Georgia Bulldogs Dismissing 2 Players Is Bad Sign for Mark Richt's 2012 Season

The off-field incidents continue to be a problem for Mark Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs. 

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia has kicked freshmen Nick Marshall and Sanford Seay off the team for violating team rules. (Update: ajcuga Twitter reports Chris Sanders has also been dismissed from the team.) 

MyFOXAtlanta reports that sources say the players were dismissed from the team for stealing from a teammate, allegedly taking up to $500 worth of stuff.  

Marshall is a cornerback and was expected to contribute heavily to the team next year with the departure of Brandon Boykin. He was a 4-star recruit and a big part of the "Dream Team" class from a year ago. Marshall was also named to the AJC Super 11, which is awarded to the top high school players in the state of Georgia. 

The freshman corner appeared in 13 games and made five tackles this past season, but it was the 2012 season in which he was projected to make a major impact. Meanwhile, Seay was a 3-star wide receiver buried on the depth chart. 

This is not the way that Richt and the Bulldogs needed to begin their offseason. Richt has had problems with players getting arrested for various issues in the past, and these kind of things can't keep happening during the spring and summer. 

Credit Richt and his staff for reacting quickly and giving a harsh punishment. This sets a statement that if a player does anything wrong this offseason, there will be big repercussions. 

Obviously, kicking them off the team is something Richt didn't want to do, but it had to be done. Hopefully, this strikes fear in the rest of the Bulldogs players so they don't do anything stupid this offseason.