Georgia Bulldogs RB Isaiah Crowell is not the only running back causing trouble.
Written by Emily Nerland // June 29, 2012 // NCAA, NCAA Football // 1 Comment
Less than one year ago, Georgia Bulldog fans were eagerly waiting the arrival of what they thought would be the next Herschel Walker in five-star standout incoming freshman Isaiah Crowell.
Friday morning, Dawg nation got word that the player they were expecting to bring the program back to national prominence had been dismissed from the team after being arrested for weapon charges.
Crowell, who had struggled through his first collegiate year with injuries and his own set of off-field issues, isn’t the only running back out of a loaded 2011 class that ran into significant road blocks in their first year.
He isn’t even the only one to land himself in jail.
Florida State running back James Wilder Jr. recently served a lengthier stint than Crowell’s overnighter in the slammer after failing a breathalyzer test during a court-ordered work-camp day, the 0.001 BAC resulting in a charge of violating probation. His stay was extended because he had yet to serve any of the court-mandated anger management classes after his original felony charge of battery on a law enforcement officer back in February.
Clemson’s leading rusher and coveted recruit, Mike Bellamy, was forced to leave the Tigers in May after failing to meet academic standards. This was just the final string for the young back, after a bumpy season that ended with him sitting out in December having violating unspecified team rules.
The most scandalous, in the eyes of SEC football-first fans, would have to be Florida, no wait, Auburn running back Mike Blakely. After signing with the Gators and sitting out spring with a shoulder injury, Blakely asked for a unrestricted release and committed the cardinal sin of staying in conference with the Tigers.
The 2011 class was touted for its talent but how could anyone have foreseen the troubles that would be in the way of them realizing their potential. The same coaches who’s jobs would have been called on for missing on any one of these gems are now standing in front of recorders trying to make sense of what happened and defending their presence in the program.
But who is really to blame? How does one make sense of this 2011 five-star epidemic?
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