GEORGIA LOTTERIES THURSDAY, APRIL 18 Cash 3 Midday: 6-0-6 Cash 3 Evening: 2-1-7 (Wed.) Cash 3 Night: 0-1-8 (Wed.) Cash 4 Midday: 6-4-0-0 Cash 4 Evening: 1-1-3-9 (Wednesday) Cash 4 Night: 3-4-3-0 (Wednesday) Georgia Five Midday: 6-0-9-7-9 Georgia Five Evening: 7-0-9-2-6 (Wednesday) Fantasy 5: 1-23-29-33-37 (Wednesday) Power Ball: 24-29-44-47- 54 Powerball 2 Power Play 2X (Wednesday) On the Web: galottery.com By phone: 1-800-GALUCKY Please verify numbers with Georgia Lottery Corp. before claiming a prize. SPORTS be drafted in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. got Javon Bullard from Georgia, good Jeremiah said. see what happens with Jaden Hicks from Washington State.
If he runs well, he will prob- ably be gone by the (third round). You also have Malik Mustapha from Wake Forest, Tykee Smith from Hicks run at the NFL scouting combine but ran the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds at Washington pro day. The was fast enough to solidify the top safety spot. versatility is a plus for him. on what your team needs Bullard said.
teams need safeties, some teams need nickels. Really just that versatility, that Swiss Army knife mindset being able to show my value to a Bullard believes he can help a team if played back deep as a high safety or if the team lowers him into the box, closer to the line of scrimmage, to help the run defense and cover tight ends in pass coverage. versatility is your Bullard said. can increase your value just being as versatile as you can. Just knowing that we played every position in the back end, every position in the secondary.
Knowing that you had to do that at Geor- gia in order to be successful. It paid dividends for me. truly Bullard has studied Tampa Bay safety Antoine Winfield Jr. of those players definitely grown to Bullard said. mean the not the biggest guy, not the fastest guy, but a football player.
At this level all you want is a foot- ball player, and an All- Pro safety. one of the guys that I look up to for sure and model my game The knock on Bullard is not fast enough to run with wide receivers in man- to-man coverage. However, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds at the scout- ing combine. Bills general manager Brandon Beane is not big on the numbers or athletic abil- ity at the safety position. He wants to know if the player has football instincts.
want to know how quickly they can learn, how quickly they can process because back Beane said. moving fast, and they do have to be able to process going on with all the various route concepts, trying to match teams like Miami that throw the ball very Bullard believes an instinctive player. a feel for the Bullard said. give all the honor and glory to God on that one, man. just a feel for the game.
Instincts, I think can be Utah safety Cole Bishop, who played at Mill High, is one of the top pros- pects. He solidified his sta- tus by running the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds at the scouting combine. Bishop was a three-star recruit and initially commit- ted to Duke. Bishop believes his skill set projects well into the NFL. think my ability to cover tight Bishop said.
think I do that better than a lot of people. My versatil- ity to play free (safety) and strong (safety). And my intel- ligence, I feel like a smart Bishop played alongside Utah safety Sione Vaki, who also had a strong combine. awesome, also super Bishop said. year we play free or strong.
We just played sides, so being able to rotate back and forth which was Like Bullard, Bishop is a big Winfield fan. Bishop said. in coverage. He has the ability to play deep. He does a lot of different Bishop played in 36 games for the Utes.
He finished with 197 tackles, three intercep- tions, sacks, four fum- ble recoveries and a forced fumble. always loved being a physical player since I was Bishop said. always taken pride in Safeties continued from C1 NBA Play-in final four battling injuries By Tim Reynolds Associated Press MIAMI When injuries affect the Miami Heat, coach Erik Spoelstra almost always delivers the same three- word outlook. have he says. That theory is about to be tested and will be a theme in the win-or-go-home finales of the play-in tourna- ment tonight.
All four teams Miami and Chicago in the Eastern Con- ference, New Orleans and Sacramento in the Western Conference have serious injury concerns going into their matchups to decide the No. 8 seeds on the play- offs. Miami and New Orle- ans have the home edge; the winners will face No. 1 Bos- ton and No. 1 Oklahoma City in Round 1, starting Sunday.
Jimmy Butler will not be able to play for the Heat in tonight game against the Bulls because of a right knee injury, one that will sideline him for several weeks. An MRI exam Thursday showed he sprained the MCL liga- ment, an injury that typically takes at least four weeks or more to heal. The Heat are bracing to be without Terry Rozier and possibly Duncan Robin- son, and Chicago guard Alex Caruso sprained an ankle in the win over Atlanta. The Pelicans will be with- out Zion Williamson because of a hamstring injury. The Kings have been without would-be starters Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk in recent weeks.
will do this the hard Spoelstra said. going to rest up, treat up, rally around each other up and get ready for Friday and again, embrace these com- petitive games. be com- petitive in front of our home fans and going to bring a hell of a game on Friday night lights and do this the hard way. just the way the deal is right The Bulls-Heat game is a rematch of the East Play-In finale last year, a game where Chicago led by three with 3:47 left and got outscored 15-1 the rest of the way. Bulls, Heat hit hard going into East matchup tonight.
TV today Auto racing 5:30 p.m. Fox NASCAR Series qualifying at Talladega, Ala. 10:55 p.m. ESPNU F1: Sprint Shootout 2:55 a.m.* ESPN2 F1 qualifying at Shanghai Baseball 1 p.m. PAC12 Washington at Utah 2:20 p.m.
MLB Marlins at Cubs 7 p.m. ESPN2 Florida at Vanderbilt 7:20 p.m. AppleTV Rangers at Braves 7:30 p.m. ESPNU TCU at Texas 8 p.m. BTN Penn State at Michigan State SEC LSU at Missouri MLB Brewers at Cardinals 10:15 p.m.
AppleTV Diamondbacks at Giants 11 p.m. MLB Mets at Dodgers Basketball 2:30 p.m. BSSO BBL: Cheshire at Newcastle 7:10 p.m. ESPN Play-in: Bulls at Heat 9:30 p.m. TNT Play-in: Kings at Pelicans Football 5:25 a.m.
FS2 AFL: Essendon at Adelaide 7 p.m. ACC Louisville spring game 11:30 p.m. FS1 AFL: Port Adelaide at Collingwood 2:30 a.m.* FS2 AFL: Greater W. Sydney at Carlton 5:30 a.m.* FS2 AFL: Geelong at Brisbane Golf 8 a.m. Golf PGA: Corales Puntacana Championship at Punta Cana, Dominican Republic 10 a.m.
Golf LPGA: Chevron Championship at The Woodlands, Texas 2 p.m. Golf PGA: RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C. 9 p.m. Golf Champions: Invited Celebrity Classic at Irving, Texas (T) Horse racing 1 p.m. FS2 NYRA: Day at the Races Lacrosse 6 p.m.
BTN Penn State at Rutgers 7 p.m. CBSSN Loyola (Md.) at Navy MMA 9:30 p.m. ESPN PFL Main Card: Welterweights and featherweights at Chicago Olympics 6:30 p.m. USA U.S. Wrestling Olympic Trials at San Jose, Calif.
Rugby 5:30 a.m.* FS1 NRL: Canberra at Brisbane Soccer 10:45 a.m. FS2 Saudi Pro League: Al-Fayha FC at Al-Nassr FC Softball 5 p.m. ESPNU Clemson at Notre Dame 6 p.m. PAC12 Washington at California SEC LSU at Tennessee 7 p.m. FS1 Nebraska at Michigan 8 p.m.
PAC12 Arizona State at Arizona 10 p.m. PAC12 UCLA at Stanford Tennis 6 a.m. Tennis Barcelona Open; Romanian Open; Bavarian International; Porsche Tennis Grand Prix; Open de Rouen (T) Same-day tape; early Saturday morning ON THE AIR Calendar BRAVES Today vs. Rangers, 7:20 p.m. (AppleTV); Saturday vs.
Rangers, 7:20 p.m. (BSSO); Sunday vs. Rangers, 7:10 p.m. (ESPN). 680 AM, 93.7 FM, 103.7 FM, 1340 AM COLLEGE BASEBALL Georgia: Today vs.
Ole Miss, 6 p.m.; Georgia State: Today at Troy, 7 p.m.; Georgia Tech: Today at Virginia, 6 p.m.; Kennesaw State: Today at Queens, 6 p.m. DREAM May 4 vs. Mystics (preseason), 1 p.m.; May 10 at Fever (preseason), 7 p.m.; May 15 at Sparks, 10 p.m. STRIPERS Today vs. Memphis, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday vs.
Memphis, 6:05 p.m.; Sunday vs. Memphis, 1:05 p.m. SWARM Today vs. Knighthawks, 7:30 p.m. UNITED Saturday vs.
Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. (AppleTV); April 27 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. (AppleTV); May 4 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m. (AppleTV).
92.9 FM UNITED 2 Sunday vs. FC Cincinnati II, 3 p.m.; April 28 at Chicago II, 2 p.m. (AppleTV); May 3 vs. NYCFC II, 7:30 p.m. TOP 10 SAFETY PROSPECTS IN THE 2024 NFL DRAFT Hicks, Kinchens rank No.
1 at their positions The top 10 prospects at the position (with height, weight and projected round) for the NFL draft, which will be held Thursday-April 27 in Detroit: STRONG SAFETY 1. Jaden Hicks, Washington State (6-foot-2, 212 pounds, second): A big hitter with good instincts. Some have questions about his speed and He addressed the speed issue by running the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds at his pro day. He played two seasons and had 155 tackles, sacks and three interceptions. 2.
Calen Bullock, USC (6-2, 188, second or third): rangy defender with excellent coverage skills. He can play over the slot receiver but had a propensity to miss tackles that led to big plays. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds. 3. James Williams, Miami (6-4, 230, third): The big hitter projects as a box safety or big nickel corner.
He can cover tight ends and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds. 4. Sione Vaki, Utah (5-11, 211, third for fourth): He played some running back for the Utes. He lifted 225 pounds 20 times and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.62 seconds at the NFL scouting combine. 5.
Malik Mustapha, Wake Forest (5-10, 209, fourth or Started his career at Richmond. Was named second- team All-ACC last season. He played in 35 games at Wake Forest and had 175 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, four sacks and three interceptions. FREE SAFETY 1. Kamren Kinchens, Miami 203, second): He was named All-ACC last season.
He played in 33 games and had 162 tackles and 11 interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns. 2. Tyler Nubin, Minnesota (6- 2, 210, second): Has elite instincts and ball skills that are transferable to the pro game. He was highly productive over 48 games with 207 tackles and 13 interceptions. 3.
Javon Bullard, Georgia (5- 11, 197, third): Played at Baldwin High School. He was a second- team All-SEC selection by The Associated Press. He started 12 games last season. He ranked third on the team in tackles with 56. He also had two interceptions and breakups.
4. Cole Bishop, Utah (6-2, 209, third or fourth): He played at Mill High School. Bishop played in 35 games and made 29 starts for the Utes. He was a three-time Pac-12 all-conference selection (second-team in 2023, honorable mention in 2021 and 22). 5.
Tykee Smith, Georgia (5-10, 206, fourth): He was a second-team All-SEC pick by the coaches. He made 12 starts last season and led the team in tackles with 70 and recorded tackles for loss and four interceptions. Best of the rest Strong safeties: Oregon Kitan Oladap, Mark Perry, Evan Williams, Texas Demani Richardson and Dominique Hampton. Free safeties: Jaylin Simpson, Beau Brade, Ohio Josh Proctor, South Myles Harden and Texas Dadrion Taylor-Demerson. LOCAL PROSPECTS Jaylin Simpson, 6-1, 178, Auburn (Frederica Academy): He with 118 career tackles and seven interceptions.
He had a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 2023 season opener against Massachusetts. He had a strong showing in coverage at the Senior Bowl. Teams in need: Cardinals, Browns, Bengals, Lions and Jets Need area for Falcons: No. Jessie Bates is an anchor for the defense, and DeMarcco Hellams took over for Richie Grant late last season. Micah Abernathy developed into one of the top special teamers last season.
D. Orlando Ledbetter, AJC Javon Bullard is cheered by Tykee Smith (right) and other teammates after intercepting a pass against Mississippi this past season in Athens. Bullard appears likely to be drafted in the third round, while Smith is looking like a fourth-round possibility in what NFL observers are calling a weak class of safeties. JASON 2023 Former Washington State standout Jaden Hicks is the top strong safety available in the NFL draft. He has good instincts and is a solid tackler.
RICK 2022 Former UGA free safety Tykee Smith, who had four interceptions last season, is expected to be selected in the fourth round. GEORGE WALKER 2023 Eastern Conference No. 9 Chicago (39- 43, 1-0) at No. 8 Miami (46-36, 0-1) Time, TV: 7 p.m., ESPN Season series: Split, 2-2 At stake: Winner plays No. 1 seed Boston in Round 1, series starting Sunday.
Loser is eliminated. Western Conference No. 9 Sacramento (46-36, 1-0) at No. 7 New Orleans (49-33, 0-1) Time, TV: 9:30 p.m., TNT Season series: Pelicans, 5-0 (includes one in-season tournament win) At stake: Winner plays No. 1 seed Oklahoma City in Round 1, series starting Sunday.
Loser is eliminated. MATCHUPS C2 THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024.
