ATHENS, Ga. — For as well as it has recruited, the Georgia football program has missed out on players because of “unfulfilled promises” from other teams, coach Kirby Smart said on Tuesday. That’s one reason Smart was glad to see Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issue a decree that Smart hopes will put Georgia, Georgia Tech and other teams in the state on a “level playing field.”
Kemp signed a law on Tuesday declaring that the NCAA or any conference could not take “adverse action” against schools for assisting athletes with payments related to name, image and likeness. It does prevent schools from using state funds for NIL compensation, but in essence, it would allow schools to directly pay athletes.
That still runs contrary to current NCAA rules, but courts have ruled that state laws trump the NCAA, creating an uncertain environment. Virginia just passed a rule similar to what Kemp signed, and Missouri has a law allowing athletes to be paid once they commit to a school in that state.
It’s not clear how directly Kemp was lobbied to issue his decree. But soon after it was announced, a joint statement was released by Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks and Georgia Tech AD J Batt was released: “In the absence of nationwide name, image and likeness regulation, this executive order helps our institutions with the necessary tools to fully support our student-athletes in their pursuit of NIL opportunities, remain competitive with our peers and secure the long-term success of our athletics programs.”
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Smart was asked if his program had missed out on some recruits, including in the transfer portal, or lost players to the portal because of the existing rules.
“It’s all about what you have available, right? And some people are willing to spend beyond their ability to raise it,” Smart said. “Like unfulfilled promises. We’re not going to have unfulfilled promises where guys reach back out and say, ‘They said they could do this, but they didn’t. They said they could do that and didn’t.’ We’ve lost some in those regards. I don’t know that it was an inability to do it. It was not stepping over our skis and putting our body too much out there and saying, ‘OK we’ve committed to do this’ and (then) can’t do it.
“It’s a hard world out there because you don’t really know what you can and can’t do. People make promises, and nobody has a bounty sitting out there that big where they can pay everybody that.”
Smart reiterated that the coaches want players in the program who aren’t just about being paid, “because when it’s just about that, it’s not going to stop.” That won’t change because of Kemp’s ruling.
“It’s not like it’s going to be this open surplus. It’s just helping us be competitive with others,” Smart said. “And I’m sure Georgia Tech feels the same way. We’re out there competing in a really competitive environment, and there’s times you feel like you want to do something, and you can’t. Now hopefully we’ve got the capabilities to do what we need to do.”
Etienne and Smart on driving incidents
Tailback Trevor Etienne spoke for the first time as a Georgia player and thus since his March arrest for DUI. Etienne said there was internal team discipline other than not playing in the season opener against Clemson, but he would not elaborate. He did say he addressed the entire team after his arrest.
“I told them, ‘Use me as an example,’” Etienne said. “It’s not worth it. It’s something we want to move forward from and keeping our best foot forward and try to avoid those situations.”
Unfortunately, the message wasn’t heeded by everyone. Sophomore cornerback Daniel Harris was arrested for reckless driving on Thursday after police said he was going 106 mph in a 55 zone. Harris made the trip to Kentucky but did not play.
“We continue to have guys make poor decisions,” Smart said. “I know that our staff, myself, continue to drive home the sensitive nature of it. It’s certainly a deadly speed when you talk about the speed that he was traveling at. You want kids to grow up, you want to treat kids like your own kids, you want them to grow up and make good decisions and learn from their own mistakes. We had guys share, and we obviously, continue to talk to them. But it hasn’t stopped it. So we’ve got to find a way to do it.”
Ratledge prognosis
Tate Ratledge had tightrope surgery for a high ankle sprain he suffered in the Kentucky game. As Georgia has experienced, the return time on that varies: Last year, tight end Brock Bowers returned within three weeks, but offensive tackle Amarius Mims took eight weeks, while others have fallen in between.
“He’ll be back as soon as he can, and we expect a healthy and a full recovery,” Smart said.
Ratledge, a right guard, is arguably the team’s top lineman. It’s a key loss heading into the Alabama game and potentially at Texas next month. The upshot is Georgia played without Ratledge the entire second half at Kentucky and blocked better.
As for the defensive players who missed the Kentucky game: It sounds as if defensive tackle Warren Brinson is the closest to returning, already doing some work at practice. Edge rusher Mykel Williams and defensive tackle Jordan Hall have both been running, with Smart only saying he was “hopeful.”
Walker on the penalty
Linebacker Jalon Walker was called for one of the most controversial penalties in college football last weekend, a roughing the passer penalty where the referee said Walker drove Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff to the ground. Speaking about it for the first time, Walker said he was told that in part it was because of the way he landed on the quarterback.
“Mid-game, I was frustrated. But I realized it’s a game where we’re protecting our quarterback more,” Walker said. “It was a bang-bang play, I felt it was a judgment call, but we move on to fight for the next day.”
(Top photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
