Dawgs get second commitment of the day

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Being a parent can sometimes be difficult.

Take Chris and Krysti Edwards, the parents of Heard County offensive lineman Jake Edwards, for example.

Both of Edwards' parents thought that Saturday, at the Mark Richt Mini Camp, might be the day that their son could earn an offer from the school that the entire family grew up watching and cheering on.

Waiting on that offer, however, was a bit excruciating.

"We were on pins and needles all day," Krysti said in a telephone conversation with UGASports Saturday evening. "We were hoping he would get that offer so bad."

The Edwards family got its wish.

"Today I just went up to the Georgia camp and worked hard and competed and everything," the Peach State lineman said. "After the whole camp, the coaches asked me to come up to the office and talk to Coach (Mark) Richt. He offered me a scholarship to go to Georgia.

As you would expect, the family's reaction to the offer was one of excitement, but the Georgia coaches' reaction to the next turn of events wasn't exactly mild.

"Then I told Coach Richt I would have to talk to my mom (Krysti Edwards), and see what she wanted to do. We sat down and talked to Coach (Will) Friend and everything, and we decided it would be good for him and Coach Richt to call my mom and tell her that they offered me," Edwards said. "The coaches called her and she was extremely excited and everything and just crying. After they got of the phone, Coach Richt was like, 'do you want to commit?' I told him, 'Yes sir I'm going to go ahead and do it.' The coaches went crazy. They were jumping up and down in the coach's office. They were extremely excited for me to commit to Georgia."

Now that Edwards has become Georgia's first commitment on the offensive line, he admits that being a Bulldog is something he has always wanted.

"It feels great," Edwards said when asked how he felt about being committed to Georgia. "I'm speechless almost. I just can't believe it is even happening. It is like a dream right now. I'm very excited and blessed to be in this situation where Georgia offered me and being committed to them, I can't wait to be up there and play for them."

Edwards gained 20 pounds over the last couple of months in preparation for Saturday's camp, and came to UGA's football practice fields and ran a the 40-yard dash and five seconds flat, his fastest recorded time.

But was all of that work for the sole purpose of earning a chance to be a Bulldog?

"I would say so," Edwards said. "Last time I was there for one of the spring practices I was 262 (pounds) or 265 or something like that, so I knew I needed to put on weight. I set a goal for myself to be 280 by the time I went to camp and I ended up coming up there today weighing 282. I met my goal and just hoped the day would go how I wanted it to go and it did. That was the offer I wanted."

Now that he has made a pledge to his "dream school," is Edwards' recruitment over?

"Yes sir," Edwards said when asked if his recruitment is over. "I'm done."

As the seventh overall member of Georgia's 2014 recruiting class, Edwards is now in a position where he can help the UGA staff fill needs as a recruiter.

He plans on doing just that in the near future.

"I plan on getting back up to Georgia for Dawg Night and talking to some guys there," he said. "The coaches want me to come back up for that so I will be there."

But that is for down the road. The immediate task for the Edwards family is to celebrate getting what they all wanted and received.

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