Aquinas’ Jaden Wuerth, a six foot two 240 pound defensive lineman, had an incredible freshman season to kick off his high school career. Wuerth was a major piece to the fighting Irish’s first region title since 2017. Following the season he was named to the AJC all-state team, one of only two freshmen to be named first team all-state in 2023. Wuerth’s stats reflect video game-like numbers, accumulating 139 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks, leading the Fighting Irish in all three categories.
While the Peach State has developed some of the best defensive linemen in the country, Wuerth became the first freshman defensive lineman in over a decade to be named to the AJC first team All-State team. Over the past decade, Georgia has produced 12 five-star defensive linemen with names that include Trevon Walker, who was the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Will Anderson, who was drafted third overall in the 2023 NFL draft, Trenton Thompson, who was the number one player in the country in 2015, and Derrick Brown, who was the first defensive tackle and seventh overall player taken in the 2020 NFL Draft. However, none of those great players made the All-State team in their freshman year, and only three made All-State teams in their sophomore year, those being five-stars Mykel Williams, LT Overton, and Nolan Smith.
From 2014 to 2023 only three freshmen made the AJC first team All-State team. All three went on to become high-end college recruits including USC quarterback commit Julian Lewis, Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown, and Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton. All three were four-star or better recruits, with Brown and Lewis being five-star recruits.
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