Memphis football coach Ryan Silverfield used his Monday radio appearance to draw a stark contrast between his program and Georgia, citing recent off-field incidents involving Bulldogs players as an example for his own team. Silverfield described how he meets with the team on Sunday afternoons to review performance and accountability. The session always begins with what he calls “not our standard,” highlighting mistakes both on and off the field.
“We always start with a negative,” Silverfield said. “And the ‘not our standard’ is, ‘Georgia wide receiver arrested for driving 900 miles per hour over the speed limit.’ That’s a weekly occurrence. So, that’s one of those things we’ll show. You know, this guy at the USFL got a DUI, this guy at this college was shooting a paintball gun.”
Silverfield didn’t mention a specific player, but the comment aligns with a series of legal issues in recent years involving Georgia players, including arrests for speeding, DUIs and reckless driving. Among the more recent cases, former wide receiver Nitro Tuggle was arrested in March 2025 on charges of reckless driving and speeding. Tuggle later entered the transfer portal and is now at Purdue.
Silverfield’s remarks are meant to reinforce the culture he wants to establish at Memphis. The Tigers — off to a 3-0 start this season after back-to-back double-digit win campaigns — have emphasized discipline both on and off the field. By contrasting his program with Georgia’s highly publicized legal troubles, Silverfield hopes to show his players what behaviors will not be tolerated.
Smart has defended his program’s approach, noting at SEC Media Days in July 2024 that players involved in traffic-related incidents are often subject to fines through Georgia’s NIL collective. He emphasized that the team combines education, defensive driving courses and occasional suspensions or dismissals to correct behavior.
Still, Silverfield used these incidents as a teaching moment for his Memphis players.
“Then we get into our standard,” Silverfield said. “Maybe we’ll show one of our guys at Le Bonheur (Children’s) Hospital doing community service this week. Maybe some of our guys showing extra effort. And I think that’s the whole point: ‘Hey, this is what we don’t accept here. This is not our standard, and then this is our standard.’ Usually, you can show a lot of examples throughout college football of teams doing the wrong thing, and hopefully, we’re on the right side, constantly showing our standard.”
Meanwhile, despite the off-field issues, Georgia has thrived on the field, reaching three College Football Playoff National Championship Games, winning two national titles and three SEC Championships under Kirby Smart since 2016.
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