Mark Richt dismisses 2 UGA players

Athens — Two Georgia football players have been dismissed from the team, coach Mark Richt confirmed Wednesday.

Donavon Baldwin, a junior safety, and Walter Hill, a redshirt freshman wide receiver, are no longer with the Bulldogs. Baldwin’s departure was the result of a mutual agreement between him and Richt after the two met recently to discuss his situation. Hill was kicked off because “he didn’t live up to the standards of doing things the Georgia way,” Richt said.

Baldwin was injured in a barroom brawl two days before the opening of preseason camp. He was already suspended for the first game of the season after being convicted of a January DUI. In response to the brawl, Richt changed Baldwin’s status to indefinitely suspended. He had not practiced with the team since.

“Baldwin and I have talked, and we thought it’d be in his best interest to finish [his career] somewhere else,” Richt said. “Let’s just say he has a better chance of graduating somewhere other than Georgia right now. I hope that’s not intruding on his student rights.”

Hill, who chose football over basketball at Georgia, suffered a broken hand during preseason practices and injured a foot in recent weeks. But neither the injuries nor his indecision over basketball or football were a factor in the decision, according to Richt. The 6-foot-5 Hill was rated the 12th-best basketball prospect in Georgia, according to Rivals.com and originally committed to Bulldogs coach Dennis Felton.

“[Basketball] was not a factor,” Richt said. “I think he’s going to continue on [in football] elsewhere.”