We learn this morning that redshirt freshman quarterback Zach Mettenberger was arrested Saturday night in Remerton, Ga. near Valdosta and will face five misdemeanor charges. The big news of course is that we have an alcohol-related arrest that didn’t involve the Athens police. Let the hand-wringing about offseason discipline begin.

After you get over the shock of learning that an underage college student had a few on spring break (Valdosta, Talladega, whatever), this little story will very likely have an effect on one of the biggest questions facing the 2010 Georgia team: the starting quarterback. It should no longer be news that any alcohol-related arrest carries an automatic one-game suspension. If these charges hold up, Zach will, at the very least, sit out the season opener suspended.

I admit to having my biases about the quarterback position and have the luxury of not being responsible for the decision of naming the starter, but in my view Mettenberger has done us a favor. With the automatic suspension likely to sideline Mettenberger for the season opener, he’s no longer in the discussion to start. The staff isn’t going to spend fall camp preparing for the season with someone under center who won’t be available to start in the first game. They’re even less likely to change the starter after one game and give someone else his first career start on the road in Columbia.

That whittles the list down to two, and one of those two has kicked around the idea of playing a position other that quarterback if it would get him on the field. Still, Gray will “take the first reps with the #1 offense” as the Bulldogs begin spring practice. Things still might not be settled after the spring, but at least now we know that we’re looking at a Gray vs. Murray competition. That in and of itself simplifies things tremendously.