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No Suspension for Branden Smith

By Matthew Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com
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Branden Smith has started 17 career games for the Bulldogs, and will be used in all three phases of the game this season.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt announced Saturday afternoon that cornerback Branden Smith will not receive a suspension stemming from his arrest for marijuana possession in March.

Although Georgia’s athletic policy states that a marijuana arrest carries a minimum suspension of 10% of the team’s regular season schedule, subsequent facts gathered in Smith’s case led Richt to waive the usual punishment.

Upon his arrest in March, Smith was required to undergo drug testing both at the school, and in the court room. According to the facts of the case, Smith passed every drug test which he was administered.

“I was tested,” Smith said. “I was clean. I don't do drugs.

“I'm just moving on from it,” he continued. “Things happen like that. When things happen you just have to turn it around.”

This is big news for a Georgia secondary that will be starting the season shorthanded. CB Sanders Commings is set to miss the first two game of the season, while S Bacarri Rambo will be serving a four-game suspension to start the year.

Smith has started 17 career games for the Bulldogs, and will be used in all three phases of the game this season.
 

Matthew Osborne - With an extensive background in both writing and high school recruiting, Matt serves as the Editor and Director of Recruiting for Southern Pigskin. Once serving as the South Region Senior Scout for a national scouting service, Matt is very familiar with the top football prospects in the south. If it is a weekend in the fall, you can rest assured that Matt is on the road watching some of the top high school and college games in the region. To keep up with all of the latest recruiting news in the south, be sure to follow Matt on Twitter: @MattOsborneSP. You can email him at matt@southernpigskin.com.