NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Georgia football coach Kirby Smart called a team meeting after the Bulldogs returned to campus following the Independence Day break. He shared that “a leader on the team who I won’t mention” stood up and gave an impassioned plea for his teammates to slow down on the road in honor of their fallen friends, Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy.
That was two weeks ago. On Tuesday, as Smart and three of his players talked to reporters here at SEC Football Media Days, it was thought that center Sedrick Van Pran was the player who stood up and shared his feelings at that meeting.
Van Pran, along with tight end Brock Bowers and cornerback Kamari Lassiter, was one of three leaders Smart brought with him Tuesday morning to serve as spokesmen at the annual preseason football event. Van Pran wouldn’t take sole credit being the one who spoke out that day, but he acknowledged that there was a lot of emotion shared in that meeting.
