ATHENS - Once again, the tiny military college in Milledgeville is worth watching when it comes to former – and possibly future – Georgia football players.
Following last Friday’s dismissal of three freshmen football players, head coach Mark Richt called Bert Williams, the head coach at Georgia Military College. Williams characterized it as Richt just letting him know about the situation.
But GMC has a history of taking in players that either didn’t qualify for Georgia, or were dismissed. So Williams admitted he has an interest in a couple of the players.
“There’s one that we will not pursue,” Williams said. “There’s one we may or may not pursue. And there’s one that I definitely will pursue.”
Williams didn’t elaborate or get specific. The highest-profile of the dismissed trio is cornerback Nick Marshall, who was a four-star recruit a year ago out of Wilcox County High School. Safety Chris Sanders also played in three games before getting hurt. Receiver Sanford Seay was considered a fringe prospect who did not play last season.
Williams said he should know something firm “within the next week or so.”
Marshall, Sanders and Seay were dismissed following an incident in which a teammate alleged a theft from his dorm room. The theft involved cash and other items, according to sources.
Richt didn’t indicate to Williams whether Georgia could potentially take any of the players back after spending a year at GMAC.
“There have been players we’ve taken who have left there who have spent time here, gotten right, and either gone back, or if they don’t go back to Georgia, they move on to somewhere else and do well,” Williams said. “We try to work together when we can.”
Meanwhile, GMC is also home to a player that Georgia is thinking of offering a scholarship, possibly as soon as this year. Mario Alford, a running back who could play defensive back, spent the past year at GMC and could transfer immediately to a Division I school and have three years of eligibility, much like Mark Beard, the offensive lineman who enrolled at Georgia last month.
The Bulldogs are now in desperate need for depth at defensive backs, thanks to the dismissals of Marshall and Sanders. But indications were that Georgia had yet to decide whether to pull the trigger on an offer to Alford.
Williams said Georgia hasn't offered Alford a scholarship yet, but the coaches know about him.
Georgia has signed 15 players from GMC since 1992, most recently safety Jakar Hamilton in 2009. (Hamilton, a safety, left the team last year, and his departure is one of the reasons the team lacks safety depth.
Linebacker Akeem Hebron is one player who signed at Georgia, played at GMC before re-signing with the Bulldogs. Corey Irvin, the defensive tackle, came out of GMC, played at Georgia and is now in the NFL.
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