Bulldogs await Baker’s decision

Georgia could pick up a commitment from one of the state’s top two-way linemen this week.

Kendall Baker, a 6foot-5, 270-pounder from Marist, will pick between UGA, Auburn and Florida State at around 6:45 p.m. today. The Bulldogs are the heavy favorites.

“He’s a big, strong and athletic kid,” Marist coach Alan Chadwick said. “It remains to be seen whether they will play him in college offensively or defensively. Some of the schools have been recruiting him for defense, while others see him as more of an offensive player.”

Baker is a three-star prospect who is rated as the nation’s No. 29 overall prospect at offensive tackle in the 247Sports composite rankings.

Both Auburn and FSU are recruiting Baker for offense and defense, while UGA has strictly talked about defense — which Baker clearly prefers.

Rising star: Nick Chubb, a four-star running back from Cedartown High who committed to Georgia earlier this month, will get heavy consideration for a fifth star after a strong performance at Monday’s SPARQ finals, which were televised on ESPNU from Nike’s headquarters in Oregon.

Chubb finished third out of 161 participants in the athletic competition for the nation’s elite college football prospects. They were measured in four categories: 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, vertical jump and powerball toss.

Chubb had a SPARQ score of 143.91. He was laser-timed in the 40 at 4.44 seconds and registered a vertical jump of 41 inches.

Ole Miss clears itself: Remember when Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze, tired of hearing cheating allegations about his recruiting, boldly stated, “If you have facts about a violation, email compliance@ olemiss.edu” on Twitter?

Some fans from opposing schools were a little upset about Ole Miss signing No. 1 prospect Robert Nkemdiche (even though his older brother played for the Rebels) and fivestar wide receiver Laquon Treadwell (even though a teammate signed with the Rebels).

Probably the most public anger was generated when Ole Miss beat out UGA and all the Florida colleges for Florida’s No. 1 prospect, offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, who once was considered a “lock” for the Bulldogs.

The compliance office received 85 emails after Freeze’s tweet. On Monday, the school told the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., that all 85 were reviewed and that “many of those emails repeat similar, unsubstantiated rumors. None of the emails provide first-hand information and none have led to any findings of violations.”

That’s not surprising, but what is interesting is that Ole Miss declined to release the final 31 emails after an open-records request by the Clarion-Ledger, despite declaring that no NCAA violations were proved. The first 54 featured recruiting comedy at its worst.

Why not the final 31? Ole Miss said some of the emails could have a “chilling effect on the future sources of information, thus frustrating our compliance and enforcement efforts.”