Three jerseys and a helmet worn by former Georgia inside linebacker Roquan Smith that were stolen out of his car last weekend in Athens were recovered late Tuesday night in Summerville, Ga.
Two of the three jerseys were from the Bulldogs' appearance in the College Football Playoff last season - their double-overtime triumph over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl and the overtime loss to Alabama in the national championship game. The third jersey was from the TaxSlayer Bowl win over Penn State that capped Georgia's 2015 season, when Smith was a freshman.
Smith is the first Butkus Award winner in Georgia history, which factored into Athens police placing a $40,000 value on each of the jerseys.
"I would personally like to thank everyone for their kind words and prayers as the Athens-Clarke County Police Department worked very hard to identify the individual responsible for this," Smith said Wednesday in a video posted on Twitter. "It was definitely huge. I would also like to thank the many of you who spread the information over various social media outlets.
"Due to the prompt attention by the Athens-Clarke County police, I was able to recover most of my items."
An iPad issued by the Chicago Bears, who drafted Smith late last month with the No. 8 overall selection, had not been recovered as of Wednesday evening.
According to the Athens Banner-Herald, Athens-Clarke County police used fingerprints on Smith's new BMW X5 to identify the suspect, a teenager who admitted to the theft. The suspect took a watch and bag along with the helmet and three jerseys to his father's house in Summerville, which is less than 50 miles from Chattanooga down U.S. Highway 27.
Summerville police detective Ty Hutchins told the Summerville News the suspect's father "was shocked" to learn of the theft. Arrest warrants will be obtained for the suspect, who faces felony charges of entering a vehicle with the intent to steal.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.