Kirby Smart reacts to critics of Georgia football culture

As great as Georgia has looked on the football field, the program has also suffered some unwelcome headlines and one major tragedy off it

Georgia has dominated college football the last two seasons, winning back-to-back national championships on the field, but was also on the receiving end of some unhappy headlines and one major tragedy during the offseason.

Related: 2023 Georgia Football Schedule

Several players have been in trouble with the law while a player and recruiting staffer died in a car accident in recent weeks.

In his first remarks ahead of spring football, Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart addressed what some critics say are their concerns about the program's culture.

Georgia football culture comments

"Certainly we haven't met some of those requirements, and we want our student-athletes to meet those, and we take those things very seriously," Smart said.

"The standards have been created here for a long time. That doesn't change, and we want our players to live up to those and the mistakes they make, we treat them like we do our kids. 

"We discipline them. We try to prevent them, we try to educate them, we try to do all we can to help our student-athletes in a positive way."

You can see Smart's comments here.

Kirby Smart’s Opening Statement as Spring Football Begins

Addresses the culture surrounding his program and how his players have dealt with a tumultuous offseason. #UGA @11alivenews pic.twitter.com/NT9WsKVfJ8

— Reggie Chatman Jr. (@ReggieChatman) March 14, 2023

Recent issues at Georgia

Shortly after Georgia's parade celebrating its second-straight College Football Playoff national championship, offensive lineman Devin Willock and staff member Chandler LeCroy died in a car accident near campus.

Authorities initially believed it to be a single car accident caused by speeding.

Transfer wide receiver RaRa Thomas was arrested on a felony charge of false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery-family violence in late January.

Those charges were later dropped.

A few days later, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was arrested for public intoxication in Dallas after police found him banging on doors in the middle of the night.

Bulldogs linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson was then arrested on misdemeanor charges of racing on the streets and reckless driving.

Police then issued an arrest warrant for star defensive tackle Jalen Carter in connection to the fatal car accident that killed Willock and LeCroy.

Carter returned to Georgia from the NFL Combine, at the time he was preparing for the draft, where he was booked and then released.

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