Heart ailment sidelines Spurlin

Tight end’s football career ends because of congenital condition.

ATHENS — Georgia’s Pearce Spurlin is having to give up football.

That was the most jarring news to come out of the Bulldogs’ spring football news conference Tuesday. Conducted a couple of hours before the team gathered on Woodruff Practice Fields for the first time in 2024, coach Kirby Smart revealed that the sophomore tight end from Rosemary Beach, Florida, is having to quit the sport he loves because of a congenital heart defect. The medical disqualification will allow Spurlin to remain on scholarship, and he will contribute as a sort of a student assistant coach.

“It’s something we were aware of and closely monitoring,” Smart said of Spurlin’s heart condition. “Over time he had to make a decision, he and his family. They made the decision to give up football, to be safe. It was a really tough decision for him, and we’re praying for him and his family. But he’s going to be fine, and he’s out there with us now.”

That was only one piece of significant injury news Smart shared Tuesday. He also provided details on several other key players who will have to miss all or portions of spring practice because of offseason surgeries and/or injury recoveries. Those include:

■ Senior linebacker Smael Mondon: foot surgery, out;

■ Junior safety Malaki Starks: shoulder surgery, limited;

■ Redshirt freshman lineman Bo Hughley: shoulder surgery, out;

■ Senior defensive end Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins: foot surgery, out;

■ Senior wideout Rara Thomas: foot surgery, limited;

■ Sophomore defensive tackle Christen Miller: knee surgery, limited;

■ Sophomore linebacker Damon Wilson: knee surgery, limited;

■ Freshman linebacker Kris Jones: foot surgery, limited;

■ Sophomore running back Branson Robinson: knee recovery, out;

■ Freshman Demello Jones: hamstring, limited;

■ Senior wideout Colbie Young: ankle, limited.

Mondon probably is the most significant of the players having

TONY WALSH/UGA ATHLETICS Sophomore tight end Pearce Spurlin has to give up football, but he’ll keep his scholarship and still have a role with the Dawgs.