Colbie Young suspended indefinitely following Tuesday arrest

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young looks like he’s going to miss some time after an arrest on Tuesday. Head coach Kirby Smart shared during the Wednesday SEC coaches teleconference call that he got his first chance to speak with Young since the incident earlier in the day and that he’s suspended until the legal matter is resolved.

“Yeah, I got to speak to him this morning. He’s been suspended indefinitely until this legal matter is resolved,” Smart said. “We can’t really comment any further on the specifics of it, but had a good meeting with him this morning. We’re committed to continuing to educate our players and do the best job we can of making sure they understand the serious nature of these incidents. It’s very unfortunate, but we want to be responsible in decision making on and off the field. This is obviously a really tough situation, but he’s suspended indefinitely until the legal matter is resolved.”

Young was arrested Tuesday morning on misdemeanor charges of assault on an unborn child and battery. Booked at 4:18 a.m. ET, it wasn’t until 1:36 p.m. – well after news broke of his arrest – that Young was released on bond. Details of his arrest are available in the incident report.

A transfer from Miami, Young has played in all five games for Georgia this season totaling 11 catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He scored in each of his first two games for the Bulldogs, helping UGA past Clemson in the season-opener with the team’s first touchdown of the year. Prior to his career at Georgia, Young spent two seasons at Miami (Fla.) after playing one season at Lackawanna College in New York. He totaled 79 receptions for 930 yards and 10 touchdowns in 22 games for the Hurricanes, finishing third on the team in receptions (47) and receiving yards (563) as well as tied for second in receiving touchdowns (5) in 2023.

Smart’s comments come less than 24 hours after he spoke to media in-person on Tuesday evening. At that time, the head coach had not had a chance to meet with Young.

“I know you guys want to know about Colbie and want to ask about it, but it’s a pending legal matter and I don’t have any answers right now,” Smart said. “Have not even had a chance to talk to him yet. So I can’t answer any questions about it right now.

On a more general note, Smart did share with reporters that education about domestic violence is a priority for the Georgia program. UGA brings in speakers to talk with the team about how they should handle themselves if they find themselves in a situation similar to Young. Still, because no two situations are the same, it’s a challenge – one of the hardest Smart has had to face in his time in coaching.

“We educate, we bring in speakers. It’s one of probably the most critical things we do. And, I mean, over the history of nine years being here, it’s probably the most-spoke on thing we have,” Smart said. “… I’ll be honest with you, in my years of coaching, it’s probably been the hardest thing to deal with when you deal with players and some of the decisions. And I don’t mean this in Colbie’s ’cause I don’t know the details of that. I don’t know everything involved in that. But it’s a very sensitive matter and a tough thing to deal with, and it’s unfortunate.”

“When you have 130 17-23 year olds, you’re gonna have issues. It’s not gonna be perfect. And I certainly recognize we got to do a better job, but it’s hard,” he added. “It’s hard on our staff, because we’ve got really good kids. We got really good people, man and our kids go out there today and they have one of the best practices we’ve had all year on a Tuesday. They’re out there competing, working, and you just want them to make better decisions as men and off the field. I take a lot of responsibility in that. It’s tough, but that’s the cost of leadership.”

Young is the seventh Georgia player to be arrested since mid-March joining Trevor Etienne, Sacovie White, Bo Hughley, Smael Mondon, Rara Thomas and Daniel Harris. The majority of those have been driving related however, Thomas’ was a pair of misdemeanor family violence charges as well as a felony charge of cruelty to children in the second degree. Thomas was dismissed as a result of his actions, a second offense to his name in time at Georgia.

If Young is unavailable this weekend when Georgia takes on Mississippi State or beyond (a trip to top-ranked Texas is on the horizon next week), the Bulldogs will be forced to rely on a shortened rotation of receivers. Dillon Bell likely moves into a position where he’s playing more in the X receiver role – not his natural position – and UGA is left with just nine scholarship receivers, three of whom have not appeared in more than one game this season.

Young ranks fourth on the team in receiving yards this season behind Arian Smith (18 catches, 278 yards, two touchdowns), Dominic Lovett (22 catches, 252 yards, two touchdowns) and Bell (18 catches, 216 yards, three touchdowns). Tight end Lawson Luckie (seven catches, 135 yards, two touchdowns) and wide receiver London Humphreys (four catches, 103 yards, one touchdown) have also made trips to the end zone this season while running back Trevor Etienne (11 catches, 72 yards) has double-digit grabs. Oscar Delp, while not producing at the right he has in past seasons (three catches, 25 yards as compared to 24 catches, 284 yards, three touchdowns in 2023), is another capable pass catcher from the tight end position. Georgia will be forced to pull on every thread to try and find solutions, possibly including getting youngsters like Anthony Evans, Sacovie White and Nitro Tuggle more involved.

Kickoff time in the battle between the SEC’s Bulldogs is set for 4:15 p.m. ET on SEC Network. As of publication, Georgia is considered to be a 34-point favorite according to VegasInsider.