Georgia football coach Kirby Smart addresses team's latest reckless driving arrest
Head coach Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs reacts during the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Sanford Stadium on Sept. 7, 2024, in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATHENS, Ga. - University of Georgia football coach Kirby Smart is speaking out days after another one of the Bulldogs' players was arrested for reckless driving.
Cornerback Daniel Jeremy Harris was arrested on Sept. 12 after police say they caught him excessively speeding.
According to an Athens-Clarke County police report, at around 8 p.m., Harris was driving a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee with an expired temporary tag along the Athens Perimeter near College Station Road when an officer clocked him doing over 100 mph. The Jeep was overtaking other vehicles in the rain, according to the report.
Harris is now facing five misdemeanor driving charges.
The cornerback is just the latest in a series of arrests due to reported driving violations by players in the last few years.
MORE: Wide receiver Rara Thomas no longer with Georgia Bulldogs after arrest
Dozens of arrests and driving-related citations have involved UGA football players and staff in recent years. On Jan. 15, 2023, just hours after celebrating their second consecutive national championship, football player Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car crash.
When asked why incidents like this continue to happen, Smart said it's because some players on the team continue to "make poor decisions."
"It’s very unfortunate," Smart told reporters. "I know that our staff, myself, continue to drive home the sensitive nature of it. It’s certainly a deadly speed when you’re talking about the speed that he was traveling at."
Along with suspensions, Smart said that players who have been arrested or cited for driving violations are being fined through the collective that provides name, image and likeness payments to the school’s athletes.