Georgia football player penalized for throat slash motion after ‘gator chomp’
Freshman running back Nate Frazier scored Georgia’s first touchdown of the game, diving into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown run.
But it’s what Frazier did after the score that will have people talking.
Frazier celebrated with a “gator chomp,” which typically is a Florida celebration. He then did a throat slash, harkening back to when former Georgia player Mohamed Massaquoi did the same during the 2007 game against Florida.
Todd Gurley also did the celebration in 2012 against Florida.
Frazier was penalized for taunting, and the TV broadcast caught Frazier getting an earful from coach Kirby Smart, who was not happy with the penalty.
“Just told him don’t be stupid, man,” Smart said. “We’re not selfish people at Georgia. We don’t, I mean, I’m not interested in all the shenanigans. We’re meat and potatoes. We roll our sleeves up, we go to work every day. I’m not interested in you gator-chomping and throat-slashing. It’s not respectful. I mean, I want to be respectful of the game and the people we play. And I think the best way to attack somebody is beat them.”
Frazier was in for Trevor Etienne, who is dealing with a rib injury. He recorded a career-high 19 carries and rushed for 82 yards.
“I thought he did some good things tonight. He had a couple mistakes,” Smart said. “I’m not talking about the penalty. He had a couple mistakes that can cost us. He has really gotten better at his protection. I’m fired up about him in protection. He is not shy of contact. But he’s got to get vertical and not try to outrun everything to the sideline.”
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Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
