THE SCOOP
Sophomore Geno Smith, who was expected to be a starter in the Alabama defensive secondary, was given a one-game suspension for his DUI arrest over the weekend by coach Nick Saban, who went out of his way to speak highly of Smith.
“We’ve never had an issue with Geno. He’s an excellent person. He’s never been in trouble here before, never been in my office for anything, but I think this is something that everybody should learn from that when you make a bad choice, sometimes the consequences of that choice can really have a negative effect.
“Some of these guys don’t have enough foresight to understand cause and effect, but Geno has been a really good person in the program and just made a choice, bad decision. Made several of them, so now he’s got consequences for it.
“I think if you think it’s appropriate and necessary that you take something away from somebody, something that’s important to somebody, then that’s going to have a bigger impact in their behavior. That’s what we thought was appropriate in this case and that’s why we did it. We didn’t do it to hurt anybody. We didn’t do it to satisfy anybody. We did it in the best interest of the player.”
The typical penalty for a DUI charge at Alabama is one game. At Georgia, the same offense would draw a penalty of 20 percent of competition games, generally two games. Smith will miss the Crimson Tide’s opener against Virginia Tech on Aug. 31 at the Georgia Dome.
INJURY REPORT
South Carolina senior defensive end Chaz Sutton (foot sprain) was back to full duty for Wednesday’s practice, the final one before classes begin Thursday.
FAN TALK
LSU’s season opener against TCU on Aug. 31 will be played at the home of the Dallas Cowboys — AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas — and the NFL bag policy will be in effect for the contest. The policy limits the size and type of bags that may be brought into the stadium.
According to Georgia Dome officials, the policy will not be in effect for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game between Alabama and Virginia Tech. A spokesman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tim Tucker that it’s an NFL policy that does not apply to college games at the Dome unless sponsors of the event request it.
STARTERS
- Kentucky's quarterback competition is down to Jalen Whitlow and Maxwell Smith. Wildcats coach Mark Stoops said after Tuesday's scrimmage at Commonwealth Stadium that both quarterbacks will play in Kentucky's season opener against Western Kentucky, but he doesn't know who will start.
- Tennessee coach Butch Jones still hasn't chosen a quarterback starter from among junior Justin Worley, redshirt freshman Nathan Peterman, freshman Joshua Dobbs of Alpharetta High and freshmen Riley Ferguson.
QUOTABLE
“(Offensive tackle) Corey (Robinson) has been out here working hard. We’ve practiced a lot of days, a lot of days. You know, (defensive end Jadeveon) Clowney has taken a few days off, comes out here fresh. He was ready to go and whipped his tail up and down the field. The first four plays, you could barely touch him, and those were on screens where we tried to chip him. I am hopeful it’s going to look like that for every offensive lineman in the country against Clowney.” — Gamecocks offensive line coach Shawn Elliott, speaking about the on-the-spot demotion of Robinson during Saturday’s scrimmage by Steve Spurrier. By Wednesday, Robinson was back at No. 1 on the depth chart and will start against North Carolina on Aug. 29.
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