Georgia announced the suspension of two players on Thursday, as sophomore wide receiver Nitro Tuggle and offensive lineman Marques Easley have been suspended indefinitely.
Tuggle was arrested on Thursday morning on speeding/maximum limit and reckless driving charges. He was released on $26 bond.
On Monday, a white Dodge was involved in a crash in an off-campus student neighborhood in Athens. Georgia State Patrol corporal Cory Andrews confirmed to Grady Newsource that the incident involved a member of the Georgia football team. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
According to an incident report obtained by Marc Weiszer of the Athens-Banner Herald, Easley’s incident took place in Watkinsville, Ga., which is just outside of Athens Clarke-County. A white Dodge Challenger lost control, leaving the roadway and striking a power distribution box with its front.
The Dodge rotated clockwise and struck the passenger side of a Hyundai Elantra with its passenger side and a Mercedes Benz CLA with its driver’s side.
Tuggle is a sophomore from Goshen, Ind., and appeared in 8 games last season for Georgia. He caught 3 passes for 34 yards for the Bulldogs. Tuggle is expected to be a bigger part of the wide receiver room at Georgia.
Tuggle had considered entering the transfer portal in December, publicly announcing his plans to do so before ultimately remaining at Georgia.
Easley is a redshirt freshman from Peoria, Ill. He appeared in two games last season for Georgia.
In regards to Tuggle, while he is the first arrest of the offseason, it is not the first time recent history that Georgia has dealt with driving-related issues.
Georgia dismissed safety David Daniel-Sisavanh from the team last July. Running back Trevor Etienne and cornerback Daniel Harris both missed games last season following driving-related arrests.
“Everybody wants to know what game and are they suspended,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at last year’s SEC Mmdia days. “That’s probably not the most important thing in terms of the discipline and culture they’ve got to experience. As far as I know, there’s not one team that has ever suspended a player for a traffic violation. That’s what Marcus Rosemy got suspended for. I don’t know that anybody has kicked anybody off the team for that, and we have that. We’re going to continue to be proactive. It’s repeated behaviors that will get you dismissed.”
Traditionally Georgia has tried to keep suspensions behind closed doors. It never publically announced a suspension for Etienne or Harris last season.
The Bulldogs are set to practice on Thursday, having their fifth of the spring. Georgia opens the 2025 season against Marshall on Aug. 30.
