Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck found his new quarterback in the transfer portal and added another potential go-to wide receiver as well with a commitment Tuesday from Georgia’s Tyler Williams.

The 6-3, 205-pound Williams redshirted the 2023 season after playing two games as a reserve for the Bulldogs. He was a consensus four-star and top-100 recruit coming out of Lakeland High School in Florida last year.

Williams, who has four years of eligibility remaining, will join one of the Big Ten’s top transfer classes. Fleck recently landed LSU defensive end and former Cooper standout Jaxon Howard and Clemson defensive end Adam Kissayi. New signal caller Max Brosmer also transferred from New Hampshire.

The Gophers added experience at receiver from the portal. Williams, Penn State transfer Cristian Driver and Emporia State transfer Jaylen Varner are expected to compete in the fall alongside seniors Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer and sophomore Le’Meke Brockington.

McRAE-HELENA, Ga. (AP) — Someone using a magnet to fish for metal objects in a Georgia creek pulled up a rifle as well as some lost belongings of a couple found slain in the same area more than nine years ago.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says driver’s licenses, credit cards and other items dragged from Horse Creek in rural Telfair County are “new evidence” in a murder case that’s still awaiting trial.

A citizen who was magnet fishing in the creek on April 14 discovered a .22-caliber rifle, the GBI said in a news release Monday. The unnamed person returned to the same spot two days later and made another find: A bag containing a cellphone, a pair of driver’s licenses and credit cards.

The agency says the licenses and credit cards belonged to Bud and June Runion. The couple was robbed and fatally shot before their bodies were discovered off a county road in January 2015.

Authorities say the couple, from Marietta north of Atlanta, made the three-hour drive to Telfair County to meet someone offering to sell Bud Runion a 1966 Mustang.

A few days later, investigators arrested Ronnie Adrian “Jay” Towns on charges of armed robbery and murder. They said Towns lured the couple to Telfair County by replying to an online ad that the 69-year-old Bud Runion had posted seeking a classic car, though Towns didn’t own such a vehicle.

Towns is tentatively scheduled to stand trial in August, more than nine years after his arrest, according to the GBI. His defense attorney, Franklin Hogue, did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment Tuesday.

The items found in the creek led investigators to obtain warrants to search a Telfair County home where they recovered additional evidence, the GBI’s statement said. The agency gave no further details.

Georgia courts threw out Towns’ first indictment over problems with how the grand jury was selected — a prolonged legal battle that concluded in 2019. Towns was indicted for a second time in the killings in 2020, and the case was delayed again by the COVID-19 pandemic. He has pleaded not guilty.

Court proceedings have also likely been slowed by prosecutors’ decision to seek the death penalty, which requires extra pretrial legal steps.

Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.

The Georgia Foundation for Agriculture, Georgia Farm Bureau, and Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) are jointly promoting agricultural literacy by donating copies of the children’s book “My Grandpa, My Tree and Me” to nearly 400 libraries in the Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS).

The Georgia Foundation for Agriculture (GFA) and Georgia EMC have given each county Farm Bureau in Georgia enough books for every public library in the county. Bulloch County Farm Bureau and Excelsior EMC delivered a copy of the book to the Statesboro Regional Library on Friday, April 19, 2024.

“My Grandpa, My Tree and Me,” written by Roxanne Troup and illustrated by Kendra Binney, tells the story of a grandfather planting a pecan tree for his granddaughter on the day she was born. As the tree and the little girl grow, the grandfather teaches her how to care for the tree year-round to have a bountiful harvest of nuts in the fall. The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture selected the book as its 2024 Book of the Year for its accurate and positive portrayal of agriculture.

The GFA is thrilled to partner with Georgia EMC and Georgia Farm Bureau to donate the book. The GFA began donating accurate books about agriculture to each public library in Georgia in 2016. Georgia EMC joined the foundation as a sponsor of this endeavor in 2018.

ABOUT THE GEORGIA FOUNDATION FOR AGRICULTURE

The GFA is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to preparing the next generation of leaders for success in Georgia agriculture. The GFA works with Georgia Farm Bureau and other Georgia agricultural and educational organizations to achieve its mission. The foundation offers scholarships to students pursuing agricultural careers, funds leadership development programs and projects that increase the public’s understanding of agriculture. The recently launched Georgia Ag Experience, a mobile classroom that introduces third through fifth graders to Georgia’s top crops. To make a tax-deductible donation or learn more about the foundation, visit www.gafoundationag.org or contact GFA Executive Director Lily Baucom at 478-405-3461 or [email protected].

ABOUT THE GEORGIA ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION

Georgia EMC is the statewide trade association that represents the 41 electric cooperatives across Georgia, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp. Collectively these customer-owned co-ops provide electricity and related services to 4.4 million people across 73% of the state’s land area. Visit www.georgiaemc.com to learn more about Georgia EMC.