Georgia football coach Kirby Smart was asked Tuesday evening in a news conference where his Bulldogs have improved most through seven spring workouts.
"It ain't off the field. I can promise you that," Smart responded.
The Bulldogs continue to rack up negative headlines, with redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Robert Beal and sophomore outside linebacker Brenton Cox getting arrested Tuesday afternoon. The two were charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession of less than an ounce, according to the Athens-Clarke County Jail's online booking report.
Beal and Cox are the fifth and sixth Bulldogs players who have been arrested since Feb. 28.
"Obviously I'm extremely disappointed, and I've obviously done a poor job with this group of connecting and making sure they listen and understand things," Smart said. "Obviously we have policies and rules in place. These guys violated those policies and rules, and they'll serve the punishment that they deserve for it.
"I hate the decisions they've made, and they've got to learn as young men that you can't break the rules and you can't break the law. Our guys have not done a good job of that, and that all falls on me."
Beal appeared in 10 games last season and collected 15 tackles. Cox played in 13 games and tallied 20 stops, including a sack.
Senior receiver Tyler Simmons and freshman cornerback Tyrique Stevenson were arrested for disorderly conduct late last month after their involvement in a fight with employees at a downtown bar. Junior linebacker Jaden Hunter was arrested on charges of driving on a suspended or revoked license and for illegal stopping, and redshirt sophomore Latavious Brini was arrested for misdemeanor simple assault after allegedly slapping another man outside an Athens bar.
"We've got 90 percent of our team with the least number of misses and the least number of tardies and are doing things right," Smart said. "I'm very disappointed in the 10 percent who have not."
Strong scheduling
Georgia announced Tuesday home-and-home agreements with Florida State during the 2027-28 seasons and with Clemson in the 2032-33 seasons. Georgia and Clemson already are scheduled to meet in the 2024 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta and last November announced a home-and-home series for 2029-30.
The Bulldogs, who are scheduled to host Notre Dame and travel to Georgia Tech this year, have scheduled at least one prominent opponent in addition to the state-rival Yellow Jackets in 12 of the next 15 seasons.
"I want to have the best players, and I want to play the best teams," Smart said. "Kids come to college to play big games. They don't want to play the 'Sisters of the Poor.'
"The fans, with what they're asking for and the ticket prices they're paying, want to see these kinds of games."
Matchups with Virginia (2020 in Atlanta), Oregon (2022 in Atlanta), UCLA (2025 in Pasadena and 2026 in Athens), and Texas (2028 in Austin and 2029 in Athens) had been announced before Tuesday's news that Georgia would travel to FSU on Sept. 4, 2027, and host the Seminoles on Sept. 16, 2028.
Georgia and FSU last played on each other's campuses in 1964-65.
Odds and ends
Junior linebacker Walter Grant, a 6-foot-4, 245-pounder from Cairo, Georgia, has been experimenting at running back. Smart said the punt-return candidates right now are receivers Simmons and Kearis Jackson and running backs D'Andre Swift and James Cook.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@tiomesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.