Report: Jalen Carter pleads no contest to charges stemming from deadly Athens car wreck

Georgia star Jalen Carter has pleaded no contest to traffic charges stemming from a fatal car crash, according to a report from Chip Towers of the AJC.

Carter was embroiled in controversy shortly before the 2023 NFL Combine when he turned himself in for alleged reckless driving and racing in the fatal wreck of his former Bulldogs teammate Devin Willock.

As part of his agreement reached with Athens-Clarke County prosecutors on Thursday, Carter was sentenced to 12 months probation, a $1,000 fine and 80 hours of community service. He must also compete a defensive driving course.

Carter’s alleged involvement in the deadly wreck was as follows. Athens-Clarke County Police determined that Carter was racing recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy in the early morning hours of January 15, resulting in a crash that took the lives of LeCroy and offensive lineman Devin Willock.

According to the Athens-Clarke County jail log, Carter was booked at 11:33 p.m. ET and released 16 minutes later. The bond, in total, was $4,000. It was broken down as $1,500 for reckless driving and $2,500 for racing on the streets/highways.

Prior to the incident Jalen Carter was viewed a lock for the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, widely regarded as one of the top defensive linemen available. However, following the news breaking, Carter’s stock has tumbled, in some places significantly. Others do not have the incident affecting him much.

In fact, one NFL Draft analyst said there’s ‘no way’ Carter falls out of the Top 10 picks.

“There’s still some teams that have him high up on their board,” ESPN’s Jordan Reid said. “Getting scouts trying to reveal their hand here today, nobody said where exactly they would take him. But the consensus is that — they say there’s no way he’s getting outside of the top 10.

“He’s too special of a player. He was the centerpiece of Georgia’s defense a year ago. An explosive, penetrative 3-technique that can be up the field and be a Day One starter for you. But with some of the questions from the Pro Day and some of the off-the-field things, where exactly are you going to select Jalen Carter? But the consensus here is that he’s going to go inside of the top 10.”

Last season at Georgia, Jalen Carter accounted for 32 tackles, 7.0 tackles for a loss, 3.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, three pass breakups and 31 quarterback hurries.

Carter was named to the 2022 Associated Press, FWAA, Walter Camp and Sporting News All-America first teams following the season.