Richt urges Dogs to behave

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By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/02/07 Akeem Hebron is an 18-year-old freshman, full of potential and just a few steps away from a semester suspension from the University of Georgia and its football program.
All before he ever played a down.

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That prompted Georgia coach Mark Richt to call together his team Monday to discuss Hebron's arrests for possession of alcohol and what everyone connected to the program could do to make sure it does not happen again.
"Most guys who make a mistake are the first- or second-year guys," Richt said. "Not all of them, but the majority of them. Most of the guys who make the mistakes are the guys who are out of high school, away from home for the first time. So we have got to do a better job of taking them in and getting some older guys with them and having them mentor them a little bit."
For Hebron, it's just about too late. He repeatedly broke the university code of conduct policy concerning alcohol violations. He was twice arrested for underage possession in one semester. The latest of those arrests occurred last week. University rules call for Hebron to be suspended for the current and subsequent semester (excluding summer).
Hebron, a linebacker from Gaithersburg, Md., has been notified by the Office of Judicial Programs that he must set up a meeting with Assistant Dean of Students Brandon Frye by May 7 to discuss his future, according to a letter obtained by the AJC through Georgia open records law.
If the university adheres to its code of conduct rules, Hebron's future with the football program is over until 2008.
"Right now I really don't know what the future is going to hold for him," said Richt when asked if Hebron would return in 2008. "But it would be our desire for him to come back if, in fact, he takes care of the discipline and handles the discipline the way he needs to."
The SEC has no rigid guidelines for what the punishment should be when it comes to certain crimes. Ambiguity comes into play, and there are perceptions that certain schools are easier on crime than others.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said a uniform policy — much like the one recently talked about in the NFL — has been discussed.
"There could be conference rules for a lot of things, like drugs," Spurrier said. "But every school does their own thing."
Richt said it would be difficult to police an entire conference with a rigid set of rules and consequences.
"There are certain things you can have a policy for, but there are certain things you can't," Richt said. "That was one of the first things [I saw] when I got to Georgia — there is no book that you can open up and say, 'OK this guy does this and this guy does this; this is what you have to do about it.' ... A lot of how we handle things is a player's attitude toward what happened."
Like many schools, Georgia has a code of conduct in place that spells out the exact punishment for the crime. Richt said the players are made aware of the code of conduct and know the consequences.
"You look at Akeem, he knew the policy," Richt said. "He wasn't able to keep from letting it happen again."



Richt urges Dogs to behave | ajc.com

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he's had problem the last three years a lot with these guys off the field...hope they get it straightened out...