The following, a weekly feature of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, allows our reporters to open their notebooks and provide even more information from our local teams that we cover daily. We think you’ll find it informative, insightful and fun.
Locals at the scouting combine
Thirty-five players with Georgia connections have been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, which will be held Feb. 26 through March 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Forty-one players with Georgia connections were invited to the NFL scouting combine last year. In 2022, there were 38 and 32 in 2020. Here’s the list:
Running backs
Daijun Edwards, Georgia (Colquitt County HS)
Kendall Milton, Georgia
Kimani Vidal, Troy (Marietta HS)
Wide receivers
Javon Baker, Central Florida (McEachern HS)
Ladd McConkey, Georgia (North Murray HS)
Bub Means, Pittsburgh (Lovejoy HS)
Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Georgia
Jamari Thrash, Louisville (Troup County HS)
Malik Washington, Virginia (Parkview HS)
Tight ends
Jaheim Bell, Florida State (Valdosta HS)
Brock Bowers, Georgia
Offensive linemen
Tylan Grable, Central Florida (Wilkinson County HS)
Trente Jones, Michigan (Grayson HS)
Dylan McMahon, N.C. State (Savannah Christian)
Amarius Mims, Georgia (Bleckley County HS)
Hunter Nourzad, Penn State (The Walker School)
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Georgia
Defensive linemen
Justin Eboigbe, Alabama (Forest Park HS)
Zion Logue, Georgia
Linebackers
Michael Barrett, Michigan (Lowndes HS)
JD Bertrand, Notre Dame (Blessed Trinity)
Aaron Casey, Indiana (Alexander HS)
Steele Chambers, Ohio State (Blessed Trinity)
Kalen DeLoach, Florida State (Islands HS)
Khalid Duke, Kansas State (Riverside Military)
Ty’Ron Hopper, Missouri (Roswell HS)
Jontrey Hunter, Georgia State
Trevin Wallace, Kentucky (Wayne County HS)
Defensive backs
Cole Bishop, Utah (Starr’s Mill HS)
Javon Bullard, Georgia (Baldwin HS)
Marcellas Dial, South Carolina (Georgia Military College)
Kamari Lassiter, Georgia
Jaylin Simpson, Auburn (Frederica Academy)
Tykee Smith, Georgia
Nate Wiggins, Clemson (Westlake HS)
Georgia Tech star receiver joins track team
Georgia Tech freshman wide receiver Eric Singleton has been competing for the Tech track and field team. A 5-foot-11, 173-pound graduate of Alexander High School, Singleton ran the 60-meter race at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C., on Feb. 9-10.
Singleton ran the distance in 6.73 seconds in the event’s preliminaries, then clocked a time of 6.7 seconds in the semifinals (.05 seconds from qualifying for the championship heat).
Singleton was named a freshman All-American by five media organizations and was an honorable-mention All-ACC pick. He led the Yellow Jackets with 706 receiving yards, 47 receptions and six touchdown catches in 2023.
The Tech track and field team next competes at the ACC indoor championships Feb. 22-23 in Boston.
PECOTA projections
PECOTA projections have the Braves as the second-best team in baseball. Their simulations had the Braves at 100.6 wins, behind only the Dodgers at 101.7. No other team is projected for even 95 wins.
Of course, a year ago at this time, PECOTA had the Braves at 91 wins – five games behind the Mets. Perhaps that was just an attempt at humor.
Ahead of 2022, PECOTA pegged the Braves for 92 victories; they won 101. So, the formula has been lower on the Braves over the past two seasons.
EA Sports back to college football
EA Sports confirmed it will be releasing a college football video game this summer for the first time since 2013. It’s one of the most anticipated games of the year because of the absence of more than 10 years.
The last time there was a college football video game, the following players were on Georgia’s roster: Aaron Murray, Todd Gurley, Keith Marshall, Malcolm Mitchell, David Andrews, Jordan Jenkins, Damian Swann and Leonard Floyd.
UGA ‘country-clubbers’ dominate
The proverbial country-club sports, as some like to call them, appear to be in good hands at Georgia. That seems apparent between the recent athlete-of-the-week distinctions bestowed upon freshmen in the sports of women’s golf and tennis and the men’s team’s conquering of an off-shore golf tournament.
Earlier this past week, Georgia’s Savannah De Bock was named the SEC freshman of the week in women’s golf. That honor came DeBock’s way a day after recording the first top-10 finish of her collegiate career in the San Diego State Classic tournament in Rancho Sante Fe, California. De Bock shot 1-under 215 on at The Farms Golf Club to finish fifth overall. It was the third top-20 but first top-10 effort in three tournaments at Georgia.
A native of Ecaussinnes-d’enghien, Belgium, DeBock joined the Bulldogs as a mid-year enrollee in January. She placed 11th at the Lady Bulldog Individual Championship and 14th at the Collegiate Invitational at Guadalajara Country Club before this week’s performance. DeBock will compete in the Amateur Women’s championship at Augusta National for the second consecutive year.
Meanwhile, Guillermina Grant, was named co-SEC player of the week following a perfect weekend at the ITA Indoor Championships in Seattle. The junior went 6-for-6 in matches over three days of competition for the Bulldogs. She won and finished three doubles matches and three singles matches, all without dropping a single set.
On the same day that DeBock and Grant were recognized, Aysegul Mert picked up her second SEC freshman-of-the-week award of the season for the women’s tennis team. Mert’s play in doubles at the No. 1 spot alongside partner Dasha Vidmanova has been impactful for Georgia early in 2024. Through three matches at the ITA Indoor Championships in Seattle, Mert, who hails from Istanbul, Turkey, was key in winning two doubles matches, including a dominant 6-1 ranked win against No. 24 Sydni Ratliff and Luciana Perry (Ohio State).
Earlier in the week, coach Chris Haack’s men’s golf team won the Puerto Rico Classic – the first event of the year – by carding a 42-under-par total of 822. Graduate Connor Creasy led the way by shooting 14 under for a third-place finish. That earned also earned Creasy SEC golfer-of-the-year honors.
Acuña invests in car wash
Ronald Acuña Jr. is the reigning National League MVP.
Soon, he also will become the owner of a Big Peach Car Wash location in Griffin.
Acuña, who has entered a long-term partnership with Big Peach Car Wash, is committed to open more car-wash locations with the company.
A press release – sent by XAMPLE, a marketing agency that represents Acuña – includes this translated statement from the Braves superstar: “I get pitched investments and stock market opportunities all the time. But, to me, investing my time and resources into this partnership with Big Peach Car Wash is far more meaningful. I get to build a business that supports the communities where my family and I live. With each car wash, we will bring quality service, jobs, and more to the neighborhoods we serve. I’m excited for my first location to debut in Griffin and to roll out the next spots soon after.”
-Staff writers Chad Bishop, D. Orlando Ledbetter, Chip Towers, Justin Toscano and Gabriel Burns contributed to this report.
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