Georgia’s Kirby Smart insists he has not lost control of program Alabama’s Rees, Steele both to make $1.9M this season Maryland adds Josh Gattis, Zac Spavital to coaching staff

ATHENS, GA – coach for Georgia Kirby Smart insists he hasn’t lost control of a program that has held back-to-back national championships, but he’s been rocked by off-season arrests and a car accident that claimed the lives of a player and recruiter.

“There’s no shortage of control in our program,” Smart said ahead of the Bulldogs’ first spring practice.

“… Our guys are wrong. Historically, this is likely to happen when you are between 18 and 22 years old. Our job as coaches is to prevent that and that starts with me and you do that through how you train your players and how you discipline them and we will continue to do that at a high level.”

A professional day on campus for NFL general managers and coaches will focus on protective gear. Jalen Carterwho is considered one of the top picks in the April 27 NFL Draft. Carter’s draft prospects may be clouded by accusations of racing offense and reckless driving in the January 15 crash that killed a teammate. Devin Willock and recruiter, 24-year-old Chandler LeCroy.

The crash came just hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight national championship with a parade in Athens and a ceremony at Sanford Stadium.

The Georgia players said they are still recovering from the losses of Willock and Lecroy.

“We were watching a movie the other day and I saw my boy Dev and it hit me really hard,” the defender said. Zion Log. “So you need to put all those things aside and get back to football. It was a tragic event. We have all learned from this. It’s just something very unfortunate.”

Added wide receiver Ladd McConkey: “A difficult situation. It’s hard to even talk about it. Just do what you can and love every day like it’s your last.”

Carter is due to appear before the Athens Municipal Court on April 18. On March 1, he released a statement on his Twitter account saying that he expects to be “fully exonerated for any criminal offenses.”

Carter is not the only Georgia player to face charges of racing on public roads.

Midfielder Jamon Dumas-Johnson, the team’s second-best player in 2022, was arrested on Feb. 22 on charges of reckless driving and racing. On April 17, Dumas-Johnson will appear in court.

Meanwhile the protector Stetson Bennett was arrested in Dallas on January 29 and charged with public intoxication.

Smart said “the expectations we have for our student athletes” are very important.

“Of course we didn’t meet some of those requirements,” Smart said. “We want our student-athletes to meet these requirements and we take it very seriously. Standards have long been established here. That doesn’t change and we want our players to live up to them.”

Smart said that when players make mistakes, “we treat them the same way we treat our kids. We discipline them. We are trying to prevent them. We are trying to educate them. We try to do our best to help our student-athletes in a positive way.”

Police allege in an arrest warrant that Carter was racing his 2021 Jeep Trackhawk against LeCroy’s 2021 Ford Expedition at the time of the accident. Willock was a passenger in an SUV driven by Lecroy.

Police determined that shortly before the crash, Lecroy’s expedition was moving at about 104 miles per hour (167 kilometers per hour). The arrest warrant states that Lecroy’s blood alcohol concentration at the time of the accident was 0.197. The legal limit in Georgia is 0.08.

Smart said that last summer, Athens-Clark County Police and the University of Georgia Police told players about the dangers of street racing. Seeing a teammate and employee die can teach a much more painful lesson.

“We feel that our players are beginning to recognize and understand that you make mistakes and make decisions that cost you dearly and can cost you your life,” Smart said. “This is not to be taken lightly and I think our guys understand that and we will continue to educate them and we will continue to do our best as a university to make sure they behave and do it the right way.”

Smart said that Willock was not supposed to drive the vehicle, which is expected to be used only for work.

“It is clear that you cannot take a vehicle if you are not doing your duty and they were not doing their duty at the time,” Smart said.

TASCALOOSE, Alabama – Alabama offensive coordinator. Tommy Rhys and defense coordinator Kevin Steel each will earn $1.9 million next season.

The two were among 11 Alabama employees whose new contracts were approved by the university’s board of trustees compensation committee.

Rees and Steele both entered three-year contracts, with Rees receiving a promotion to $2 million in his second year and $2.1 million in his third year after arriving from Notre Dame. Steele returned for the third time as a coach Nick Sabanafter serving as the Miami Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator last season.

The next highest paid assistant coach is the offensive line coach. Eric Wolford ($925,000) and assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins ($875,000). All transactions, except coordinators, are for two years.

–Freddie Roachline of defense ($775,000).

–Robert Gillespierunningbacks ($625,000).

–Coleman Hutzlerspecial teams/outside linebackers ($595,000).

–Joe Coxtight ends ($425,000).

– Robert Bala, inside linebackers ($350,000)

— David Ballou, Director of Athletic Performance ($725,000)

–Bob Weltondirector of player personnel ($255,000).

Reese, Steele and Bala are the newest additions to the Saban, whose team missed the playoffs for only the second time last season. Bill O’Brien left to become offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. Pete Golding moved to Southeastern Conference, West Division opponent Mississippi State to run Lane Kiffinprotection.

Bala replaced Austin Armstrongwho was hired as Florida’s defense coordinator shortly after being hired as an assistant in Alabama.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Maryland hired Josh Gattis as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.

Gattis joins the Terrapins after one season as Miami’s offensive coordinator. He was fired after the team went 5-7. Prior to this, Gattis had been offensive coordinator in Michigan. He received the Broyles Award for the country’s best assistant in 2021.

Maryland announced the hiring on Thursday and also announced the addition Zach Spavital as a safety coach.

Gattis worked with a Maryland coach Michael Loxley when they worked in Alabama in 2018. Gattis joins Kevin Sumlinwho was hired as coordinator of the joint offense in Maryland earlier this offseason.

And Enosthe previous offensive coordinator in Maryland, was hired for the same job in Arkansas.

Spavital has spent the past four seasons as a defensive coordinator at Texas State and has also coached at Texas Tech, Houston, and Oklahoma.

“The addition of Josh and Zach really bolsters our already strong coaching staff,” Locksley said. “Josh and I have a strong relationship and a proven track record of working together on a major crime. We have a lot in common with him, and the transition should be very smooth.

“Zak comes to us with a history of defensive involvement that has been a huge success, especially when it comes to aggression and tackling the ball.”