Georgia CB Daniel Harris Arrested and Charged After Driving 106 MPH

Georgia’s repeated driving issues continued Thursday night when cornerback Daniel Harris was arrested and charged with reckless driving for going 106 miles per hour (41 mph over the speed limit) on a wet road, according to an incident report from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.

Harris traveled with No. 1 Georgia to Lexington, where the Bulldogs will play Kentucky on Saturday, according to school officials, who declined to comment further on his status. Harris’ name was not listed on the SEC’s availability report Friday. A final availability report will be released before Saturday’s game at 7:30 p.m. Players suspended for any reason, per league policy, are listed as “out.”

Police say Harris, a sophomore who played in the first two games this season, was speeding around 8 p.m. Thursday on Georgia 10 off the College Station Road on-ramp. His 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee passed two other vehicles in the rain, and the arresting officer checked the speed on the department-issued DragonEye Lidar device, which indicated a speed of 106 mph, according to the incident report.

Harris was arrested by police, booked into the Clarke County Jail at 10:40 p.m., and released at 11:49 p.m. on $50 bail. Harris’ vehicle had a temporary license plate that expired on August 4, 2024. His vehicle registration expired on March 8, 2024. He had no proof of insurance and had materials on his vehicle that reduced the visibility of his windows/windshield, all according to the incident report. He was also charged with driving without a seat belt.

Harris’ arrest comes after running back Trevor Etienne was suspended for the season opener against Clemson. Etienne was arrested in March and charged with driving under the influence. As part of a plea deal reached in July, prosecutors dropped the driving under the influence charge, and Etienne pleaded not guilty to reckless driving and guilty to possession of alcohol by a minor, failure to maintain lane keeping and window tint violations.

The Georgia football program has been plagued by a recurring series of driving-related issues involving players in and around Athens, including a January 2023 incident where recruiting staff member Chandler LeCroy and player Devin Willock were killed while racing a car driven by star defensive lineman Jalen Carter. Both cars were traveling over 100 mph, and police said alcohol was involved in the crash.

Since that fatal crash, Georgia has had at least 20 arrests or citations involving players for driving-related offenses, including drunken driving, speeding and reckless driving. Victoria Bowles, a former recruiting employee who survived last year’s fatal crash, settled her lawsuit against the school’s athletic association earlier this month. Georgia also faces a lawsuit from the Willock family, which filed suit against the athletic association and others.

Coach Kirby Smart said before this season that he had taken several steps to curb the ongoing conduct problems, including taking away NIL money from players and requiring them to take driver education courses. He said Georgia also brought in guest speakers to speak to the team.

In July, at the SEC’s media days, Smart told ESPN: “We still talk about it because we’ve had issues. The most important thing is the safety, health and security of our players and our community. We’ve got to do a better job.”