Georgia tailbacks Washaun Ealey and Caleb King both have committed costly fumbles so far this season, and now each has spent time in the Athens-Clarke County jail.
King was arrested early Monday morning for failing to appear for an Aug. 6 court date in Walton County to address a speeding ticket he received June 20, when he was clocked traveling 76 mph in a 55 mph zone. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound redshirt junior from Norcross became the 11th Georgia player arrested since March.
He was booked at 5:08 a.m. and released at 10:45 a.m.
After Monday evening's practice, which King went through, players were not elaborating much about the arrest. Coach Mark Richt did not address the media, which is usually the case on Mondays, but later discussed the situation when asked about it on his weekly Bulldog Hotline radio show.
"It was not a responsible thing, but I can't say that it's some kind of awful act that we all should just be ashamed of," Richt said. "All these young men have to understand they have a responsibility to take care of whatever issue they have. If they have a ticket, they need to pay for it. If they don't, then they need to show up to their court date.
"Those things are certainly obvious, and we have got to get better at those kinds of things."
Richt did not reveal any punishment for King, saying, "We're going to do what we feel like is the right thing to do."
Ealey also spent nearly six hours in jail Aug. 27 following his early-morning arrest for hit-and-run of a parked vehicle and for driving on a suspended license. He was suspended by Richt for Georgia's opening 55-7 rout of Louisiana-Lafayette.
King had a 20-yard touchdown run in the opener but sprained his ankle just before halftime, which caused him to miss the ensuing games against South Carolina and Arkansas.
A 5-11, 211-pound sophomore from Stillmore, Ealey leads the Bulldogs with 246 yards and one touchdown on 60 carries (4.1 per carry). King has 228 yards and a touchdown on 44 rushes, so he has the better average per game (57.0) and per carry (5.2).
King also has the team's lone 100-yard performance, collecting 100 during the 29-27 loss at Colorado on Oct. 2. His showing in Boulder was soured by a fumble at Colorado's 27-yard line with 1:55 left.
Ealey fumbled inside South Carolina's 5-yard line during the third quarter of Georgia's 17-6 loss Sept. 11.
SEC honors Murray
Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray was named Monday as SEC freshman of the week for his work in Saturday's 41-14 win over Tennessee. Murray completed 17 of 25 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns, and he had rushing scores of 35 and 5 yards.
Murray's 307 total yards against the Vols set a season best for the 6-1, 209-pounder from Tampa.
Odds and ends
Georgia's game Oct. 23 at Kentucky was picked up Monday by Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) and will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ... After practicing last Monday in full pads, the Bulldogs went back to their usual routine of conditioning, special teams and installation.