Georgia Bulldogs

Coming out of California's Simi Valley High School, Beau Sandland (Woodland Hills, Calif./Pierce CC) was a 6-foot-4, 215-pound non-qualifier with no offers, so the tight end enrolled at Pierce Community College. The school has a reputation for getting guys to the next level.

Obviously the hard work has paid off.

After making 20 catches for 265 yards and two touchdowns, Sandland, having grown to almost 6-6 and 250 pounds, received his first offer from Utah on Feb. 22. Two months later, offer No. 10 arrived from Georgia.

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One of the most anticipated arrivals for Sunday's NFTC was that of the nation's top-rated offensive lineman, Laremy Tunsil (Lake City, Fla./Columbia).

Tunsil, the No. 3 overall prospect in the ESPN 150, has kept his recruitment close to the vest but was willing to reveal his top five Sunday.

"My top five as it stands is Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, LSU and Alabama," Tunsil said. "I like their playbooks, the offense will allow me to pull and have my hand in the ground.

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Last weekend saw defensive lineman Antonio Riles (Lawrenceville, Ga./Archer) make his second visit to Knoxville this spring, taking in the Volunteers’ spring scrimmage. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound prospect has also checked out Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia and Kentucky. Two programs stand out at the top right now for the Bainbridge native.

“Georgia and Florida are at the top, followed by Clemson,” Riles said. “I have been watching Georgia and Clemson since I was a little kid, and I actually hated Florida growing up, but when I went down there I found out the coaches and environment are really cool.”

Riles spoke well of each of his top three.

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The No. 26 player in the nation, Lithonia (Ga.) Miller Grove center Tony Parker, announced Tuesday afternoon in a special ceremony at his high school that he will attend college at UCLA.

Parker, the top center among those as yet unsigned, is the No. 1 player in Georgia and the No. 7 center overall nationally. He chose the Bruins over Georgia, Duke, Kansas and Ohio State.

At UCLA, Parker will be reunited with his former AAU coach, Korey McCray, now a Bruins assistant.

The four-star prospect's decision pushes UCLA ahead of Kentucky to take over the No. 1 ranking among 2012 classes nationally.

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The Georgia Bulldogs, hoping to sign five or more offensive linemen for the 2013 class, only have one committed so far in Aulden Bynum (Valdosta, Ga./Valwood). But could commit No. 2 be coming soon?

Josh Cardiello (Buford, Ga./Buford) has taken his grandfather on visits to Florida and FSU already, and Friday he invited him to share a day in Athens.

“It was very important because he has been able to see everywhere else and he enjoys that stuff, and I really like UGA, so I wanted him to see what they had to offer,” Cardiello said.

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ESPN 150 prospect Derrick Henry (Yulee, Fla./Yulee) made the decision last July to commit to the University of Georgia, surprising many who felt the 6-foot-3, 252-pound Florida fan would end up signing with the Gators. While that outcome still seems unlikely, another Southeastern Conference program is threatening to steal the prized running back commitment from the Bulldogs, and that team just finished hosting Henry for the second time in the last 30 days.

As Henry traveled home Sunday from Knoxville, Tenn., he explained that his decision to check out the University of Tennessee had a lot do to with the persistence of the Vols' new running backs coach.

“Tennessee came by the school once or twice, but I never really paid attention or gave them a chance before I made my commitment to Georgia,” Henry said. “Coach [Jay] Graham stayed on me and convinced me to take a visit up there.”

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Results: Georgia went 2-3 this week, dropping two of three at top-ranked Florida after beating Liberty 5-3 and falling 5-4 to Furman at the first of the week. Georgia’s 16-inning, 3-2 loss at Florida on Friday night was the longest game in UGA history at 4 hours, 56 minutes. The Bulldogs rode starting pitcher Michael Palazzone to a 5-3 win on Saturday, but lost Sunday’s rubber game, 6-3.

Georgia record: 24-17 (8-10 SEC)

Highlight of the week: Georgia lost in perhaps the most devastating way possible on Friday, with closer Blake Dieterich recording a strikeout that should have ended the sixth inning. However, the ball slipped away from catcher Brandon Stephens and he threw high to first base, allowing Vickash Ramjit to score the winning run for Florida. But the Bulldogs bounced back from that painful loss on Saturday, with Palazzone pitching eight strong innings and a three-run third inning -- sparked by a two-run Levi Hyams single -- sparking Georgia to a series-tying victory.

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The University of Georgia coaching staff thought they were recruiting a defensive back named Vonn Bell (Rossville, Ga./Ridgeland). But after not seeing him on campus the last four months, they were beginning to think he did not exist. He was not present for the G-Day spring scrimmage last Saturday, but as the players started to board the buses, Bell arrived with his parents and some teammates, much to the surprise of the staff in Athens.

“They thought I was a ghost,” Bell said before breaking out into laughter. “I have been trying to get up there, but we both had things come up, so they were not sure if I was real or not. I had the ACT that morning so I missed the game, but I just wanted to come up and spend time with Coach [Mark] Richt. They were still very excited to see me.”

Shortly after his arrival, the Under Armour All-America Game selection was then escorted by his recruiter, offensive line coach Will Friend, to the Richt’s office, where Bell would spend the next hour catching up with the Bulldogs’ head coach.

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Last Saturday, Georgia picked up commitments from wide receiver Demarre Kitt (Tyrone, Ga./Snady Creek) and cornerback Reggie Wilkerson (Citra, Fla./North Marion). Later that afternoon, rumors and texts were flying around that wide receiver Uriah Lemay (Matthews, N.C./Butler), had also committed to the Bulldogs on G-Day.

As hard as it might be to believe, that recruiting rumor was wrong.

“I did not commit,” Lemay told DawgNation on Thursday night. “I think the way the rumor came out was that Coach [Mark] Richt had wanted to talk to a couple of the prospects before the day got started. Head coaches like to do that. And I believe that there was another one going around before I went into the room, that some other kid had committed. And then there were a few coaches that came up and asked me if I had talked to Coach Richt yet or if I had a chance to go see him. Once I said ‘Yes,’ I was out there with some other recruits and I am just assuming it started spreading around then. I got a couple texts.”

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