Georgia WR Colbie Young Arrested — The 7th Bulldog Booked in 2024

Seven.

That is the number of Georgia football players who have been arrested in 2024. The latest is wide receiver Colbie Young, booked at 4:18 in the morning on charges that are, by any measure, more serious than anything else on that list.

At some point a pattern stops being a coincidence and starts being a program.

What Happened

Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young was arrested early Tuesday morning on misdemeanor charges of battery and assault of an unborn child, according to Athens-Clarke County Jail records. Young was booked into the detention center at 4:18 a.m. ET and released later Tuesday on $3,800 bond.

According to an Athens-Clarke County Police incident report, a 20-year-old woman, who described herself as Young's ex-girlfriend, told police that she went to his apartment around midnight to discuss their relationship. When the conversation became heated after she discovered he was on the phone with another woman, she said Young "grabbed her left arm near her biceps and triceps and physically pulled her out of his room."

The woman told police Young "picked her up and began to squeeze her torso and abdomen very hard." She told police she believed Young "was trying to harm her." The arresting officer noted a bruise and discoloration on the right side of the woman's chest, as well as redness on her right flank. She was taken to the hospital for medical attention.

Young denied making any inappropriate contact. His attorney Kim Stephens said: "Colbie Young was arrested last night after he asked his ex-girlfriend to leave his apartment. He did not make physical contact with her in any way that could ever be considered a crime. I expect Mr. Young to be fully exonerated once our investigation is complete and the truth revealed."

Georgia coach Kirby Smart suspended Young indefinitely following the arrest.

Who Young Is

Young, a senior from Binghamton, New York, transferred to Georgia following two seasons at Miami. He had 939 total yards and 10 touchdowns with the Hurricanes across those two seasons.

In his first season with the Bulldogs, he had 11 catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns in five games. He had three receptions for a team-leading 51 yards in Georgia's 31-13 win over Auburn the Saturday before his arrest.

He had stepped into an expanded role partly because wide receiver Rara Thomas — who was dismissed from the team in August on a felony charge of cruelty to children and two counts of misdemeanor battery — was no longer on the roster.

One Georgia receiver dismissed for a violent charge. His replacement arrested weeks later on a violent charge.

The Full 2024 List

All in all, seven different Georgia football players have been arrested since January 2024 — Trevor Etienne, Sacovie White, Smael Mondon, Bo Hughley, Rara Thomas, Daniel Harris, and now Colbie Young.

Most of the earlier cases involved driving offenses — DUI, reckless driving, racing on public streets. Those are serious. Young's charges are different in kind. Battery. Assault on an unborn child. A pregnant woman taken to hospital with visible bruising.

That is not a speeding ticket.

What Most People Don't Know About This

The Georgia arrest pattern has a before-and-after point that doesn't get discussed enough. In January 2023, offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy were killed in a reckless speeding crash in Athens. At the time, players were allegedly racing with Jalen Carter — the star defensive lineman who still went top-10 in the NFL Draft months later.

Since then, figures recorded by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution show there have been over 24 separate traffic-related incidents involving someone in the Georgia football program. Smart has spoken about reckless driving several times and while he has said that he believes Georgia prepares these players better than any college in the country, he has also acknowledged that this may be a problem that is never truly resolved.

Two people died in that crash. The program kept producing the same behaviors. That is not an irrelevant context.

What most people also don't know: the pregnant woman involved in the altercation with Young later filed an affidavit asking for all charges against him to be dropped, stating that Young did not commit any violent act against her or her unborn child, and that the police report did not accurately portray what occurred.

The legal outcome may differ from the arrest. Young's attorney has called for his immediate reinstatement. The case remains active.

What does not change, regardless of how that case resolves, is the number. Seven players. One program. One calendar year.

The Program Question

Georgia has won back-to-back national championships. They recruit at the highest level in the country. Kirby Smart is one of the most respected coaches in college football. None of that is in dispute.

What is also not in dispute is the number. Seven arrests in a single calendar year — ranging from reckless driving to DUI to felony child cruelty to, now, battery and assault on an unborn child — is not a run of bad luck.

At some point the question shifts from "what happened this week" to "what is happening in this program" — and that question deserves a more serious answer than it has received.