Georgia dismisses Crowell

The gem of Georgia's 2011 recruiting class is no longer on the football team.

Isaiah Crowell, the 2011 SEC freshman of the year, was kicked off the football team by head coach Mark Richt on Friday after being arrested on charges of carrying a weapon in a school zone and having an altered ID mark, which are both felonies. He was also booked on a misdemeanor charge of possessing a concealed weapon.

Crowell, whose passengers in the vehicle he was driving included sophomore Quintavius Harrow and incoming freshmen Sheldon Dawson, Blake Tibbs and Josh Harvey-Clemons, was released earlier in the day after his bond was posted. None of the passengers were arrested.

As I wrote earlier on Friday at the NFP, the move by Richt was almost necessary because of Crowell's prior off-the-field troubles, which included two suspensions last season: once for a quarter for an unspecified team issue and one game for a reported positive marijuana test. While the Bulldogs have dealt with several misdemeanor arrests in recent history, a felony arrest is quite a different story.

Crowell rushed for 850 yards while battling numerous injuries as a freshman last fall.

Richt and Co. will now have to rely on sophomore Ken Malcome and highly-regarded freshman Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley in the backfield. As for Crowell, the hope is that this latest incident finally gives him a needed wake-up call.

Email dave.miller@nationalfootballpost.com or follow me on Twitter at Miller_Dave