During the past two seasons at the University of Georgia, Jalen Carter established himself as the most disruptive player on college football’s best defense, and in January when the 6-foot-3, 300-plus pound defensive lineman propelled the Bulldogs to a second straight national championship, Carter had positioned himself as a likely top-five pick in N.F.L. draft.
But that changed on March 1 at the N.F.L. scouting combine when Carter was booked on two misdemeanor charges in connection with a car crash that took place hours after the team’s championship parade in January and killed two people, including a Georgia teammate of Carter’s.