On Thursday night, Georgia sophomore cornerback Daniel Harris was reportedly arrested by Athens-Clarke County Police. Harris was charged with reckless driving and four other misdemeanors: not wearing a seatbelt, operating an unregistered vehicle without a license plate, driving without proof of insurance, and having an illegal window tint. 

Harris has spent fall camp and the first two weeks of the regular season embroiled in a battle to start opposite Daylen Everette as Georgia’s No. 2 cornerback. So far in 2024, Harris has played the 12th most defensive snaps for the Bulldogs, fewer than Julian Humphrey and more than Ellis Robinson IV, his primary competition for playing time. 

The standard operating procedure for Kirby Smart’s program has been a one-game suspension for DUI-related arrests, but Florida transfer running back Trevor Etienne was held out of Georgia’s Week 1 win over Clemson despite having his DUI charges dropped. 

Harris is now the fifth Georgia Bulldog arrested for a driving-related offense since Etienne’s arrest on March 24, joining Savoie White, Smael Mondon Jr. Demello Jones, and Bo Hughley. It’s hard to keep track of the number of incidents since offensive lineman Devin Willock and staffer Chandler LeCroy died in a fatal crash while racing former Bulldog and current Philadelphia Eagle Jalen Carter. According to USA Today, the count was up to “25 arrests or citations for speeding, reckless driving, or racing” prior to Harris’s incident on Thursday. 

In the short term Harris’s status will be uncertain for Georgia’s SEC opener in Lexington Kentucky on Saturday night, but in the long term, Smart has failed to address a major problem within the culture of his program and if the deaths of Willock and LeCory weren’t enough to change things, it’s unclear what will. 

If Harris does miss Georgia’s Week 3 matchup against Kentucky, Robinson has shown enough through two weeks to step into his role behind Everette and Humphreys at cornerback. Through two games the true freshman has allowed just one catch for seven yards with 26 of his 28 snaps coming at true outside corner.