UPDATED: Georgia clears CB Branden Smith to play in opening game
Branden Smith's clearance to play this season not only bolsters Georgia's secondary, but also its return game. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
ATHENS — Georgia senior cornerback Branden Smith, who was facing suspension because of a marijuana arrest in back in March, was cleared by the school to play in the Bulldogs’ season opener.
Coach Mark Richt made the announcement shortly after Georgia completed its third practice of preseason football camp on Saturday in Athens.
“Branden Smith will play Game One,” Richt said. “After [reviewing] all the information that we’ve gathered, we’ve decided that he’ll be available to play in the first game and he’ll be available to talk about any details. After determining what happened, we’ve got peace that we’re doing the right thing.”
Smith was expected to miss at least one game as per the UGA athletic association’s conduct code, which calls for an automatic suspension for 10 percent of competition dates for violators of the marijuana-use policy. But central to Georgia’s decision to waive that penalty was the fact that Smith said passed two separate drug tests shortly after he was arrested in a traffic stop on March 14 in south Alabama.
“I came back right away to get tested [by UGA],” Smith said Saturday. “I was clean. I went to court, got tested, I was clean. I don’t do drugs. Now I’m just moving on from this incident. I’d like to apologize for the university and my family as far as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Smith was placed in the Henry County (Ala.) court’s pretrial intervention program and since completed the requirements to have the marijuana charges expunged from his record.
Smith’s reinstatement is the first bit of good news in an offseason that has been rife with bad news for the Bulldogs. Two defensive starters are expected to miss the first two games each due to arrests in cornerback Sanders Commings (domestic battery) and outside linebacker Chase Vasser (DUI). Meanwhile, Georgia has yet to confirm or deny multiple media reports that free safety Bacarri Rambo and inside linebacker Alec Ogletree face multiple-games suspensions for second-offenses of the athletic association’s marijuana-use policy.
“There were some off-field situations that came up that’s going to keep some of our guys out for the first few games or so,” sophomore defensive end Ray Drew said. “But there is strength in numbers and just having [Smith] back boosts us just little bit more knowing that we have our brother playing beside us and helping us go out and get the job done.”
With Smith back in the fold, it appears that he and converted wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell will be the starting cornerbacks for the Bulldogs’ first two games. They open the season against Buffalo at Sanford Stadium on Sept. 1, then face pass-happy Missouri on the road the following week.
“I most definitely think I can help the secondary,” said Smith, who has started 17 games and played in 36 for the Bulldogs. “We have our whole defense coming back. We were out there today practicing hard, strong, fast. Everybody’s having fun out there. We’re just ready for the season to start. We’re out there as a group and we’re going with it.”
ATHENS – In an offseason that seems like it has been filled with bad news, Georgia finally offered some good for its fans on Saturday.
Coach Mark Richt revealed after Saturday’s practice that starting cornerback Branden Smith will be available to play Bulldogs’ season-opening game against Buffalo. Smith was facing a suspension after his arrest in Alabama in March on misdemeanor marijuana possession charges. He was granted pretrial intervention status in court and has since completed the conditions to have those charges dismissed.
“After just gathering all the information, determining what happened, we’ve got peace that we’re doing the right thing on Branden,” Richt said.
Smith told reporters after Saturday’s practice that he immediately returned to Athens after his arrest during a traffic stop in Headland, Ala., and passed a drug test. He said he also passed a court-ordered drug test and that’s why the Bulldogs cleared him to play.
“I don’t do drugs,” Smith insisted. “So right now I’ve just moved on. Like I said, I apologize to the university and my family for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
It was generally thought that Smith would miss Georgia’s first game as per the athletic association’s conduct code regarding marijuana offenses. That policy stipulates a 10 percent suspension for competition dates for violations.
Smith’s return relieves some of the stress on Georgia’s secondary, which already knows it will be without follow starting cornerback Sanders Commings and possibly others. Commings is suspended for the first two games of the season after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charges in February. Starting outside linebacker Chase Vasser is also out the first two games because of a May arrest for DUI and free safety Bacarri Rambo and inside linebacker Alec Ogletree reportedly are facing suspensions for marijuana policy violations.
“I most definitely think I can help the secondary,” said Smith, who has started 17 games and played in 36 for the Bulldogs. “We have our whole defense coming back. We were out there today practicing hard, strong, fast. Everybody’s having fun out there. We’re just ready for the season to start. We’re out there as a group and we’re going with it.”
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249 comments Add your comment
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
4:48 pm
And it even comes with a bonus every few years….it continues to keep getting GT head coaches fired!
Really? Who are all of the coaches from GT who got fired for not beating UGA?
CoachSpurlock
August 4th, 2012
4:49 pm
@GTBob – “Mark Richts name tends to create more DUI’s then we can handle.”
Why? Because losing to Richt drives techies to drink & drive? Obsess much?
georgia fans are certainly stupid
August 4th, 2012
4:51 pm
what is you idiots obsession with tech….the only tech poster on here admits that the series is one-sided and has been and will be…he is right about the perception outside of Georgia regarding the state and it’s football program…the joke of the sec..pretenders…stuart mandel pegged you idiots years ago…delusional…big hat, no cattle…the tallest midget…on the big stage, historically you choke…see blackout, LSU, MSU, West Virginia, UCF for details…
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
4:51 pm
Despite your efforts This Dawg will stay blissfully clear of GT Bob’s depressing version of “reality”.
I will admit that the reality that UGA fans have created does seem nice. It is like being in the playboy mansion on ecstasy or something. Others laugh at you but maybe there is something to the whole creating your own unrealistic world in your head thing. It doesn’t seem so bad.
CoachSpurlock
August 4th, 2012
4:53 pm
@GTBob – “Really? Who are all of the coaches from GT who got fired for not beating UGA?”
Well, Bill Lewis and Chan Gailey come to mind. Not to mention Bobby Ross’ quick exit to the NFL after losing to Ray Goff of all people. smh
wes
August 4th, 2012
4:56 pm
Nice precedent set by Richt.
What a joke.
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
4:57 pm
Why? Because losing to Richt drives techies to drink & drive? Obsess much?
I am not sure why really. Even Damon Evans had to get sauced when Richt was around. Maybe he just creates so much boredom that you have to have many drinks to tolerate his presence. Its hard to tell.
PennGeorgia State
August 4th, 2012
5:01 pm
Lets keep these issues in-house. No need for anyone outside the family to know what goes on here.
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
5:01 pm
Well, Bill Lewis and Chan Gailey come to mind. Not to mention Bobby Ross’ quick exit to the NFL after losing to Ray Goff of all people. smh
yes, Bobby Ross, shortly after winning a National Championship was actually fired by GT but we sent him to the NFL to make it look better. Nice logic there. Bill Lewis got fired before the UGA game in 1994. Kinda hard to say UGA caused that. Chan Gailey got fired because he had no idea how to win more then 7 games. If he could have won 8-10 games more than once then he would have kept his job. Beating UGA has very little to do with any coaching decisions at GT. We know we are going to lose to UGA.
georgia fans are certainly stupid
August 4th, 2012
5:03 pm
hence the blog name, GTBob…
LakeDawg
August 4th, 2012
5:15 pm
GT acts as if they are holier than thou. A quick story: A few years ago, O’Leary took GT up to the mountains for summer camp at North Georgia College. They practiced on the drill field, which is huge and holds 5-6 football fields. He bragged about how quiet it was up there with no distractions and nothing for the players to do but practice and go to school. He said everyone was very hospitable and he wanted to make the trip an annual thing. However, a few GT players took some classes there. NGC has a program of study that transfers to GT by mutual consent. And some players needed to pick up some credits. Guess what? Almost to a man, the GT players FAILED their courses at NGC. GT never came back. Never heard another word from O’Leary about NGC.
bama man
August 4th, 2012
5:23 pm
Y’all do remember losing to Michigan State right, beat someone worth a damn before you start spouting off like you are worth a crap. Bama wins 15 this year suckas!!!!!
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
5:24 pm
GT players FAILED their courses at NGC. GT never came back. Never heard another word from O’Leary about NGC.
So the moral of the story is that NGC is a tougher college than GT? O’Leary is a bad person to use for this by the way. He almost single handedly caused flunk gate at GT. One of the most embarrassing moments in GT history.
georgia fans are certainly stupid
August 4th, 2012
5:30 pm
sad, sad program…with a sadder fanbase…recipe for mediocrity if there ever was one….1980 was a long, long time ago…and even that title was against the worst schedule imaginable…opponents had a .374 winning percentage…some things at uga never change…
phil
August 4th, 2012
5:31 pm
Way to soft….fire CMR!!!
Rick James
August 4th, 2012
5:33 pm
@GTBob
Yeah, hiding Crowell’s drug test results until after the Florida game so that he would be suspended for New Mexico St was the right thing to do. Give me a break. He is just like any other slimy coach that will game the system to help his career.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
You’ve yet to share a link that proves your Crowell theory.Now is as a good time to put or shut up.
D-MAN
August 4th, 2012
5:34 pm
Smith did not look good in the loss to MSU,wathed that game the other
night,we gave it away!STILL many concerns with this team,mainly Bobo
and Murray!
georgia fans are certainly stupid
August 4th, 2012
5:34 pm
1980…no Bama, no LSU, no Mississippi State, all ranked…a 1-10 TCU squad…a 1-10-1 Tech squad…a 2-9 Vandy squad…yesterday as today…pathetic…what a rich tradition…
LakeDawg
August 4th, 2012
5:37 pm
GTBob
So the moral of the story is that NGC is a tougher college than GT?
———————————————————————————————————————–
No, the moral of the story is GT’s athletes are just like everyone else. They tend to stay eligible, no matter the curriculum.
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
5:39 pm
You’ve yet to share a link that proves your Crowell theory.Now is as a good time to put or shut up.
As I told the other nice gentleman, you can choose to believe what you want. If you believe that people on the internet did not know about Crowell’s failed drug test a week ahead of time even though they were the first to say something about it then that is up to you. Maybe DawgWhisperer has some room in his sand for your head too.
Rick James
August 4th, 2012
5:40 pm
@GTBob
Here is the facts for you. Several people knew about Crowell failing a drug test apparently a week and a half before Mark Richt did. Now go put your head back into the sand
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Who were the people that knew this other than you? Post a link for us to read.Put up or shut up.
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
5:41 pm
No, the moral of the story is GT’s athletes are just like everyone else. They tend to stay eligible, no matter the curriculum.
How do you explain flunkgate then which happened under O’Leary and which also lead to much tougher eligibility requirements?
Tampa Gator
August 4th, 2012
5:45 pm
No opinion one way or another on Smith and Richt’s decision not to follow standard University policy….but you have to wonder what message Richt is sending with this decision. I don’t think Georgia loses to a really bad Buffalo team….with or without Smith.
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
5:46 pm
Who were the people that knew this other than you? Post a link for us to read.Put up or shut up.
Here is one link from a quick search. Note the date is before the Florida game and it even talks about him being suspended for the Florida game.
http://www.sportshoopla.com/forums/sports-forum-general-discussion/50565-looks-like-crowell-failed-drug-test-uga.html
Rick James
August 4th, 2012
5:47 pm
@GTBob
I will admit that the reality that UGA fans have created does seem nice. It is like being in the playboy mansion on ecstasy or something. Others laugh at you but maybe there is something to the whole creating your own unrealistic world in your head thing. It doesn’t seem so bad.
——————————————————————————————————-
Actually what people are laughing at is that banner on the ACJ today offering Tech’s $199.00 Triple Option Ticket package..The things they have to do to get people in that stadium.
Rick James
August 4th, 2012
5:50 pm
@GTBob
Here is one link from a quick search. Note the date is before the Florida game and it even talks about him being suspended for the Florida game
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This is a link to an on line gossip board.Give us a link to a quote from someone who saw the results of a failed drug test..
7576DAWG
August 4th, 2012
5:55 pm
I keep reading some bloggers criticizing Georgia for not winning the games against ranked opponents last year but maybe you all should be praising the other teams for having a very good team. We should have won the South Carolina game and the Michigan State game if our senior field goal kicker kicks a lousy 40+ yard field goal.
Georgia lost 4 games last year.
LSU—— ended ranked # 2
Boise State—– ended # 8
South Carolina– ended #9
Michigan State- ended #11
We lost to some pretty good teams so ease off on how bad Georgia was last year.
Rick James
August 4th, 2012
5:55 pm
@GTBob
As I told the other nice gentleman, you can choose to believe what you want. If you believe that people on the internet did not know about Crowell’s failed drug test a week ahead of time even though they were the first to say something about it then that is up to you. Maybe DawgWhisperer has some room in his sand for your head too
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I honestly think Crowell is a weed smoker my problem is that you are confusing your beliefs with facts.You have no proof beyound gossip that he failed a drug test.If you do share them.
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
5:59 pm
This is a link to an on line gossip board.Give us a link to a quote from someone who saw the results of a failed drug test..
Oh come on. It was a UGA fan that posted that information, before the Florida game. Information that turned out to be true, but he was lying? How did he know about the failed drug test before Richt did?
dawgs01
August 4th, 2012
6:03 pm
just watch the mens beach volleyball team beat the russians to advance to the quarters. These vball matches have been so much fun to watch both men and women. I watched the match two days ago i think, that was usa girls (team b) against some country and it was very intense. The third set just kept going and going. I was standing yelling and jumping up and down. Felt like i was watching a college football game. I think beach volleyball if promoted and marketed correctly could be a sport on the rise cause it is very exciting to watch and it is a sport anyone can go out and play. i love playing it when i am on the beach even though i am built like a fullback i love the sport and always surprise them with my vertical even though it is declining as i am aging. they dont expect a 245 pound white boy to sky like i do and i am still dunking too anyway i love that beach volleyball and they said it is the most requested ticket for this and the past olympics and every match has been sold old. Those players said that they love playing in front of 15000 bc they usually dont get but a fourth of that. I hope the sport grows bc it has potentional and those girls look great. They are usually very pretty and athletic but they still are feminine acting unlike some of the other female sports where you wonder is that a man or woman. To me female basketball players are extremely manly looking and acting. I think it is bc of their baggy uniforms but you dont see many sexy femal bball players.
LakeDawg
August 4th, 2012
6:09 pm
Tampa Gator
Way to stir the pot.
What policy is Richt ignoring? The charges were dismissed.
Rick James
August 4th, 2012
6:09 pm
@GTBob
Oh come on. It was a UGA fan that posted that information, before the Florida game. Information that turned out to be true, but he was lying? How did he know about the failed drug test before Richt did?
———————————————————————————————————————————–
Bob I just refuse to go back and fourth with a person who believes that just because its on the internet its true..Like I said,I do believe he smokes weed but that does not mean that he failed a drug test nor that he smokes weed.Beliefs arent facts until they’re proven and you cant do it..
GTBob
August 4th, 2012
6:20 pm
Bob I just refuse to go back and fourth with a person who believes that just because its on the internet its true
That makes no sense. It was true. He did fail a drug test. He was suspended. Richt just decided to wait an extra week before he got to it. There is no conceivable way that people on the internet knew it before Richt did. He knew, and he put it off. There is no other explanation.
St Richt
August 4th, 2012
6:26 pm
It must be nice living in a fairy tale world where your coach is such an honest guy and your team is going to win it all every year. Georgia fans are the laughing stock of NCAA football for having lofty expectations every year and never delivering. What a disciplinarian richt is too- such a good man. And keep telling yourself that a passed drug test equates to him being innocent! I’m sure it had nothing to do w a whizzinator, someone else’s urine, or any sort of masking agent. I’m sure he had no idea whoever he was with was packing the weed. All just a big misunderstanding… Nothing to see here!
St Richt
August 4th, 2012
6:28 pm
The collective IQ on this blog is off the charts.
Really?
August 4th, 2012
6:36 pm
There is plenty of proof that Georgia tests their players. Where is the proof that other teams in the SEC tests their players ever? Oh there is none? Just the WORD of lying trash like saban? We all know that saban would never tell a lie or do whatever it takes to win, right?
I haven’t read all the blogs today. Has that bama guy that brags about cops in tuscaloser being afraid of saban posted this weekend? He is probably the only bama boy that tells the truth.
Chief
August 4th, 2012
6:38 pm
Hopefully, this will cause some of these UGA fans to step down from their moral high-horse.
borderbash
August 4th, 2012
6:44 pm
Well, well, well…even Stevie Wonder saw this coming. What Richt meand by “sitting down and reviewing the situation” was he and his coaching staff had a meeting and when they were finished crying on each other’s shoulders, they agreed that if they didn’t get some of those suspended players back on the field, they were in even worse shape than people ever could imagine.
Too many players suspended or in jail? Cool, just UNSUSPEND them. I can’t believe th-UGA suspended them in the first place. And Rambo? Puh-lease. It’s common knowlege that he’s a toker. So he quit for a little while? That’s cool. Unsuspend him too! Take tha mentality to the terrorists in federal prison too…just promise you won’t do it any more! And don’t get me started on Commings’ issues dating back to his days at Westside HS. Nothing new there and nothing that won’t rear its ugly head back up, in due time.
Really?
August 4th, 2012
6:47 pm
st richt
You sure do know a lot about urine. I guess that it must be normal to be obsessed with pee if you are a north avenue trade school kid but you might want to keep your love of urine to your self around actual normal people. Wait a minute. It’s not like you have friends or anything so when would you ever be around normal people anyway?
ATL Sports Fan
August 4th, 2012
6:55 pm
Chip- I bet this news really burns you and everyone at the AJC up. You guys just love to bash UGA every chance you get, so I know this has to just tear y’all up. Wonder if your going to use your “Freedom of Information Act” card on this. What a joke the AJC has become.
Rick James
August 4th, 2012
6:59 pm
@GTBob
That makes no sense. It was true. He did fail a drug test. He was suspended. Richt just decided to wait an extra week before he got to it. There is no conceivable way that people on the internet knew it before Richt did. He knew, and he put it off. There is no other explanation
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We’re talking about you saying that failed a test which was covered up..He was suspended for using synthedic weed. You’ve still proved nothing.
dawgs01
August 4th, 2012
7:28 pm
Why is everyone so concerned about this guy playing or not. I want the other team to be at full strength when we play them. I want mizzou’s qb at full strength bc if he was to sit out and the dawgs win the very concerned tech fans would be saying yall lose if the qb plays and why is tech so concerned with our players. i could give 2 shiots what is going on at tech right now. I dont even know who the qb is over there or the rb or whatever the h3ll yall call it and i keep up with college football but i just dont care what is going on at tech. Yall seem extremely concerned with uga on the other hand. I find it hilarious that more tech fans post on the bulldogs blog than on the tech blog. yall are so offended by this how could we do that. first of all no one on the bulldogs staff reported to any media about smith, ogletree, or rambo’s situation. All those reports the ajc posted about them were from outside sources and one was from a coach of a player about ogletree which i thought was hilarious that the ajc would write an article about that which was here say or what some would call a rumor.
Tampa Gator
August 4th, 2012
7:32 pm
Lake Dawg……
Charges expunged and charges “dismissed” have two different meaning, Lake Dawg. He will no longer have an arrest record….but he was NOT found innocent of the charges either. If he had been found innocent, the charges would have been dismissed. Instead of going to trial to prove his innocence, he completed a pretrail program available to him as a minor and as a first time offender…and avoid a trial. I know Janoris Jenkins did the same thing when he was first arrested for the same offense….and he was suspended for one game…and it was an important game at that. So…I guess I was not stirring the “pot” as you claimed I was. But….as I said in that post….I am wondering what message Richt sent with his actions….
dawgs01
August 4th, 2012
7:37 pm
“Georgia has yet to confirm or deny multiple media reports that free safety Bacarri Rambo and inside linebacker Alec Ogletree face multiple-games suspensions for second-offenses of the athletic association’s marijuana-use policy” These were reported by third parties that have no connection to the program it is like me calling up ajc and telling them so and so is gonna be suspended for smoking pot at lake lanier this marked it down. well how do you know this well you see i was his pe coach in the fifth grade and i know his second cousin and oh yea this guy is gonna get suspended too take it to the bank why would i lie. We got TMZed on this whole situation. I am sure some tech fans are pacing their living room right now just outraged at this. worry about tech.
FLA DAWG
August 4th, 2012
7:37 pm
MJ can be detected in a test up to 30 days after usage from my understanding.
If the kid tested clean a week or two after he tested positive, well………………..
I hope this kid and UGA get a break for a change.
Perhaps this is the spark we need to really turn it on.
GO DAWGS!
let's find a way to partake in ilegal drugs and look the other way
August 4th, 2012
7:47 pm
just change your name to the Georgia Potheads and you don’t have to worry about it anymore…what a bunch of cowards
The Factor
August 4th, 2012
7:49 pm
I hope they all play. Let the entire team run laps or push tractor trailor tires up and done the field until they all puke while the offenders watch. Talk about peer pressure not the screw up again……(or a major ass whoopin may be in store.)
The Factor
August 4th, 2012
8:03 pm
@Tampa Gator
We are thankful for your enlightened concern for the ‘message it sends’, particularly, with the discipline that always come out of Gainesville. Will be sure to get back to you when we give a s— about your opinion.
dreds and weed
August 4th, 2012
8:07 pm
well, well..the dirtiest program in the SEC and reigning arrest record holder is gonna now excuse illegal activity based on roster numbers…the stench coming out of Athens is more putrid than normal…how’s that high horse riding right now???
Tom, the UGA high-horse groomsman
August 4th, 2012
8:09 pm
I quit.