Here we go again.

With Saturday morning’s arrest of defensive back Sanders Commings, the Georgia football team enters another promising offseason under the shadow of disciplinary violations.

Already, arrest-weary fans have begun to sound their frustrations and online message boards have been filled with fans quick to bring up past years of double-digit arrests and rules violations.

COMMINGS

But while Commings’ arrest is cause for concern, it’s not time to write off the coming months as another doomed procession of court dates and disappointment quite yet.

The Georgia football team has been hit with arrest-riddled off-seasons in previous years, with 11 in 2010, five in 2009, and 10 in 2008.

Some worried that Richt had lost control of his team.

But in the lead-up to the 2011 season, Georgia had zero arrests.

During the 2011 season, Georgia had some violations — including the suspension of running backs Isaiah Crowell, Carlton Thomas and Ken Malcome for violating team rules and the arrest of linebacker Cornelius Washington for DUI — but few relative to previous seasons.

In fact, in 2011 Richt seemed to turn the team around both on and off the field.

Commings’ arrest does not mean the team has slipped back into the depths of criminal activity of the 2008-2010 seasons.

It could very well be a minor blip in a remarkable turnaround.

The team improved last season, and clearly has high expectations for the next one.

For now, we must keep from using Commings’ arrest as an occasion to condemn the entire Georgia football program.