011
4:14 pm
If we lose to NMST…I would suspend all three for the remaining season…Wes Van Dyk he is Dick’s nephew of course…
Robert Hall- DE
November 1st, 2011
4:15 pm
I slapped my gal pal around and played for CPJ and GT.
You bet we play em at GT for any old issue. Reuben Houston and Joey( Please do not order me to open my car truck) Hamilton and Crittendon and Mooney, Lavin and Salisbury and shall I go on? How about Eddie Lee Ivory up in Wisconsin back in his GB NFL days? How many years in prison did he get??? Hmmm??? GT’s # 37 Tarrant??
Ethel St and the baseball OD a few years ago??? Hmm?
IlliniDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:15 pm
@Kool-AidBar:
“What is going on in Athens?”
Uh, apparently you’ve never been to Athens. It has been and always will be one helluva fun place to go to school. It’s a giant party, and to be shocked at the possibility of football players smoking weed is like being stunned that breasts are exposed at Panama City over spring break. You might wanna get out more.
Mr. Krinkle
November 1st, 2011
4:15 pm
FAT TIRE: You my friend are just jealous of a program that GT will never become. You remind me of the banana in tail pipe guy. Is he your life partner?
Bama in Atlanta
November 1st, 2011
4:16 pm
Sounds like we’re going to find out just how good UGA’s passing game is.
trout dawg
November 1st, 2011
4:16 pm
this was rumored the friday BEFORE the florida game… failed drug test on those exact players!
GT Joe
November 1st, 2011
4:18 pm
Robert Hall: Question is, how many years will CROWELL end up doing when it’s all said and done?
Kid has Lawrence Phillips written all over him.
And to think, Jesus freak recruited him.
TampaDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:18 pm
Still@theKool-aidBAR
November 1st, 2011
4:13 pm
TAMPA you know UGA will never say the REAL reason why. Like the blogger said SUNDAY night. it was a failed urine test.
———————————–
Nor are they required to. Just ask LSU
BurytheBone
November 1st, 2011
4:19 pm
I for one cannot wait until NOV. 26. With or without runnig backs we still beat the jackets. Some things never get old. GT Joe i will go ahead and say goodbye now.
Tom
November 1st, 2011
4:19 pm
Very fortunate that McGarity and Richt were kept “in the dark” (2 of the few, apparently) about this until after the UF game. Was there a UGA-related board that wasn’t reporting the rumors about the failed test for IC last week?
reebok
November 1st, 2011
4:20 pm
Georgia will not lose to New Mexico State under any circumstances. This isn’t going to be good for your team’s mindset going into the Auburn game, though. I hope ESPN is wrong and it’s not for failed drug tests.
Mr. Krinkle
November 1st, 2011
4:20 pm
GT JOE: I bet you are one lonely dbag!
IlliniDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:21 pm
@GT Joe: Okay, we know you all don’t like women. And you don’t have many good bars. Now you are saying you don’t have or want Jesus?
GT Joe
November 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
yes…sniff sniff…lonely. sniff sniff.
But at least my team has beaten real teams like UNC and Clemson. UNC is getting votes in the coaches poll, unlike ANY team UGA has beaten. ANY.
Signature win for UGA: VANDY. LOL.
G-Dawg
November 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
Ole Flatty Tired at it again!! I guess we should just forfeit having a football team all together!! Since nobody can do right by his “sky is falling” ideals!!
Rduck
November 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
synthetic weed- now i know what they mean when they say “He has SEC speed!”
TampaDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
Thanks for the complete lack of class GT Joe .. the words “Jesus freak” are not only tasteless but classless, childish, and tell us everything we need to know about your character. Nice job.
G-Dawg
November 1st, 2011
4:24 pm
GT Joe…isnt it time for you to go rob some GT student on campus to get yo money??
TampaDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:24 pm
GT Joe
November 1st, 2011
4:22 pm
yes…sniff sniff…lonely. sniff sniff.
But at least my team has beaten real teams like UNC and Clemson. UNC is getting votes in the coaches poll, unlike ANY team UGA has beaten. ANY.
——————-
Can’t seem to find GT anywhere on the BCS standings .. help me out GT, where could they be?
GT Joe
November 1st, 2011
4:25 pm
“This has nothing to do with anything that [happened before] the Florida game,” McGarity said. “Absolutely not. We don’t pick when we do certain things. Certain things are found and we act right then.”
LIE. Failed drug test rumor were on message boards on Friday. LOL. McGarity AND Richt goin down.
G-Dawg
November 1st, 2011
4:26 pm
LOL…T-Dawg…i dont see any on their blogs either!! shows how much people really pay attention to them!
GT Joe
November 1st, 2011
4:26 pm
Tampa, can’t see GT in the BCS rankings? check out the school next to “23″.
CHDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:27 pm
GT Joe, careful your character is showing. What does it say about a man who jumps on the first opportunity slander and attack good people who are trying to raise their kids to do what is right? Very ugly. The kids’ problems are probably much easier to correct than yours.
Evansdawg
November 1st, 2011
4:27 pm
All you Tech fans can say all the crap you want to spew. YOU CAN’T BEAT UGA. CAN’T…and WON’T this year. Clemson cannot stop the run and thats all you do. TECH = PATHETIC.
IlliniDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:27 pm
To GT Joe and all those claiming that Tech has had more “signature wins” than UGA: according to Jeff Sagarin, arguably the guru of computer rankings, UGA is rated 14 and Tech 37; and UGA’s supposedly soft schedule is the 15th hardest in the country, while Tech has played a very demanding 75th ranked schedule.
Suck It Tech Nerds!
TampaDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:27 pm
Yes GT Joe, Vandy, the ones who almost beat Arkansas. I’ll take them over UNC
.. hey,
found GT again, they logged in way back at 23. Nice job considering ..
well signature losses for UGA – BSU and SC
signature losses for GT – UVA and Miami
please!
Heisenberg
November 1st, 2011
4:28 pm
You know what Wayshaun Ealey, Ken Malcome, Isaiah Crowell, Caleb King Richard Samuel and Carlton Thomas all have in common……ESPN ranked each as one of the best 100 high school players their senior years. Not just running backs, but overall. Five of the six were top 50 players….amazing the talent that is wasted in Athens.
GaDawgfan
November 1st, 2011
4:29 pm
It appears that Crowell is Jasper Sanks Jr.! He is dumber than a tractor trailer full of fence posts, and just as stupid. The kid obviously doesn’t understand discipline, and its purpose. Someone, obviously the coaches cannot reach the dumbell, needs to stress to him those principles. I’d kick his sorry butt back to Columbus with his suitcase in tow. He’s a head case! UGA doesn’t need him if he cannot respect his coaches, his fellow players, the university, and more importantly, himself!!!
GT Joe
November 1st, 2011
4:29 pm
Signature LOSSES? Tampa? Is that how far down UGA has sunk? Signature LOSSES?
Getting mighty close to “moral victory” territory. Sad.
TampaDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:29 pm
LOL Illinidawg .. can you post a link please? I would love to see that one in lovely print.
G-Dawg
November 1st, 2011
4:29 pm
Heiny-berg…if you think their actions wouldnt have happened at any other school…then you’re what Flatty Tired would consider…DELUSIONAL FAN!!
Reality
November 1st, 2011
4:30 pm
It’s God’s will that Richt keep making $2 million per year so he can do so much good with it.
TampaDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:31 pm
Nope GT Joe, just calling out what it is. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then but obviously, GT got exposed by some real lackluster squads there. Fact is, you don’t want to deal with it.
IlliniDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:31 pm
@Tampa: enjoy. And for those who really care about these stats, the supposedly more accurate “Predictor” ratings have UGA at #13 and Tech at #44. Suck it long and suck it hard!
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt11.htm
G-Dawg
November 1st, 2011
4:31 pm
Whats sad…is trolls like Flatty Tired and GT Bobblehead having to go and insult people like a 3rd grader!! Sad!!
sammiamm
November 1st, 2011
4:31 pm
want to really discipline them? send them over to the Tech Campus and force them to walk around at night. If they live to tell about it, they’ll tell about a night o sheer terror.
Richard
November 1st, 2011
4:32 pm
ESPN says they were tested Friday before the game…They aren’t going to have results next day
tell me again
November 1st, 2011
4:32 pm
Isaiah is looking like a young version of Ealey. As good as he may be we don’t need the bad press if he is the same ilk as King and Ealey. What a shame. Boo -that kid seems to be going nowhere fast. How much longer are we going to waste that scholly? And Thomas. No excuse for him to be messing up. He’s supposed to be the the example. Not the problem. I hope these were minor infractions typical of young foolish kids but I don’t like the fact that Crowell already seems to be in the doghouse. Geez, I know they’re kids but with all of the programs and mentors and supervision and privilages they have you’d think they would respect the program more. I for one am very dispointed and more than a little nervous about these young men. I wouldn’t want to have the headaches Richt is dealing with right now.
gdawginkalamazoo
November 1st, 2011
4:32 pm
Burythebone, LSD had their starting CB, RB and one other high profile. Their CB Mathieu #7 was going to be up, no pun intended, for the Walter Camp top defensive back award. Same thing Boykin is up for.
GT Joe
November 1st, 2011
4:32 pm
As usual, Illini, wrong again. If you are looking at Sagarin (which is like 1/12th of the BCS ranking), look at the ELO_CHESS rankings. That’s what is used in the BCS formula.
But enough educating mutts. I don’t have all day.
ChrisATL
November 1st, 2011
4:32 pm
I’ve been a HUGE Mark Richt supporter even through all of the hot seat talk but something has to give here. I can deal with a few down seasons, it happens to every coach who stays at a school for over a decade, but when this BS happens EVERY SINGLE YEAR you make UGA a joke. When Mark Richt actually starts laying the hammer down with some real discipline then this crap will stop. Until then, players will continue to walk all over him and our program will continue to be mediocre. I say suspend all three for the rest of the season and recruit the hell out of Keith Marshall. Mark Richt being such a nice guy might well be his downfall in this league.
Loyal Dawg
November 1st, 2011
4:33 pm
I’ll do it! I’ll do it Coach Richt! I’ve got eligibilty left! I ‘ve gain a few lbs. since college, but heck, if those guys don’t want it- give me the @#$%! ball.
GT Joe
November 1st, 2011
4:33 pm
Where do you see that Richard?
G-Dawg
November 1st, 2011
4:34 pm
GT Bobblehead…DIG..the fries are done!!
old dog
November 1st, 2011
4:34 pm
Glad CMR is handling the discipline, but WE ALL fell for the Crowell thing! We all wanted him no matter what, and he STILL may turn out to be great. However, (and besides the character, or lack-there-of issues,) he still doesn’t want to take a lick. You ain’t gonna be successful in the SEC or the NFL and be unable to get knocked around. Tyler 2011 is right on; lets see a back who is glad to be here, and watch a REAL effort. Then, and I include myself in this number, we’ll see that there are players who will try to earn respect and not feel entitled to it.
IlliniDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:34 pm
@GT Joe: Okay, fine, but we’re still at #15 and you are at #29. Suck it!
TampaDawg
November 1st, 2011
4:34 pm
And the total BCS formula, GT Joe, has the Dawgs STILL above GT in the standings. Educate that bug.
dr Richard Handler
November 1st, 2011
4:36 pm
I love reading the Mark Richt is a tough disciplinarian comments. Look the guys are suspended for New Mexico State. The Aggies couldn’t beat Ron Mexico State. It’s always good to put down the iron fist on a walkover week. Had this occurred last week (which I heard some of it did) we wouldn’t see the tough arm of the law come down as hard.
SICKANDTIRED
November 1st, 2011
4:37 pm
WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE??????? I must be stupid – I cannot wrap my brain around the fact these kids are so blessed to be in the position they are in and constantly #%$^ it up!!! I wish upperclassman, or whoever the leaders are on the team, had the authority to KICK THEIR ASS! Way to think about your team, guys!!! Hope it was worth it.GO DAWGS!