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It’s been less than a week since the University of Georgia had to reset their “Number Of Days Since A Football Player Has Been Arrested” counter back to zero, and Florida head coach Billy Napier appeared to fire a shot at the program over an epidemic that’s become impossible to ignore.
It seemed like the Georgia Bulldogs were trending in the right direction after the football team successfully defended its national championship title in 2023, but that achievement was marred by the death of a staffer and a lineman who were killed in a car crash linked to a high-speed race involving Jalen Carter that spark the beginning of a mind-boggling string of similar incidents.
Last month, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at least 24 people involved with the football team in some official capacity had been apprehended by police due to suspicions of speeding, reckless driving, or impaired driving in the span of a year-and-a-half, which most people would agree is the textbook definition of a “culture problem.”
That doesn’t include other members who’ve landed in hot water for other off-the-field incidents (wide receiver Rara Thomas was arrested and charged with multiple counts of battery and cruelty to children last Friday before he was indefinitely suspended), and while Kirby Smart and some of his players asserted they’ve gone out of their way to address the matter internally, those efforts have obviously left a lot to be desired.
Georgia is slated to face off against the Florida Gators in the annual rivalry game that will take place in Jacksonville on November 2nd, and on Tuesday, Billy Napier seemed to go out of his way to stir the pot ahead of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party by firing a very thinly-veiled shot at his team’s foes.
Billy Napier: "I'm a firm believer that better people are better football players. We'll prove that this fall."
— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) July 30, 2024
Napier is still in search of his first win against Georgia since taking over in Gainesville in 2022, and while I understand the sentiment, it’s hard to not appreciate the irony of him uttering that statement when you consider Florida was essentially the Georgia of the 2000s thanks to the lawlessness the program found itself grappling with when Urban Meyer was still at the helm.
Based on how the two teams are looking heading into the season, I would also be very, very surprised to see Napier and the Gators ultimately prove better people are indeed better football players by beating Georgia, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.