
Georgia tailback Isaiah Crowell, who rushed for 850 yards as a freshman last season, was expected to start for the Bulldogs this fall. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
UPDATED: CROWELL DISMISSED FROM TEAM
ATHENS – Georgia tailback Isaiah Crowell has been dismissed from the team following his arrest early Friday morning on three weapons charges.
Georgia coach Mark Richt made the announcement in short news release sent out by UGA Sports Communications at 5 p.m. on Friday.
“We have a dedicated and committed group of men who are working hard to prepare for the coming season,” Richt said. “Our total focus will be directed toward the team and this effort.”
Crowell, a sophomore from Columbus, was booked at 3:37 a.m. on charges of possessing a concealed weapon, having a weapon in a school zone and having an altered ID mark on that weapon. His bond, originally set at $7,500, was raised to $9,500 late Friday morning. According to booking records, Crowell was released early Friday afternoon.
According to the police report, four other Georgia football players were also in Crowell’s vehicle, including three 2012 freshman signees. Those persons were outside linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons, wide receiver Blake Tibbs and defensive back Sheldon Dawson. Also present was sophomore defensive back Quintavius Harrow. None of the four were charged.
According to Athens-Clarke police spokesperson Hilda Sorrow, Crowell was arrested at a “vehicle check-point” — or road block — on East Campus Road at Green Street at 2:20 a.m. Friday. Officer Kathryn Thornton reported smelling the odor of marijuana in Crowell’s silver four-door 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis. Crowell gave consent to search the vehicle, himself and four other occupants. No marijuana was discovered but a black 9-mm Luger handgun with an altered serial number was found under the driver’s seat. Crowell was immediately arrested and taken to jail.
According to the police report, Crowell denied knowing the gun was in the car and said people drive the vehicle. He. The owner of the vehicle is listed as Crowell’s mother Debbie. The report also indicted that the five were coming from the nightclub Aftermath, where Crowell said the smell of marijuana originated.
The police report also indicated that Crowell has no criminal history.
Crowell’s mother, Debbie, was clearly distressed when reached by telephone Friday. “I don’t want to talk to a reporter right now,” she said. “”If I want to talk to anybody it’s God.”
Crowell, who came to UGA in 2011 as the No. 1-rated running back prospect in America, was slated to start for the Bulldogs at tailback this season. He rushed for 850 yards and 5 touchdowns as a freshman despite missing playing time due to suspensions and injuries. He was benched for the first quarter of the Vanderbilt game on Oct. 15 as a punishment for an undisclosed disciplinary infraction and he was suspended for the Nov. 5 New Mexico State game, reportedly for failing a drug test.
With Crowell out of the fold, Georgia will turn to redshirt sophomore Ken Malcome and senior Richard Samuel to carry the load early on, along with junior Brandon Harton. The Bulldogs also signed Keith Marshall of Raleigh, N.C. — the top running back prospect in the country, according to 247Sports.com — and four-star prospect Todd Gurley of Tarboro, N.C., to play running back. Marshall enrolled in January.
Marshall and other running backs were offering support for Crowell via Twitter.
“Pray for Isaiah & that he will learn from his mistake,” wrote Marshall from @Truthh4.
Derrick Henry, a highly-touted running back prospect from Florida who once was committed to Georgia, also weighed in via his Twitter account, @KingHenry_2: “Pray for Crowell instead [of] bashing him . . . because everyone wasn’t raised the same. . . . So everyone should just pray he sees a better way”
More information to come when it’s available.
1,565 comments Add your comment
vladamir sonovabitch
June 29th, 2012
10:44 am
Arrest season has started!! LOL
shankit
June 29th, 2012
10:44 am
Shudda taken the offer from Satan, he would never
have been caught in Tuscalooser.
HBacker
June 29th, 2012
10:45 am
Had this happened to Ealey or Mettenberger, showing up Richt’s favorite players, immediate dismissal.
But Crowell is one of Richt’s favorites. No dismissal for him.
Favoritism anyone?
Wolfman
June 29th, 2012
10:46 am
“You can’t arrest me! We RUN this state!”
King Gator
June 29th, 2012
10:46 am
Varsity body, JV helmet..kid is a d-arse
HBacker
June 29th, 2012
10:46 am
Crowell will likely put in a call to Mettenberger….and transfer to LSU.
George Stein
June 29th, 2012
10:47 am
According to Rivals, he didn’t have an offer from Tech, Fan. Even if he did, your post still makes no sense.
bubba king
June 29th, 2012
10:47 am
Bigcrimson75….stfu….doesn’t your man molder have a couple “young men” who’s scholarships need to be cut…prick…87 on scholly…gotta trim it to 85…..I’m sure it will be a tough decision…why don’t you go bike bama with bo you inbred slob
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 29th, 2012
10:47 am
Karen
June 29th, 2012
10:36 am
He is just preparing for the NFL. I’m sure that gun will belng to one of his friends and will have known NOTHING about it. I’m sure his friend will even testify to that. He will do well for UGA next season.
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NO kid in that car will take 2 Felony Convictions for Crowell. One more with the 3 strikes your out law the kid would be in prison for a long time within the next 10 years. If another kid did take the hit he is looking at 5 years then Probation. More likely than not when he gets out of jail he would get busted again
Nobody is going to take the Hit on the Gun for Crowell. The best is a lawyer getting the gun thrown out cause they can’t PROVE whose gun it is.
RTR22
June 29th, 2012
10:47 am
Once again I can say thank you IC for choosing Jawja over UA, and you are proof CNS will lose a recruiting battle from time to time but CNS will win the recruiting war…….You boys are real dialed in for your championship run lol. How bad you want Derrick Henry now?????
GIGO
June 29th, 2012
10:47 am
I’m shocked…Isaiah Crowell, you say? Man, I never saw this coming.
PR
June 29th, 2012
10:47 am
Got that right King Gator…
lol
June 29th, 2012
10:47 am
shankit
June 29th, 2012
10:44 am
Shudda taken the offer from Satan, he would never
have been caught in Tuscalooser
Another ignorant comment from an ignorant no nothing on a UGA player who their Head Coach cannot control.
bigmuddy
June 29th, 2012
10:48 am
Will the Dawgs have enough players to travel to Missouri. Understand sometimes the Team is able to get enough guys out of jail on game day so they can at least field a team. True?
Bystander
June 29th, 2012
10:48 am
The character of these UGA recruits just conintues to shine !
'94 UGA Alumnus
June 29th, 2012
10:48 am
Hey C-Dawg,
I’m afraid you’re wrong. Crowell was our most talented RB and we will feel the impact of losing him. With him I think we would have gone 10-2 in the regular season and without him I think 9-3 is more likely.
dERWOOD
June 29th, 2012
10:48 am
it is because he was raised not knowing who is daddy is. Just wnated to beat his family in using the excuse. He is doing what he will continue to do, be a dead beat wasted scum of life. We have men and women giving thier lives so people like this can be sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
HBacker
June 29th, 2012
10:49 am
Any chance Ealey will return if Richt begs?
GTBob
June 29th, 2012
10:49 am
Tech offered him a scholarship too, so technically your team recruited him as well.
Are you sure about that? I’m sure we talked to him but I don’t remember an offer.
dERWOOD
June 29th, 2012
10:49 am
I bet Spurrier is laughing his a$$ (the one that contains his eyes) off at the latest UGA situation
bham dawg
June 29th, 2012
10:51 am
sad day for the dawgs. not even going to try and argue with the haters. im sick
Bulldawgy Bulldawgy
June 29th, 2012
10:51 am
Okay, let’s apologize to Isaiah and let bygones be bygones. He’s a good boy and not the kind of person to do a bad thing. I think we should all get behind him and support him and sing kumbaya. Being a bulldawgy means never having to say you’re sorry for recruiting and playing felons and felons-to-be. Go you Dawgs! Go to Jail. Don’t pass Go, don’t collect $200.
Joey
June 29th, 2012
10:51 am
buckeye, at least IC paid for his tatts . . .
iliketacos
June 29th, 2012
10:51 am
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Congrats coach righteous, another job well done!! Bobby Bowden must be so proud! You truly have the FSU mind set.
Tyrone from East Point
June 29th, 2012
10:51 am
We need to understand that this young man probably never went camping as a child. He probably never had a dad. Nobody every told him that this kind of behavior is frown upon; consequently, how can we hold him responsible? If UGA does not allow him to play, he will merely transfer to Florida State, Alabama or Auburn.
HBacker
June 29th, 2012
10:51 am
Somewhere Ealey must be thinking “I was the cancer? Not”
Sid
June 29th, 2012
10:52 am
So it will be Taiback by Committee this year!
7576DAWG
June 29th, 2012
10:52 am
It would be interesting to find out if one of his pot smoking buddy’s had the gun and just slid it under the set when they were stopped. If that happened then Crowell may go down for someone else’s stupid stunt. Either way I think he is done at Georgia.
'94 UGA Alumnus
June 29th, 2012
10:53 am
I wonder how many ‘vehicle check-point stops’ they do at Alabama, Florida, or Auburn? I’m not trying to condone Crowell’s actions because there is no excuse. But he would likely not have been caught at these other schools and even if he were it would have been swept under the rug.
GIGO
June 29th, 2012
10:54 am
Good riddance…Crowell was a baby anyway.
Terry Bowden
June 29th, 2012
10:54 am
Tyrone from East Point— that would be the typical AA response afterall.
SiddyBoy
June 29th, 2012
10:54 am
If this guy ever sets foot on Sanford Stadium soil again, I’ll never give another dime to support any UGA program; athletic or academic.
HBacker
June 29th, 2012
10:54 am
Wait a minute, I thought Ealey & Mettenberger were the “problems”?
Maybe not.
Sid
June 29th, 2012
10:54 am
Tyrone from East Point
June 29th, 2012
10:51 am
We need to understand that this young man probably never went camping as a child. He probably never had a dad. Nobody every told him that this kind of behavior is frown upon; consequently, how can we hold him responsible? If UGA does not allow him to play, he will merely transfer to Florida State, Alabama or Auburn.
***********************************************************
Transfer? I don’t think they call it that after you have been kicked out of school. And he is going to deal with possible jail time first………….!!
The Fulmer Cup goes to....(drum roll)
June 29th, 2012
10:55 am
Georgia! Accepting the award is the UGA Professor…..
Maxwell the chihuahua hunter
June 29th, 2012
10:55 am
But he would likely not have been caught at these other schools and even if he were it would have been swept under the rug.
Prove it or continue to live in denial. 50 arrests is a nice round number.
Atlantan
June 29th, 2012
10:55 am
SOP for the Bulldogs – makes sense now the Richt went out and got 2 great RBs. Richt has a serious issue with character on his team.
Fan
June 29th, 2012
10:55 am
@ George Stein
I like Richard Samuel as a person – he has great character. However, when he totes the rock, he is the epitome of the term twinkle toes. He dances way too much out there, which kills his balance. He needs to stick to the power running (which he showed glimpses of in the G-day game). I mean, really, the guy looks like Fred Flinstone bowling.
Nittany Lion
June 29th, 2012
10:56 am
I feel bad for coach Richt. Np matter what he does, he can’t keep those dumb ass players out of jail or the news.
Grl4UGADawgs
June 29th, 2012
10:56 am
Hmmmm…. I was think the same about the ID, but I also read that the serial number on the gun had be altered. And yes, a felony gun charge is enought to get him kicked off the team and suspended from school. He had the gun on campus!
mamadawg
June 29th, 2012
10:56 am
Just a question..IF he is convicted of this crime would he serve jail time on a first time conviction? If so, then Crowell playing for another team any time soon would be difficult.
Terry Bowden
June 29th, 2012
10:57 am
June 29th, 2012
10:53 am
I wonder how many ‘vehicle check-point stops’ they do at Alabama, Florida, or Auburn? I’m not trying to condone Crowell’s actions because there is no excuse. But he would likely not have been caught at these other schools and even if he were it would have been swept under the rug.
How bad it must be to be a dawg fan; everybody is always picking on us. Everybody has an advantage over the poor humpers. The refs hate you, the SEC hates you, the voters hate you, ESPN hates you, Herbstreit hates you, Holtz hates you, Mark May hates you (that one might actually be true), I bet everybody but Jerry Sandusky hates you.
HBacker
June 29th, 2012
10:57 am
Suddenly, in hindsight, Ealey not working out hard enough, doesn’t seem like such a big deal….
Dawg Doo
June 29th, 2012
10:57 am
‘94 – that’s really weak. Whether in Georgia, Florida or Alabama, law enforcement does not set up traffic stops with the expectation of catching (or avoiding catching) college football players. It’s called personal responsibility, and alumni like you making excuses is part of the problem.
Arby
June 29th, 2012
10:57 am
What the Hockey puck is going on ? There has to be a reason for this mess ! I hope he hires a good attorney. These road blocks are BS and every body knows it ! I know the guy is stupid for having a gun with the ser# filed off, but in todays PC society you better have proper permits. He should have not given a consent to search.
Fan
June 29th, 2012
10:57 am
@vladamir sonovabitch
You’re not funny if you have to put “lol” after your own statement.
You can't fix stupid, especially when it's FUBAR
June 29th, 2012
10:57 am
You can’t fix stupid. I’m referring, of course, to Richt.
tide roll
June 29th, 2012
10:57 am
Probably a good thing. At least he won’t have to run behind that joke of an offensive line Richt Booboo and Friend have assembled.
Cal
June 29th, 2012
10:57 am
Not to be an apologist, but the dude had a gun in his car…in Georgia. BFD!! The school zone thing is bogus because they intentionally set up the check point in a school zone. The serial number thing is weird because it’s so easy to own legitimate and registered guns. I’m guessing he TOTALLY didn’t think he was violating any laws. How many other UGA students (and faculty) have guns in their cars?
True Blue
June 29th, 2012
10:57 am
All we can do is Pray for him . He need some serious Guidance before it is to late. He thinking that he is invincible and untouchable. He need someone to sit him down and let him know that don’t waste the talent that you was Bless with by God, because it can be taking away from you