On Wednesday, and arrest warrant was issued for Jalen Carter, the talented Georgia defensive linemen who could go number one overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carter, who is arguably the best overall prospect in the 2023 class, may see his draft stock plummet as an arrest warrant was issued for him.
This comes from his role in an automobile crash back in January. This crash killed a teammate and a staffer for Georgia.
The charges of the warrant include reckless driving and racing. The Athens-Clarke Count Police Department issued the warrant as they found that Carter was racing with Chandler LeCroy and Devin Willock.
LeCroy was the Georgia staffer and Willock was the Georgia player.
Since then, Jalen Carter left the NFL combine and returned to Athens. He was booked and released Wednesday night.
The Georgia Bulldog was scheduled to speak to the media on Wednesday but that appearance was cancelled.
He put out this statement:
"“This morning I received a telephone call from the Athens, Georgia, Police Department informing me that two misdemeanor warrants have been issued against me for reckless driving and racing. Numerous media reports also have circulated this morning containing inaccurate information concerning the tragic events of January 15, 2023,” Carter said in a statement posted to social media. “It is my intention to return to Athens to answer the misdemeanor charges against me and to make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented. There is no question in my mind that when all of the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”"
On the football side, this is one of the worst things that could possibly happen to any prospect. This information coming out just two months until the NFL Draft could be a generational blow to Carter.
The question now becomes if teams want to totally take him off of their boards, or if this doesn’t change the opinions of the clubs.
It will be interesting to see what ends up coming from this, but it’s clear that Jalen Carter made a big mistake.