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Ryan Silverfield takes shot at Georgia over speeding violations: 'That's a weekly occurrence'

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh09/16/25griffin_mcveigh
Memphis HC Ryan Silverfield
© Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ryan Silverfield attempts to keep the standard high at Memphis. Sundays are usually the day when some reminders are sent out to the players, whether the Tigers won or lost the previous day. He was asked about the process on Monday and wound up taking a massive shot at the Georgia Bulldogs.

“Generally, on a Sunday afternoon when we meet with the team, we do two things,” Silverfield said. “We always start off with not our standard, always start out with a negative. 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 we’ll show.”

Former Georgia wide receiver Nitro Tuggle was arrested in late March on charges of reckless driving and speeding, a misdemeanor. Tuggle is no longer with the program, entering the NCAA transfer portal around a month later. Now, he is up in Big Ten country playing for Barry Odom and the Purdue Boilermakers.

That is not the only one of recent times, though. Silverfield did not mention any specific name when making his point but multiple Georgia players have been arrested due to car-related incidents. Head coach Kirby Smart even had to address the issue following Tuggle’s arrest.

“As far as the process we followed, it’s not been several months,” Smart said in March. “It’s been several years in terms of defensive driving courses, having players ride and learning how to drive, just like my two kids did, with a driver’s service. Josh Brooks has done a tremendous job meeting with every player. 

“We’ve had several speakers come in and we continue to educate, and we’re not gonna stop at that. It’s very unfortunate that one of those young men got his driver’s license within one month of that happening, at 18 or 19 years old. It’s amazing how many kids come to school without a driver’s license. It’s no excuse, but one of those things we will continue to educate and discipline our guys to try to correct it.” 

Flash forward a few months, the Georgia record is clean three games into the 2025 season. The Bulldogs are undefeated as well, fresh off a massive victory in Knoxville against the Tennessee Volunteers, one Smart did not believe they should have won. Silverfield might be looking for his team to be similar to UGA in many ways, just not in any off-the-field-related incidents.