After Rivers’ dismissal, Natrez Patrick has made ‘some changes in his life’

Georgia defensive lineman Chauncey Rivers’ dismissal May 13 might have been the wake-up call linebacker Natrez Patrick never knew he needed.

Patrick was arrested alongside Rivers on Nov. 4, 2015 on charges of misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Patrick was then present Dec. 12, 2015 when Rivers was again arrested on the same charges, which led to a four-game suspension for Rivers.

Although he wasn’t with Rivers when he was arrested for the third time, the dismissal of his friend has left the sophomore Patrick with a clear example of what not to avoid going forward.

“Natrez has done a good job and everything we’ve asked him to do,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “He knows he had to make some changes in his life and make some better decisions. I will say that the Chauncey situation has been tough on Natrez because they were close friends. It’s a little bit of a shock factor (to Patrick) that Chauncey isn’t with us anymore.”

Patrick could benefit greatly from avoiding any more indiscretions. He showed promise in his first season at Georgia, appearing in 11 games and registering 22 tackles. More importantly, the door is open for the now-sophomore to take on a starting role in 2016. He spent all of the spring at first-team inside linebacker and also handled first-team duties in Georgia’s G-Day scrimmage.

While some good could ultimately come from Rivers’ dismissal, that aspect doesn’t make it any easier on Smart.

“I hate it for Chauncey, first and foremost,” Smart said. “We had provided him with help and we’re going to continue to do that. We care about Chauncey; he’s just going to have to go play somewhere else.”

Losing Rivers also leaves a hole that the Bulldogs’ defense will need to fill. Smart explained that Rivers was more of a pass rusher rather than someone who was a big body and could therefore stuff an opponent’s rushing attack. Smart pointed to the lack of big men for the Bulldogs as an issue in need of correcting.

Fortunately for him, the cavalry is coming shortly.

The big men Smart is waiting on could be 6-foot-4 Michail Carter and 6-3 Tyler Clark. The two freshmen hold an average weight of 296 pounds and would certainly be candidates to fill the void their new head coach has pointed out. There’s also early enrollee Julian Rochester, who is still subject to disciplinary action following his April 12 arrest but is expected to be in the mix along with the other incoming freshmen.

“Our concern is holding up at the point with big people with the Trenton Thompsons and the people of that size,” Smart said. “That’s where we’ve got to get some more depth. We’re hoping those guys coming in can help us there.”

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "After Rivers’ dismissal, Natrez Patrick has made ‘some changes in his life’."