Georgia landed two football commitments from within the state at Mark Richt Camp over the weekend.
Pierce County High School fullback Quayvon Hicks and Cartersville High School punter Collin Barber both pledged to sign with Georgia in February. The Bulldogs now have eight commitments for their 2012 college football recruiting class.
The 6-3, 190-pound Barber was both offered and accepted a Georgia scholarship within minutes on Saturday. It was Barber's first offer, and he earned it after punting 25 times, including five with a hang time of more than 5.0 seconds, in front of Richt.
At Cartersville last year, Barber averaged 43 yards per punt, and had a school-record field goal of 54 yards. Barber was lined up to go to summer camps at Clemson, Alabama, Auburn and Florida State, but canceled after committing to Georgia.
“I think Coach Richt did an excellent job selling it,” Cartersville coach Frank Barden said. “Obviously, with [current Georgia punter] Drew Butler being a senior, Georgia is looking for a punter. It’s a situation where Collin has the opportunity to come in as a freshman and be the punter."
The 6-2, 245-pound Hicks picked Georgia out of 10 offers, including Tennessee, Duke, Miami and Georgia Tech.
One surprise visitor to Richt's camp was Monroe Area defensive end Kenderius Whitehead, who showed up to audition for Georgia despite having offers from 20 other colleges. It ended up being worth the gamble for Whitehead, who was offered by Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.
"He [Grantham] told me, ‘You’re a very high-motor player. We see you on our team helping us win games. We want you to be a Dawg.’ He said I reminded him of [NFL Pro Bowl OLB] DeMarcus Ware when he coached for the Dallas Cowboys."
Whitehead claimed no leaders but said Georgia Tech and Georgia are among his favorite schools.
Basketball
Auburn's basketball team picked up its second commitment from Georgia with Southwest DeKalb guard Jordan Price on Saturday evening. The 6-5, 218-pound combo guard was also considering Georgia Tech, Memphis and Ole Miss.
“The Auburn coaches were happy, they weren’t expecting it,” Price said. “I called four-to-five hours after I left and it caught them by surprise.”
Why Auburn? “I felt like it was the best for me and my family. We feel very comfortable in the decision. My family talked and prayed about it. Auburn was my top choice, and we didn’t want to lead any other schools on.”
Price played at Columbia High School as a freshman, transferred to Tennessee’s McCallie prep school as a sophomore, and returned to the Atlanta-area Southwest DeKalb last season, where he averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Milton swingman Shaquille Johnson has also committed to Auburn.
Misc.
Stephenson High School has 10 players committed to FBS schools (formerly NCAA Div. I-A) for football after tight end Joshua Parris pledged to Syracuse over the weekend. Parris originally committed to South Florida, but switched after being told he was recruited to play fullback.
