The Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame consists of some of the most elite football talent to come out of the state of Georgia in a list that only continues to grow as the third class of the hall of fame will be inducted on October 26 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
While entering the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame is a prestigious honor, some of this year’s inductees have been previously recognized for their accomplishments while playing at the college ranks, excelling beyond the high school football field and into the College Football Hall of Fame.
In this year’s 30-person Hall of Fame class, three inductees have been already recognized and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta and will be inducted into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame later this month. Former Georgia Tech halfback Everett Strupper (Class of 1972), legendary college football head coach Frank Broyles (Class of 1983), and former Valdosta State linebacker and later on hometown Atlanta Falcons-legend Jessie Tuggle (Class of 2007) add to the list of great players that will be included in both the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
Strupper was a dominant halfback in both high school at Gainesville’s Riverside Military Academy and as a Yellow Jacket at Georgia Tech. Strupper accounted for three touchdowns in the 1913 state championship against Georgia Military College as the teams tied, 20-20. Into his college career, Strupper was a three-year starting running back for Georgia Tech head coach, John Heisman as they recorded a 24-0-2 record. After college, Strupper became the first-ever president of the Atlanta Touchdown Club and is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame as well as the College Football Hall of Fame.
Broyles is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history and was also quite the athlete in his playing days. As a senior in high school in 1941, Broyles starred on the football field basketball court and on the diamond in baseball as well. Broyles scored 15 touchdowns while doing a bit of everything for Decatur Boys High on the football field, leading his team to a 7-2 record. On the court, Broyles averaged 17 points per game and was a .420 hitter at the plate in baseball. Broyles went on to play both football and basketball at Georgia Tech where he set an Orange Bowl record in 1945 for most passing yards in a game and was drafted in the third round to the Chicago Bears in the 1946 NFL Draft. Though he was also drafted into the Basketball Association of America, Broyles dived into coaching and never looked back. Broyles is best known for his stint at the University of Arkansas where he won seven SWC championships and the 1964 national championship. In 1996, the Broyles Award was created to be awarded the best assistant coach in college football, named after the legendary coach.
Tuggle is regarded as one of the best Atlanta Falcons of all-time, leading the team to their first Super Bowl appearance in 1998 and made the NFL Pro Bowl five times in his career. Before his days in the NFL, Tuggle was a star at Griffin high school, becoming first team all-state in 1982 when the Bears made the Class 4A semifinals and went 11-3. Tuggle played on both sides of the ball while primarily playing linebacker and playing on the offensive line at guard. After his senior season, Tuggle chose to continue his football career at Valdosta State over West Georgia even though the program was in just its second year of existence. The decision turned out to be beneficial for both parties as Tuggle provided instant production, starting as a true freshman and throughout the rest of his college career, being recognized as a three-time All-Gulf South Conference selection and a DII All-American in 1986. The Falcons signed him as an undrafted free agent in 1987 and the rest was history after that, becoming a Falcons Ring of Honor Member, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame member, College Football Hall of Fame member and now a Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame member.
The three distinguished hall of famers now make 26 members of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame that have previously been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, with plenty more to come as the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame continues to expand.
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