The second annual Georgia High School Football Media Day at the Mechanical Trades Institute in Atlanta brought together nearly 50 of the best football teams in the state to mingle with the media and their fellow competitors.
For the first time, the event included girls flag football teams, a testament to the growth of the sport. Flag teams from Therrell, McEachern, Pace Academy, Washington-Atlanta, Pope, Jackson-Atlanta and Heritage-Conyers were in attendance.
Upon entering the building, players had the option to scan a QR code to enter raffle with a chance to win tickets to a Falcons game, a copy of EA College Football 25 and more.
Anchors Craig Sager II and Najeh Wilkins opened the broadcast on the NFHS Network before Kaylee Mansell joined the broadcast later in the afternoon.
Players and coaches attending the Media Day were interviewed on the NFHS Network broadcast and enjoyed a presentation by the Mechanical Trades Institute by Sager, Wilkins and Kaylee Mansell.
The tour of the facility highlighted various trade jobs the institute trains for including plumbing, pipe fitting and HVAC. The walk-thru tour demonstrated real-life scenarios in each of the trades in a state-of-the-art interactive classroom setting.
The day began at 10 a.m. with the arrival of the first few teams – McIntosh, Newton and Blessed Trinity’s flag football. Roswell joined the broadcast at 10:30 a.m. while the other players enjoyed the tour of the facilities.
The Georgia Army National Guard – a sponsor of the event – had a table set up with soldiers ready to discuss what it takes to be in the Army National Guard. Other sponsors include the Mechanical Contractors Association of Georgia and GeorgiaConstructionCareers.com.
Another sponsor, scoutSMART SELECT, previewed its specialties for helping college football coaches efficiently find the best recruits for their program. The free and easy-to-use recruiting analytics platform designed by scoutSMART SELECT provides recruiting analytics for both tackle and flag football.
Throughout the afternoon, teams enjoyed interviews from various members of the media including Georgia High School Football Daily, which had a booth at the event, the AJC, which had two bloggers present, as well as other outlets from around the state.
Therrell’s girls flag football team arrived, and two players were interviewed by Wilkins and Sager. The Panthers are one of the best teams in the state and lost to eventual champion Southeast Bulloch in last year’s Class A-4A quarterfinals to cap a 20-3, 8-1 season.
The Gainesville Red Elephants arrived around 1:20 p.m. and set the bar for show-stopping attire. Coach Josh Niblett was clad in a red suit with black wing tips and a checkered striped tie. His players were all dressed in suits with classy and stylish shoe selections ranging from Jordan 1’s to purple suede wing-tipped slippers.
Throughout the afternoon, teams were interviewed on the live broadcast while others took the tour to learn about possible trade jobs if football doesn’t pan out into a prosperous future. The link to the replay of the full broadcast will be available as soon as possible.
See the full list of attendees below and see the schedule for the Media Day in Macon on July 25 at the bottom.
10 AM
Archer
McIntosh
Roswell
Collins Hill
Newton
South Atlanta
10:45 AM
North Gwinnett
Callaway
Douglass-ATL
North Paulding
Therrell (Flag Football)
Norcross
Loganville
Cedar Grove
11:30 AM
Alpharetta
Greenville
Jefferson
Woodward Academy
12:15 PM
Jonesboro
Creekside
Calhoun
McEachern (Flag Football)
East Paulding
1 PM
Pace Academy
Pace Academy (Flag Football)
Gainesville
Dunwoody
North Cobb
Therrell
Washington (Flag Football)
Pope (Flag Football)
Douglas County
1:45 PM
South Paulding
Cambridge
Pike County
2:30 PM
Mt. Bethel Academy
Woodstock
Maynard Jackson
Southwest DeKalb
3:15 PM
McEachern
North Cobb Christian
4 PM
Sandy Creek
Heritage-Conyers (Flag Football)
July 25, Westside High School: 2851 Heath Rd. Macon, GA 31206
10 AM
Warner Robins
Rutland
Carver-Columbus
Greene County
Rutland (Flag Football)
10:45 AM
Peach County
Jones County
11:30 AM
LaGrange
Perry
Westside-Macon (Flag Football)
1 PM
Calvary Day (Flag Football)
1:45 PM
Northeast
2:30 PM
ACE Charter
Camden County (Flag Football)
3:15 PM
Putnam County
4 PM
Southeast Bulloch (Flag Football)
Valdosta
4:45 PM
Jasper County
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