Pound for Pound: Speeding

Published 10:01 am Wednesday, March 26, 2025

I was never an elite-level athlete. No one recruited me out of high school. And Lord knows I didn’t have thousands of name, image, and likeness dollars flowing into my bank account when I was a college student.

But I have found one thing from my time in Athens that I can say I share with players on the University of Georgia football team – speeding and/or reckless conduct behind the wheel of a vehicle. Lots of it.

I can’t remember the exact number of tickets I received over a three-year stretch. Let’s just say it was more than two but less than seven. During that time I got acquainted with officers representing Athens-Clarke County PD (twice), Sparta PD, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, Madison PD, and the famed Georgia State Patrol.

It became such a problem that my driver’s license was going to be suspended until a family friend lawyer intervened and worked out a deal. The judge was willing to show mercy in exchange for two things: community service and an essay on the dangers of speeding. I promptly wrote the essay and completed my service hours at the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia in order to retain my license.

There my speeding problem basically stopped. Yes, I have fallen victim to the local school zone speed cameras on one occasion, but that ended a drought of about 15 years in between citations.

What I’m saying is, the threat of losing my license, thus leaving me car-less and severely inconveniencing those around me (or getting even better acquainted with the Athens bus system), was enough to force me to change my behavior. I came right up against the line.

That line clearly hasn’t been found for some members of the Georgia football team. Even with the 2023 deaths of former offensive lineman Devin Willock and football staffer Chandler LeCroy still fresh in everyones’ minds, the school’s football players continue getting in trouble for driving-related offenses. Wide receiver Nitro Tuggle and offensive lineman Marques Easley were both suspended indefinitely after separate incidents last week.

If the problem weren’t so severe, it would be funny, like these words from Steve Spurrier when he was coaching at South Carolina. Reporters in 2015 asked him his feelings on the Georgia-SC matchup being played later in the season. His response: “I don’t know. I sort of always liked playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended.”

A decade later and the Ol’ Ball Coach’s words are still true. Due to these ongoing issues, the University of Georgia is both the laughingstock of college football and an example of what you wouldn’t want a program to be. Not a good spot to be in.

It’s time for harsher punishments. Find the line, Kirby.