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Athens Banner-Herald
Georgia football player admonished by Athens judge for driving 105 MPH
- Story byAthens Banner-Herald
- Georgia football player admonished by Athens judge for driving 105 MPH
Georgia football outside linebacker Darren Ikinnagbon pleaded guilty in an Athens court house to speeding after driving 105 miles per hour in a 65-mile-per-hour zone on Feb. 18 , but had charges of reckless driving and following too closely dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court Judge Stephanie Thompson added 40 hours of community service to Ikinnagbon's sentence, one for every mile over the speed limit, she said, which he agreed to complete.
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"Mr. Ikinnagbon, I'm troubled by these allegations," Thompson told the freshman from Hillside, N.J., as he stood before her with his attorney on Monday morning, March 30. "One of the most concerning things I see here is that was at 9 o'clock in the evening when there's still plenty of traffic on the roadway. Speeds of 105 in a 65, that is 40 miles over the posted speed limit. This type of behavior is shocking."
Ikinnagbon will be on six months probation, pay a $1,013 fine and a $45-per-month supervision fee, and be required to complete a defensive driving class and a traffic violators impact panel for the misdemeanor charge.
Police said Ikinnagbon and Georgia linebacker Chris Cole were each driving their 2025 Mercedes SUVs 105 miles per hour on the Outer 10 Loop. Cole was recorded going 105 miles per hour on a speed measurement device and Ikinnagbon was an estimated 10 feet behind him.
Both vehicles passed 6 or 7 others on the road, police said.
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Cole also had an arraignment scheduled for Monday for misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and speeding, but received a continuance until mid-June, according to his attorney, Kim Stephens. Cole, a junior from Salem, Va., will be 21 by then which Stephens said would allow him to avoid a suspended license.
Stephens told the Athens Banner-Herald he expects Cole to also agree to a plea deal.
Ikinnagbon's attorney, Billy Healan, told the judge that the player had no prior traffic violations or prior criminal history.
"There would be some legal defenses if the case were to go to trial," he said. "This is not a situation where my client was clocked with a radar or a lidar, but nonetheless he's willing to enter a guilty plea accept the punishment. We just ask the court to accept the plea."
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Thompson told Ikinnagbon that "driving is a privilege."
"When you operate a motor vehicle, you have a responsibility to yourself, you have a responsibility to every single person on the roadway to operate your motor vehicle in a manner that is consistent with the law, that is not reckless because when people operate their motor vehicle in this type of manner, lives are lost," Thompson said. "So I'm very troubled by this case."
Healan told the judge that Ikinnagbon has taken the case seriously since his arrest and already completed the defensive driving course.
Cole and Ikinnagbon expressed regret for the incident on social media following their arrests.
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"I'm truly sorry for disappointing my coaches, teammates, family, and our incredible fans," Ikinnagbon wrote. "This has been a tough, and embarrassing lesson for me, and I'm committed to learning from it, making smarter decisions, and earning back your trust through my actions moving forward."
Georgia football players speeding and reckless driving incidents have made headlines since the Jan. 15, 2023 crash in Athens that killed football player Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy.
Offensive lineman Nyier Daniels was dismissed from the team after a Nov. 23, 2025 arrest in Commerce when he was charged with three felonies and 10 misdemeanors.
Wide receiver Nitro Tuggle and offensive lineman Marques Easley were arrested in March of 2025 in separate driving incidents. They never played again for Georgia.
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Coach Kirby Smart said on March 17 that he was "frustrated," by the arrests of Ikinnagbon and Cole. He said they "made a mistake, certainly going to pay the price for the mistake, certainly disappointed."
But, he said: "There's no two better kids on our team. Chris Cole is one of the highest character kids we've probably had in our program. He does it right academically, on and off the field. I can't speak highly enough about him."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football's Darren Ikinnagbon admonished by judge for speeding
