Football: Barnegat’s Sam Madden Commits to Georgia

Barnegat senior Sam Madden, one of the top offensive line prospects in New Jersey, announced Sunday that he has verbally committed to the University of Georgia.

Madden, who de-committed from Wisconsin a week ago after being verbally committed to the Badgers since June, took an official visit to Georgia this weekend before committing on Sunday. He had an official visit scheduled to South Carolina this coming weekend, but decided to pledge to the Bulldogs with National Signing Day looming on Feb. 4.

"I'm happy for Sam after a tough couple weeks, and I'm glad he found a tremendous program to continue his career,'' Barnegat coach Rob Davis said.

Madden was a two-time, All-Class B South selection by the coaches and had 20-plus FBS offers before initially committing to Wisconsin. His commitment now gives the Shore six FBS scholarship players from the Class of 2015 along with his Barnegat teammate, linebacker Manny Bowen (Penn State); Red Bank Catholic linebacker Jamie Gordinier (Miami); Manasquan linebacker Tanner Cowley (Virginia); Lakewood running back/quarterback/linebacker Chapelle Cook (Temple); and Manalapan kicker Mike Caggiano (UMass).

He is the first Shore Conference star to commit to the Bulldogs since Middletown South legend Knowshon Moreno, who was an all-SEC performer for the Bulldogs at tailback before becoming a first-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos in 2009.