Parel, who’s been chasing his dream of making the PGA Tour since 1997, lost to James Hahn on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. A win likely would’ve propelled Parel to the PGA Tour through the Web.com Tour’s money list. His family and friends were devastated. Parel, though, was OK with the runner-up finish, the best of his Web.com career.

“I was not that unhappy last year,” said Parel, who graduated from Georgia in 1986 with a degree in computer science but did not play on the golf team. “I wasn’t as torn up about it as my family.

“Last week was sweet redemption for them.”

After battling back and swing issues earlier in the year, the 48-year-old Augusta native finally broke through Sunday. Nursing a one-shot lead after 54 holes, Parel posted a final-round, 7-under-par 64 – including a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch on the back nine – to win the Web.com’s Air Capital Classic in Wichita, Kan., by three shots.

“I felt very calm,” he said. “I wasn’t really thinking about winning.”

After the victory, Parel said he received 150 text messages, many of them from his various Augusta friends who either went to high school with him at Aquinas, play golf with him at West Lake Country Club or attend church with him at St. Mary’s on the Hill.

“It’s amazing how many people have been behind me, encouraging me. It’s been awesome,” he said. “You don’t really realize how many people are behind you.”

West Lake director of golf Kirk Hice added: “Everybody is extremely excited for him and his accomplishments. He’s just a great guy to have around the club.

“The thing I most admire about him is his demeanor around the course. He doesn’t get too high and he doesn’t get too low.”

After the victory, Parel departed Wichita at 6 a.m. Monday, arriving back at the scene of last year’s runner-up finish. He teed off in the Rex Hospital Open pro-am in the afternoon, rolling in a long putt for eagle on the par-5 hole where he lost to Hahn on a birdie.

Parel, who has two children – Kayla and Cory – with his wife, Mary, took Tuesday off before returning to play in another pro-am Wednesday.

Parel said he feels comfortable playing the TPC Wakefield Plantation course — he tees off at 7 this morning in the first round of the Rex Hospital Open. Should he continue his momentum and post another high finish, he’ll increase his odds of securing his PGA Tour card for the 2013-14 season. With his win, Parel climbed from 153rd to 14th on the money list with $124,808 in season earnings.

If he finishes in the top 25 on the money list at the conclusion of the Cox Classic — the Web.com’s final regular season event in late August — Parel will earn his PGA Tour card, finally accomplishing his dream.

“It wasn’t at all on my radar before last week,” he said. “Now that I’m there, I’m reevaluating what I need to do. I want to get as far up as I can on that list.”

Yep, SEC Media Days. Already.

I had to look twice when I saw that the talkfest of Southeastern Conference football coaches and players in suburban Birmingham, Ala., begins the same day as Major League Baseball’s All-Star game. Either the SEC event is too early or the all-star game is too late.

In case you are wondering, quarterback Aaron Murray, tight end Arthur Lynch and defensive end Garrison Smith—all seniors–are slated to represent Georgia this year.

The preview magazines have been out for weeks already to whet your appetite.

Here are some highlights for Georgia:

National rankings–Athlon: No. 4 (behind Alabama, Ohio State and Oregon); Lindy’s No. 6 (behind Alabama, Ohio Sate, Stanford, Oregon and Texas A&M); Sporting News No. 12 (Notre Dame and Louisville are 10 and 11).

SEC prediction–Athlon (1st SEC East). Lindy’s (1st SEC East). Sporting News (3rd SEC East).

Bowl projection—Athlon: Sugar vs. Louisville.

Heisman talk–Tailback Todd Gurley is listed as the No. 8 Heisman Trophy contender by Athlon. Murray is No. 13. Murray draws a mention by Sporting News, too.

First-Team All-Americans–Athlon: Gurley. Sporting News: Gurley.

Second-team All-Americans–Athlon: Arthur Lynch. Lindy’s: Gurley.

First-team All-SEC—Athlon: Gurley, Lynch, OLB Jordan Jenkins. Lindy’s: Gurley,
Lynch, Swann. Sporting News: Gurley, Lynch.

Second-team All-SEC–Athlon: TB Keith Marshall, OG Chris Burnette. Lindy’s: Offensive guard Chris Burnette, linebacker Amarlo Herrera.

Third-team All-SEC–Athlon: QB Aaron Murray, WR Malcolm Mitchell, CB Damian Swann. Lindy’s: Murray, Marshall, Mitchell.

–Please follow me at Twitter.com/marc.weiszer

“Sportsmanship, civility and societal responsibility are things that will lead to victories throughout the course of life,” SEC commissioner Mike Slive said in a release. “I congratulate Maho and the University of South Carolina and University of Tennessee football teams for this prestigious honor, and for being committed to athletic excellence and overall excellence.”

During the 2012 NCAA women’s tennis championships, Georgia second round match with Clemson was tied 3-3 and came down to Kowase’s singles contest where she was trailing in the final set. An official made an incorrect score call that favored Kowase. Upon hearing the official’s report, she came forward and agreed with her opponent on the correct score. She kept her poise to go on to win the match, pushing her team into the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. While her match score was still good enough to win the competition, her integrity prevailed.

On the court in 2013, Kowase earned All-SEC First Team accolades for the third consecutive year. She helped the Bulldogs post a 24-4 record, reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA championships, capture a share of the SEC regular season title and a final national ranking of No. 5. In singles, Kowase ended the year ranked 21st after going 38-10. She paired with Lauren Herring to go 14-2 in doubles and wound up ranked No. 48.

Kowase was part of the tennis team that posted the highest Grade Point Average of any UGA athletic team in 2013 at 3.48 to earn ITA All-Academic team honors. Also, she was selected as Georgia’s Sportsmanship and Ethics Award winner.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Maho who has been an excellent representative of the Bulldog program on the court and in the classroom,” Georgia coach Jeff Wallace said in a release. “We’re excited for her as she prepares for her upcoming senior season.”

“What can I say? It took me all around the world,” Edwards said. “Now the FIBA Hall of Fame is calling me home to stay forever. Who in their right mind wouldn’t be excited about this?”

Edwards helped the U.S. win four gold medals and a bronze in her five Olympics from 1984-2000, making her the most decorated Olympic basketball player ever. Oscar Schmidt of Brazil and Andrew Gaze of Australia played in five Olympics but never won a medal. Edwards also holds the distinction of being both the youngest and oldest women’s basketball player to ever win Olympic gold.

Edwards is among 12 members of the 2013 FIBA Hall of Fame class. Other inductees include: players Jean-Jacques Conceiçao (Angola), Andrew Gaze (Australia), Paula Gonçalves (Brazil), David Robinson (USA) and Zoran Slavnic (Serbia); coaches John ‘Jack’ Donohue (Canada), Cesare Rubini (Italy) and Pat Summitt (USA); technical officials Valentin Lazarov (Bulgaria) and Costas Rigas (Greece); and contributor Aldo Vitale (Italy).

Edwards enjoyed a stellar collegiate career at the University of Georgia. She helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to their first-ever NCAA Final Four as a freshman in 1983, an NCAA runner-up finish in 1985 and SEC Championships in 1983, 1984 and 1986. Edwards was a two-time All-American and finished her collegiate career with 1,989 points, 653 assists and 342 steals. Georgia compiled a 116-17 record during her four seasons in Athens.

Edwards is being inducted into her eighth hall of fame. In succession, she has previously been enshrined in UGA’s all-sports Circle of Honor in 1995, the State of Georgia’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, the Grady County (Ga.) Sports Hall of Game in 2009, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2011.

Those highlights contributed to Georgia being poised for a top-10 finish in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings for the first time since the 2007-08 academic year.

That’s up from No. 18 last year and Nos. 20, 20 and 18 the three years before that.

“If you follow those rankings like all athletic directors do, everybody wants to be in the top 10,” said Greg McGarity, concluding his third year as Georgia athletic director.

Georgia is No. 9 in the second-to-last Directors’ Cup standings of the year with 1,006.75 points, but is expected to finish No. 10 after baseball is accounted for when the College World Series is over.

“Georgia should be among the top 10 programs annually,” McGarity said. “To work our way back up to where we were 20th a couple of years and last year we were No. 18 … is really a testimony to the coaches and the student-athletes, everybody that’s made it work during NCAA competition.”

The Directors’ Cup, compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, awards points based on each school’s finishes in up to 20 sports.

Georgia football finished fourth in the final coaches’ poll after a 12-2 season that included a loss to eventual national champion Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game when Georgia’s final drive ended at the 5-yard line.

Women’s basketball contributed 73 points this year, up from 25 last year, after reaching the NCAA Elite Eight. Women’s tennis reached the NCAA quarterfinals.

Georgia was able to count points from 16 of its 20 sports teams (equestrian isn’t recognized in the standings). All six running teams — men’s and women’s track and indoor track and men’s and women’s cross country — scored points, McGarity noted.

“We have no margin for error,” McGarity said. “There are 20 sports you can count, and we count them all. Other schools may have an advantage that sponsor more than 20. They can drop certain sports. Every sport has to really excel on a national level.”

The only Georgia teams that did not register points were baseball, men’s basketball, soccer and volleyball.

Two of those programs have seen changes in head coaches since McGarity was hired in 2010.

McGarity hired volleyball coach Lizzy Stemke in late 2010 and baseball coach Scott Stricklin earlier this month.

Gymnastics, under first-year coach Danna Durante, led Georgia to the Super Six for the program’s first trip since 2009.

Stanford won its 19th consecutive Directors’ Cup. Georgia is third among SEC teams behind No. 2 Florida and No. 6 Texas A&M.

Georgia finished in the top 10 in four of five years from 2004-08. It hasn’t landed in the top five since a No. 5 finish in 2004.

Jacob Park (6-foot-3, 200 pounds), a four-star quarterback from Stratford High School in Goose Creek, picked the Bulldogs over Alabama, according to his high school coach. He is ranked by Fox Sports Next as the No. 10 quarterback nationally for the class of 2014.

“He called Georgia, and told Coach [Mark] Richt and committed to Georgia,” Stratford coach Ray Stackey said. “He couldn’t put his finger on why he picked Georgia, but it came down to them and Alabama, and he picked Georgia.”

The Bulldogs will likely only sign about 20 players this recruiting cycle after signing a large class in 2013.

The Park commitment will also push the Bulldogs into the top-ten rankings nationally on Fox Sports NEXT. Georgia had been No. 13 coming into the day, but with a second commitment in two days and fifth in less than a week, Georgia is arguably the hottest program in the nation recruiting at the moment.

— Dean Legge, Dawgpost.com

Mike Birkbeck turned down an offer to join Stricklin at Georgia as the Bulldogs’ pitching coach, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

“Keeping Mike is a relief and a tremendous thing for Kent baseball,” Kent State athletic director Joel Nielsen told the Plain Dealer. “From the moment Scott left for Georgia, our first priority was keeping Mike in whatever role that he felt best.”

Birkbeck has been at Kent State for 17 years and cited family as a major reason for staying. His son is a pitcher at Kent State. The Plain Dealer also said that Birkbeck declined Kent State’s still-vacant head coaching job and signed a five-year contract to remain as pitching coach and associate head coach.

“But Kent is my nerve center,” Birkbeck told the Plain Dealer. “I love it here. Part of the decision [to stay] was about my family, our extended family and our Kent family. That is a big part of life.”

Stricklin has already hired one of his assistants at Kent State. On Tuesday, the program announced that Scott Daeley will join his staff at Georgia as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. Daeley had been at Kent State since 2005 and is a former Wake Forest player.

Georgia hired Stricklin last week after he had spent nine seasons at Kent State. Stricklin stands to make between $800,000 to $1 million a season from Georgia, the Plain Dealer reported. Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity has said his base salary is $575,000 annually with a longevity bonus at the end of the six-year contract.

Nielsen also told the Plain Dealer that Georgia will pay a significant amount of Stricklin’s buyout but declined to specify how much. McGarity said last week the schools were still negotiating over the details. Stricklin signed a six-year extension worth about $300,000 a year after leading Kent State to the College World Series in 2012.

Freshman cornerback Reggie Wilkerson, who was expected to be in the playing rotation, is out for the season after undergoing surgery on his right knee Friday, Georgia confirmed. The injury happened in a voluntary passing drill with teammates this week.

Wilkerson, the 5-foot-11 171-pound Citra, Fla. product, underwent a procedure to repair his meniscus at St. Mary’s Hospital and will undergo a second surgery at a later date to reconstruct the ACL. He will be medically redshirted this season and have four years of eligibility left, according to senior associate athletic director Ron Courson.

Wilkerson was listed on the second-team defense in a depth chart released earlier this month. He worked with the starters during the G-Day spring game due to an injury to starter Sheldon Dawson.

The early enrollee had an interception in a spring scrimmage and a sack in the spring game.

“Right now, I’m watching Reggie Wilkerson and I see a lot of talent,” coach Mark Richt said this spring. “I see a guy that’s going to be able to do it, but he’s taking his lumps.”

Georgia already knows it won’t have sophomore safety Josh Harvery-Clemons for the Aug. 31 opener against Clemson after he was suspended for a game for an incident involving marijuana in a dorm room.

Georgia’s projected starters at cornerback are Damian Swann and Dawson.

Wilkerson’s injury should provide even more of a chance for incoming freshmen Brendan Langley from Kell and Shaq Wiggins from Sandy Creek to push for playing time at a position that lost departed seniors Sanders Commings and Branden Smith.

Devin Bowman and Blake Sailors are among backups on the roster already at the position. Junior college safety Kennar Johnson, expected to arrive by next month, could be an option at cornerback.

“Thanks Aaron for finishing the drill. We appreciate our Seniors! Go Dawgs”

The billboard celebrates Aaron Murray’s decision to bypass the NFL draft to play a final season for the Bulldogs. It came about with the cooperation of the Augusta, Columbus and Savannah Bulldog Clubs.

Sid Gates came up with the idea while driving with Bob Evans to the Georgia-South Carolina basketball game in early February, weeks after Murray revealed on Twitter that he was coming back after helping lead Georgia to two consecutive trips to the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Evans is the past president of the Augusta Bulldog Club and Gates is the club’s chaplain.

“These days you don’t get many fifth-year seniors sticking around for a senior year,” said Evans, a 1981 UGA graduate who is a CFO of an industrial supply company in Augusta. “You get your team leader coming back for another year. It’s a big endorsement for the coaches and your teammates. We thought it would be nice for us to show our appreciation for him coming back.”

Gates remembered seeing a billboard in Knoxville in 1997 that said simply: “Thank you Peyton,” when Tennessee’s Peyton Manning returned for his senior season.

“That was kind of the prototype if you will,” said Gates, a licensed marriage and family therapist who graduated from Georgia in 1978 and has been a season ticket-holder for nearly 20 years. “I know they did this last year for (Matt) Barkley when he decided to come back for USC. There’s some precedence out there, but we kind of wanted to tweak that a little bit.”

That’s the mention of the other seniors and coach Mark Richt’s mantra of finishing the drill.

Gates got the Bulldog Clubs in Columbus and Savannah to jump aboard as well to help pay for the 9 ½ by 13 billboard on the side of a building. It can be seen to travelers entering downtown on U.S. 78 past the Hodgson Oil building on the left.

Murray said he was “excited” to hear about the billboard.

“It is a great feeling to see the dedication to our team and the excitement everyone has for this season,” Murray said. “It’s a special group of seniors and we are ready to go out on top. Coming back was a tough decision but things like those billboards make it that much more rewarding to be back in Athens for another year and trying to lead Georgia to a championship season.”

Gates and Evans spoke to Mark Slonaker, executive director of the Bulldog Club, who got the clearance from Georgia compliance director Jim Booz that no NCAA rules were being violated.

“It just shows you how passionate Bulldog Nation is,” Slonaker said. “They love the team and obviously for Aaron to come back and try to lead us to a championship, they just wanted to honor him. I thought it was pretty cool.”

When they emailed Slonaker last week to let him know the billboard was up, Slonaker caught up with Murray after a workout to let him know what the three Bulldog Clubs had done.

Murray’s mother was in town and he told Slonaker she would be over to the billboard snapping photos. Murray said he has seen pictures of it but hasn’t driven by the billboard yet.

The three Bulldog clubs are together paying the cost of the billboard — about $1,500 or $1,700 per club.

“The clubs believed it was a good thing to do and they wrote checks,” Gates said. “We are trying to reimburse. Some of us are standing up at each club saying we believe in this project and we want to reimburse the coffers.”

Gates called it an “ensemble effort” behind the billboard as the clubs showed their support for Murray and the seniors.

Evans checked on securing a billboard in the Athens area. It was designed by Phillip Kelley, a trainer during the Herschel Walker era. Football letterman Trav Paine (1968-69) helped with the wording. Gregg Ewaldsen (a former Georgia basketball player from the Savannah Bulldog Club) and Frank Lumpkin (Columbus Bulldog Club) garnered support from their clubs.

Consider it a big counter response to that toilet paper rolling of the house Murray shared with teammates after the South Carolina loss last year.

“We wanted to show Bulldog Nation and the country that this is what Georgia fans are really about, doing something like this,” Gates said. “Not the few knuckleheads that acted out after the Carolina game.”

While it’s not the biggest billboard, the backers liked the location.

There’s a six-month contract for the billboard to stay up, meaning it will be there all football season. It will even be illuminated at night.

“We wanted folks to get excited over the summer, we wanted Aaron to see it obviously,” Gates said. “We’ve been getting some bad news preseason for the last few years. …We thought this would be a positive thing to go up, give fans some traction heading into the Clemson game.”

While there was no official word from Georgia as of Thursday night, receiver Michael Bennett tweeted this: “Y’all pray for @ReggieWilkerson as he goes into ACL surgery tomorrow. You gonna come back stronger than ever my man!”

Bennett is returning himself from an ACL injury suffered last season.

“Minor setback for a major comeback,” Wilkerson tweeted. “#RG3 type ish.”

That’s referring to the ACL injury suffered by Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Student-athletes are nominated only once in their career by their institution.

Each conference office may nominate two student-athletes for the award. The top 10 honorees from Divisions I, II and III will be announced in August and the top three honorees per division will be announced in September. The 2013 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced at a dinner in Indianapolis on Oct. 20.

Ding was the 2012 NCAA champion on the uneven bars and floor exercise, becoming just the second gymnast in NCAA history to repeat as the national champion on bars. The Sparks, Nev., native is also the sixth gymnast in Georgia history to win more than one national title in the same year and the first to win back-to-back crowns on an individual event since 1992-93. She finished her career at UGA ranked seventh all-time in total bars points.

Ding graduated from UGA in December 2012 with a degree in advertising.

Georgia has had three NCAA Woman of the Year honorees: swimmers Lisa Ann Coole in 1997, Kristy Kowal in 2000 and Kimberly A. Black in 2001. Grace Taylor Johnson was a top 30 honoree in 2011.

Georgia’s football recruiting class of 2014 seems to be taking off.

Malkom Parrish, a two-way star for Brooks County, committed to the Bulldogs on Thursday. He was also considering playing quarterback for Georgia Tech, but decided to pursue playing cornerback instead after a long talk with his high school coach Maurice Freeman.

“We just talked about his future in college and beyond that,” Freeman said. “I think we both understand that him playing cornerback is better for his future.”

The thought of playing quarterback in Tech’s triple-option offense was appealing to the 5-foot-10, 186-pound Parrish. But if his highlight show at the Mark Richt Camp on Saturday is any indicator, Parrish has a bright future in the secondary.

“He is an elite playmaker,” Fox Sports NEXT recruiting analyst Chad Simmons said of Parrish. “He’s very physical, which is a real strength of his. He’s strong at the line of scrimmage and can knock receivers off their routes.”

Parrish spoke to the Georgia coaching staff after a morning workout session with his high school team in Quitman. He’s considered a four-star prospect, and the No. 21 overall cornerback in the country.

The move also caps a good week for the Bulldogs on the recruiting trail. Georgia has nine commitments, nearly doubling its list of committed players since Saturday.

The list of committed Bulldogs is becoming a small, but quality class, too. More than half of Georgia’s committed players so far are listed as four-star prospects or better. The Bulldogs also have commitments from the top running back in both Georgia and Florida.

So it was when freshman defensive lineman John Atkins was arrested last Friday by UGA police for not having a valid driver’s license when he was pulled over on a minor traffic stop for not wearing a seatbelt.

Some follow-up on issues raised in this case that won’t result in any suspension of games for Atkins from coach Mark Richt:

–Athletic director Greg McGarity said Georgia continues to keep up with football player’s license issues since some player arrests back in 2009. That now falls into the lap of football administrative staff member Bryant Gantt.

Georgia said that Atkins was driving to an appointment in his hometown of Thomson to get a proper license when he was pulled over for not wearing a seat belt.

“The process caught that, but we still had a loophole there because we still had an issue with it, but that’s how it was discovered was during our check of the licenses,” McGarity said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work like we had planned but we went in with the right intent. We saw a license that needed to be corrected.”

–Atkins was pulled over by a UGA officer who was “watching for stop sign and seatbelt violations at the Joe Frank Harris Commons loading dock on Carlton Street,” according to the arrest report.

Atkins was driving a black GMC Sierra and wearing a bright yellow shirt. He was pulled over at a parking lot at the back of the Ramsey Center.

Atkins told the officer that he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt because he thought he didn’t have to wear it while driving a truck, according to the report. Atkins, who was alone in the vehicle, only had a learner’s permit. Under Georgia law now, driver’s who don’t have a valid license are arrested.

McGarity isn’t taking issue with an arrest coming after not wearing a seat belt.

“There are several prominent people on this campus that didn’t wear a seatbelt that get popped,” McGarity said. “It’s a lesson for us all to wear our seatbelts. …People just wish law enforcement could just look the other way, but they are sworn to do certain things. These people could lose their jobs. We’re at fault here. Make no mistake about that.”

–When I spoke to UGA police chief Jimmy Williamson after the arrest, he wanted this out there: “If you think about the last decade of athletes and particularly the football team, they are not malicious troublemaker kids, they’re not. I don’t think they pay attention to some of the details of requirements that they have to meet. They just don’t rise to their level sometimes. The accountability for that in our state now is much higher. It’s not like 12 or 14 years ago when we had some (players) that could be considered troublemakers. These guys are just young and not thinking about some of the decisions they make. They’re good guys. They’re friendly, they’re respectful, they just don’t always think about their decisions.”

–Please follow me at Twiter.com/marcweiszer

Nick Chubb became the second top-10-rated player at the position to give a verbal commitment to the Bulldogs when he announced his decision on Tuesday night.

Chubb, from Cedartown High School, is the top-rated running back in Georgia, the No. 6 overall in-state prospect and the No. 9 running back nationally as ranked by Rivals.com. He joins Sony Michel of Plantation, Fla., the No. 2–rated running back, to pledge to the Bulldogs.

Michel and Chubb are ranked No. 2 and 12, respectively, at running back by Scout.com and ESPN.com and No. 6 and No. 12, respectively, by 247sports.com.

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Chubb picked Georgia over Auburn and South Carolina.

“It’s a big relief,” Chubb said from his school after making his announcement live on Fox 5 Atlanta. “I’ve been stressing over it a little bit, but I’m comfortable in my decision. Hopefully, we can win some championships down there.”

Chubb rushed for 2,721 yards and 38 touchdowns in 10 games last season, averaging about 9.2 yards per carry.

“He uses a combination of size, speed and strength,” Cedartown coach Scott Hendrix said. “He has a lot of tools. He’s an extremely strong kid. He’s going to use his strength and he has great vision. He’s just a really good back.”

Georgia already has a 1-2 punch in rising sophomores Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall. Michel and Chubb could be next.

“They play both the backs they’ve got right now and I’m going with another talented running back,” Chubb said.

Running backs coach Bryan McClendon and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo helped Georgia land Chubb, who was also recruited by secondary coach Scott Lakatos, who recruits the area.

Chubb has a 3.8 grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society, Hendrix said.

Chubb becomes the eighth commitment in Georgia’s recruiting class and the third since Saturday.

Nick Chubb became the second top-10 rated player at the position to give a verbal commitment to the Bulldogs when he announced his decision on Tuesday night.

Chubb, from Cedartown High School, is the top-rated running back in Georgia, the No. 6 overall in-state prospect and the No. 9 running back nationally by Rivals.com. He joins Sony Michel of Plantation, Fla., the No. 2 –rated running back, to pledge to the Bulldogs.
Michel and Chubb are ranked No. 2 and 12 at running back by Scout.com and ESPN.com and No. 6 and No. 12 by 247sports.com.

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Chubb picked Georgia over Auburn and South Carolina.

“It’s a big relief,” Chubb said after making his announcement on Fox 5 Atlanta from his school. “I’ve been stressing over it a little bit, but I’m comfortable in my decision. Hopefully, we can win some championships down there.”

Chubb rushed for 2,721 yards and 38 touchdowns in 10 games last season, averaging about 9.2 yards per carry.

“He uses a combination of size, speed and strength,” Cedartown coach Scott Hendrix said. “He has a lot of tools. He’s an extremely strong kid. He’s going to use his strength and he has great vision. He’s just a really good back.”

Georgia already has a 1-2 punch in rising sophomores Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall. Michel and Chubb could be next.

“They play both the backs they’ve got right now and I’m going with another talented running back,” Chubb said.

Running backs coach Bryan McClendon and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo helped Georgia land Chubb, who was also recruited by secondary coach Scott Lakatos who recruits the area.

Chubb has a 3.8 grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society, Hendrix said.

Chubb becomes the eighth commitment in Georgia’s recruiting class and the third since Saturday.

The program announced on Tuesday the hiring of Scott Daeley as a Georgia assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He will serve as hitting coach, work with outfields and be third base coach.

Daeley, 36, was a hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Kent State, where Stricklin was head coach the previous nine seasons. During Daeley’s time there, he helped develop 30 All-Mid-American Conference players, three MAC Players of the Year and six All-Americans.

Daeley played center field and batted leadoff at Wake Forest in 1998 and 1999, and his coaching career there with a two-year stint as a volunteer assistant from 200

Before working at Kent State, Daeley was a volunteer assistant at Wake Forest, his alma mater, for two years.

The men’s basketball team’s 990 is second among current Southeastern Conference schools behind only Alabama (995).

The football program tied for fourth among current SEC schools with Florida with a score of 968. Missouri, Alabama and Vanderbilt were 1-2-3.

Baseball was one of eight Georgia teams to set or match its best score ever in the eight years of the APR. The others were men’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s swimming, women’s golf, women’s swimming, women’s indoor track and women’s outdoor track.

Eleven of Georgia’s sports teams were in the top five in the SEC, according to the school.

Men’s golf, gymnastics and women’s swimming were tops in the SEC with a perfect 1,000 score. Those three teams and men’s basketball finished in the top 10 percent nationally in their sports.

“It takes great teamwork to be successful in anything and this is a good example of teamwork among our student-athletes, academic counseling staff, and our coaches,” Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said in a a statement. “We congratulate our student-athletes on their achievement and are committed to continuing to strive for improvement every day.”

The current scores reflect the average four-year rate from the 2008-09 academic year through 2011-12. The APR measures the eligibility, retention and graduation of scholarship athletes.

The Athens Banner-Herald reported Georgia’s team-by-team scores last month. No team was in danger of sustaining a loss of scholarships or practice time that can come if the 930 threshold is not met.

SEC
Men’s basketball

Alabama 995
Georgia 990
Florida 989
South Carolina 983
Vanderbilt 980
Ole Miss 979
Missouri 979
Tennessee 973
Kentucky 963
Arkanas 951
Auburn 940
Miss. State 935
Texas A&M 912
LSU 909

Football

Missouri 982
Alabama 978
Vanderbilt 973
Georgia 968
Florida 968
Mississippi State 967
South Carolina 966
Texas A&M 954
Auburn 950
LSU 944
Ole Miss 944
Kentucky 943
Arkansas 938
Tennessee 924

Georgia’s APR scores (data from 2008-09 through 2011-12 academic years)
Men’s scores:
Baseball 966
Basketball 990
Cross country 983
Football 968
Golf 1,000
Swimming 985
Tennis 965
Indoor track 971
Outdoor track 966

Women’s scores:
Basketball 979
Cross country 995
Golf 985
Gymnastics 1,000
Soccer 984
Softball 972
Swimming 1,000
Tennis 974
Indoor track 994
Outdoor track 994
Volleyball 979

–Please follow me at Twitter.com/marcweiszer

Tereshinski played tight end and defensive end for coach Wally Butts, winning a national title in 1942 and SEC titles in both 1942 and 1946 before playing eight seasons with the NFL’s Washington Redskins.

He remained in the Washington area with a home in Bethesda, Md., before moving to an assisted living facility in the Athens area.

He grew up in Northeast Pennsylvania’s coal country in Glen Lyon, taking a 26-hour ride South on a Greyhound bus in August of 1941 to come to Georgia.

The Tereshinskis kept coming to the Bulldogs.

There was Joe Jr., who played center for the Bulldogs from 1974-76 and has been a member of Georgia’s staff since 1982, serving as everything from administrative assistant for the head coach, video coordinator and as a strength coach, where he now holds the title of director of strength and conditioning.

There was Wally, younger brother of Joe Jr., who started at tight end on the ’76 Southeastern Conference championship team.

There was Joe III, Joe Sr.’s grandson, who started at quarterback for Georgia for part of the season in 2006 and was a personal protector on the punt team. He’s now wide receivers coach at UNC-Charlotte.

“My dad honored the Tereshinski name, and I want to do the same,” Joe III told Loran Smith in a column that ran in the Athens Banner-Herald in 2005. “He and my grandfather truly loved Georgia, and I do, too.”

Another grandson, John, also graduated from Athens Academy and played tight end for Wake Forest from 2004-07.

Joe Sr. played for Butts, who received grief about recruiting players with long last names instead of boys from Georgia, according to school historian Dan Magill. So the coaching staff changed his name to Joe Terry in game programs and, Joe Sr. said, wanted it changed in the university records.

The school registrar told him, “I don’t think it would be a wise thing to do. It would hurt your father very, very badly.”

Joe Tereshinski Sr. was married for more than 55 years to the late Gertrude Tereshinski. He was first married to college sweetheart Martha Walraven who died in 1956.

He is survived by his three children, including daughter Ada Tereshinski of Austin, Texas, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

A private memorial will be held in Washington D.C. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to St. Mary’s Center for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care, 1660 Jennings Mill Rd., Bogart, GA 30622.

Even though Southeastern Conference presidents and chancellors tabled Georgia’s push to standardize drug penalties for positive tests league-wide at spring meetings two weeks ago in Destin, Fla., Georgia likely won’t budge.

“You never want to say never, but there’s been no discussion about any issues with our current drug policy,” McGarity said of internal discussions. “The vast majority feel like it’s the right thing to do. We still feel like it’s the right thing to do.”

Georgia has what’s considered one of the toughest penalty structures in the SEC.

Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi State are the only SEC schools that suspend a player for 10 percent of a season for a first positive marijuana test while the other 11 schools don’t suspend for a first offense, according to ESPN.com.

The substance abuse policies at Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and LSU call for player dismissal for a fourth positive test while Georgia and the other nine remaining schools dismiss after three positive tests.

“What we were asking is consistency on penalties,” McGarity said. “We were not talking about how many times you test a young person or the levels that basically indicated a positive test. Those measurements, the frequency, those were not part of the discussion, at least in our [athletic director] discussions, but we were just striving for consideration of consistency in penalties for positive tests. That really didn’t gain any traction anywhere.”

A conference-wide policy has been discussed at least twice previously since Mike Slive has been SEC commissioner, and this time around the talk among the presidents and chancellors did not lead to any vote taken.

No conference in the nation has a uniform drug policy. But Georgia continues to get national attention for the effects its policy has on its roster starting seasons in what can be perceived as a competitive disadvantage.

Safety Bacarri Rambo and linebacker Alec Ogletree were suspended the first four games of last season. Safety Josh Harvey-Clemons, named the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP this spring, is suspended for the season opener this year at Clemson.

“You have to know that, man, early in the season if you face Georgia you’re going to face them the last couple of years half cocked and not at full strength,” said ESPN analyst Kevin Carter, a former Florida defensive lineman, “and you’re going to need everything you’ve got to beat Clemson because that high-powered offense, they proved that they turned the corner with Tajh Boyd, who’s my Heisman hopeful.”

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said last year he likes to play Georgia early in the season because Georgia usually has two or three key players suspended.

Harvey-Clemons was suspended after UGA police were called to a dorm room on May 14 to investigate the smell of marijuana. Harvey-Clemons and tight end Ty Flournoy-Smith (who has since transferred) told police they had smoked marijuana; however, no drugs were found in the room and no arrests were made.

An NCAA study taken in 2009 of 20,474 student-athletes found that 22.6 percent responded they used marijuana within the last 12 months, a 1.4 percent increase since a study four years earlier.

Federal law continues to ban marijuana use, but since that NCAA study, voters in Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana last year. Such changes in society haven’t moved outgoing UGA president Michael Adams to move to change policy at the university.

“We’re not in Colorado, we’re not in California, we’re not in Oregon,” Adams said earlier this spring. “We’re in Georgia. When I took this job, I agreed to uphold the laws of the state of Georgia. I’ve tried to do that. And I happen to think in Georgia in this case is a better law for the health of society. … I think we have a sound policy.”

Adams has said that setting a high standard at Georgia with its drug policy sets a good example nationwide and he told the Birmingham News in Destin regarding a uniform league policy that “I think the conference ought to provide national leadership in that area.”

SEC executive associate commissioner Greg Sankey said in Destin: “What we’ve been asked to do is continue to be attentive to the policies in place on campus, and we will do that. We will look at the policies that exist and review them from time to time and make sure they’re being applied in a consistent and appropriate manner. That’s our strategy at the present time.”

So how much of an impact has Georgia’s policy had on its sports teams?

Georgia has cited the federal Family Educational Right and Privacy Act in saying it was exempt from releasing results of how many of its athletes were tested and the number of positive results.

Adams wouldn’t say if football has been impacted more than other sports at Georgia.

“Well, I think you know I can’t share that with you,” he said in an interview. “Some of those teams are so small if I said three kids test positive on the women’s golf team — we haven’t — you can come close to figuring that out and that’s an aspersion on everybody. In the whole scheme of things in 2013, in my time here we haven’t had huge numbers of kids in trouble with drugs. We’ve had a few, and to the best of my knowledge except in one or two cases, those were — I hate to use the term — but those were [more] recreational kind of drugs than serious kind of stuff. I can tell you this: I dealt with more drug issues in my days in California [as vice president of Pepperdine University in the 1980s] than I’ve dealt with here because the culture is different and the expectations are different.”

Miami Southridge wide receiver Gilbert Johnson and Heard County offensive lineman Jake Edwards both committed to the Bulldogs, giving the program seven commitments for the class of 2014.

“I talked to [running backs coach Tony] Ball first, then I was taken up to Coach Richt’s office to talk to him, too. Both coaches told me about the offer, and I committed right when they told me about it. They told me that they think I am a big receiver that gets in and out of my breaks well, that I have strong hands and that I have good game speed. They like me a lot they said,” Johnson told Fox Sports NEXT.

“It feels amazing to be committed to Georgia,” Edwards told Fox Sports NEXT. “I am speechless, and it feels like I am in a dream. I am extremely excited and blessed to be committed to the University of Georgia.”

The Bulldogs also handed out an offer to Stratford (Goose Creek, S.C.) quarterback Jacob Park, who said he will decide sometime in the next month where he’s going to college. Park can pick from Georgia, Alabama, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame.

“I am interested in Georgia now that I visited,” Park told Fox Sports NEXT after the camp. “It’s definitely one of my options.”

Trenton Thompson, a top defensive tackle in the class of 2015, was one of the top overall players in Athens Saturday. The Westover product was given the full attention of the Georgia coaching staff, including being shuttled around in Mark Richt’s golf cart.

Brooks County defensive back Malkom Parrish was arguably the top performer of the camp at cornerback. Parrish has narrowed his future down to playing at either Georgia or Georgia Tech.

The Bulldogs have recruited him as a cornerback; the Yellow Jackets as a quarterback. He had an impressive day at cornerback Saturday showcasing his tremendous speed.

Parrish’s top competitor for top overall player at the camp was Ouachita Parish (La.) wide receiver Cameron Sims. Sims is one of the top receivers in the country and will eventually pick between a slew of national powers including the Bulldogs, Alabama, Notre Dame and USC.

The freshman who spent last season at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia before enrolling at Georgia in January was pulled over for a seat belt violation and it was determined he did not have a valid driver’s license. He had a learner’s permit but didn’t meet the requirement for that because he was driving by himself, UGA police chief Jimmy Williamson said.

“I am aware of the situation involving John Atkins, and the discipline will be handled internally,” coach Mark Richt said in a statement. “It will not involve any playing time.”

When he was pulled over, Atkins was actually on his way to meet his mother at the Georgia driver’s license/state patrol office in his hometown of Thomson to take care of the license issue, according to a Georgia athletic department spokesman. His mother was going to provide him his birth certificate and social security card.

Atkins, 20, instead was booked into the Clarke County Jail at 3:32 p.m. and was released 35 minutes later on bonds totaling $1,000, according to the jail’s online booking report.

Richt typically has not suspended players arrested for license issues, but those issues have caused headaches before and he has vowed “to get it straight.”

During the 2009 season after a couple of license-releated arrests, he said: “These are misdemeanor issues, but it’s an arrest nonetheless and it’s embarrassing to the program and to them.”

The former Georgia golfer shot a 6-under 64 on Friday to open a two-stroke lead in the St. Jude Classic. The 23-year-old had never even had a piece of a lead on the PGA Tour until Thursday when he found himself tied with five others, including Davis Love III, after 18 holes.

He used a hot putter to roll in five birdie putts, holed out from 181 yards for eagle on the par-4 fifth and had only one bogey to finish the second round at 10-under 130.

“It’s awesome to be in this position,” English said. “I’ve worked very hard the last couple weeks and couple months to get in this position, and I feel like I’m ready and I feel like I got a lot of good people around me to help me.”

Shawn Stefani was second after a 65. Paul Haley II and Scott Stallings each shot 68 to reach 5 under. Love was tied with four others at 4 under after a 70, and defending champion Dustin Johnson also had a 70 to finish at 3 under. Phil Mickelson was 2 under after a 67.

This is English’s second year on tour after finishing up his college career at Georgia in 2011.

The 6-foot-3 English was still an amateur when he won on the Web.com Tour at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational in July 2011, and he moved to the PGA Tour in 2012 and finished 79th on the money list. This year, he already has three top 10s, including his best finish yet with a tie for sixth at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

Love has kept track of English for years. English lives in Sea Island, and Love isn’t surprised by how well he is playing.

“His game has really improved, and he’s playing well and he’s not afraid to shoot low scores,” Love said.

English opened with a 66 putting himself into the knot of players tied at 4 under atop the leaderboard after the first 18 holes. Teeing off Friday morning, English used his putter to start with three birdies in three holes, rolling in putts from 9, 10 and 17 feet.

Then English had possibly the shot of the day on the par-4 No. 5 playing at 482 yards. After a 3-wood off the tee, he hit an 8-iron 181 yards from the fairway and watched the ball roll at least 10 feet before falling into the cup for eagle.

“I haven’t holed out in a while,” English said. “To make it on 2, probably the hardest hole on the golf course, is kind of unbelievable.”

English dropped a 15-footer on the par-4 15th to become the first player here to reach double-digits under par, and he added a 10-footer on the par-5 16th after hitting his shot from the rough just in front of the green. That birdie put him 11 under.

“I grew up on greens like this down in south Georgia, fast Bermuda greens,” English said. “I’m very comfortable on these type of greens. I know when it’s going to be fast, and it’s really fast. And when into the green, it’s really slow. I have a good handle on the speed. That’s really what helped me today. When you get the speed down on the greens, you can start making some putts.”

English also is very familiar with Tennessee. He played at The Baylor School in Chattanooga, helping win four state titles including an individual high school championship for himself. He even won one of those titles at a course approximately an hour away. He also has friends currently in medical school here in Memphis that he has been visiting with the past couple days.

“It does feel like home,” English said.

The only hiccup in English’s round came on No. 18. He hit driver only twice Friday and stuck with his 3-wood off the tee only to hit what he called his only bad shot of the day. The ball stopped near a drain. He wound up with a 30-footer and two-putted for his lone bogey.

“I’m still looking for my first win and still hungry to be the best and to try to get my first win,” English said

Notes: Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old amateur from China who made the cut at the Masters, missed the cut. The cut came at 1-over 141, and he went 73-71-144. … Brandt Snedeker (143) and D.A. Points (148) also missed the cut. Paul Goydos did too, but he did play Friday and shot a 72-145 after fearing he had re-injured his left wrist in the opening round. … Ian Poulter took off his right sock and rolled his pant leg up to his knee with his ball resting just in the water fronting the par-4 12th green. He pitched the ball onto the green and then pointed at his white shirt, happy that none of the mud that went flying with his stroke hit him. He bogeyed the hole but was at 137.

Miller ran a time of 50.70 seconds to earn eight points. She set the previous school record a day earlier at 51.57. Illinois sophomore Ashley Spencer won in 50.28.

Georgia sophomore Morgann Leleux finished tied for 13th in the pole vault with 4.15-meters (13 feet, 7.25 inches) standing as her best performance of the day. South Dakota’s Bethany Buell won the event with a 4.45m (14-07.25) vault.

The Bulldogs’ Lucie Ondraschkova finished seventh in the heptathlon, which wrapped up Friday. She competed in the 100 hurdles (13.75), high jump (1.72m), shot put (11.82m); 200 (24.81); long jump (6.10m); javelin throw (39.06m); and the 800 (2:16.04). Her total score of 5,859 points is a personal best and ranks second in Georgia’s record books.

Competing today for the Georgia women are Leontia Kallenou and Saniel Atkinson-Grier, both in high jump.

The meet was not over at press time, so final team scores and standings were not yet available. For an update, visit onlineathens.com.

Hayes will earn $150,000 annually, according to information obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald in an open records request. The former Georgia player from 2002-04 was making $45,000 a year as the program’s operations coordinator.

Hayes, 31, replaced Kwanza Johnson, who left to become an assistant at TCU.

Johnson was the highest-paid assistant on coach Mark Fox’s staff at $185,000. Now Philip Pearson makes the most annually of the assistants at $170,000. Stacey Palmore’s salary is $160,000.

Pearson and Palmore are entering their fifth seasons as Georgia assistants.

There were 13 that arrived in the mid-year, leaving 20 more to join the class.

Only four have yet to report: safety Kennar Johnson from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, offensive lineman DeVondre Seymour from North Gwinnett and receivers Rico Johnson from Swainsboro and Uriah LeMay from Butler High in Matthews, N.C.

Seymour was signed knowing he was a long shot to make it academically and he will be headed to junior college or prep school. He’s the only one of the four known to have been ruled out this season from joining the Bulldogs.

Kennar Johnson graduated from junior college in December, but is back in his home state of Florida completing a course with designs on leaving for Athens on June 24. He had the option of taking the course in Florida or in Georgia and he decided to take it back home, according to Bud O’Hara, who coached Johnson at East Ridge High School in Clermont, Fla.

Butler High, where LeMay is from, is ending its school year today.

–Please follow me at Twitter.com/marcweiszer