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Georgia Football: What now for Riley Ridley?

By Mike Stowe

Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Riley Ridley (8) catches a touchdown pass against the Tennessee Volunteers during the last half minute of the game to give Georgia the lead during the fourth quarter at Sanford Stadium. Tennessee defeated Georgia 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Riley Ridley (8) catches a touchdown pass against the Tennessee Volunteers during the last half minute of the game to give Georgia the lead during the fourth quarter at Sanford Stadium. Tennessee defeated Georgia 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dawn of the Dawg Writer Mike Stowe gives us his feelings on what happened with Georgia football played Riley Ridley this past weekend:

Related Story: UGA Basketball: Dealing with the plain

I’m sure most of you have seen the news about the  Riley Ridley marijuana arrest over the weekend by now. The Georgia Football sophomore wide receiver figures to be much improved in year 2 and possibly the number 1 target at the position for quarterback Jacob Eason.  So the news of his arrest wasn’t a welcome story, to put it mildly. Any game, including game 1 , that Ridley misses will be detrimental to Georgia’s passing attack. This could be a multiple game suspension or the punishment could be handled internally. According to the UGA student handbook, this is a one game suspension……and that’s what I believe would be fair.

I’ve seen many people lately who don’t agree, though.  A lot of people think it’s no big deal. That it (marijuana) should be legal. If you happen to be one of the who feel that way, I understand and respect that. But that’s not the main issue right now.

Oct 9, 2016; Columbia, SC, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Riley Ridley (8) during the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Georgia wins 28-14 over South Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2016; Columbia, SC, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Riley Ridley (8) during the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Georgia wins 28-14 over South Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports /

At some point, people must understand and accept that Ridley broke a law. He knew what he was doing was illegal. And while everyone may not agree on whether or not it should be the law, it is currently in the state of Georgia. So if you are a student athlete and you choose to carry the “wacky lettuce”, you’re going to put your future and freedom in jeopardy.

My Personal view:

Riley seems like a good kid. I don’t think this is an indicator of him being a reoccurring breaker of team rules and violator of state laws. So, as fans, we can support him . We can defend him when he does better and comes back from a likely short suspension and becomes one of the SEC’s elite receivers. But there’s no point in arguing over if what happened this past weekend to him was right or trying to make the local authorities who were involved out to be villains.

Next: Monday morning recap

He committed a crime, was arrested, and will be punished. Let’s just hope for his sake and the team’s sake that this is a one time offense.

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