The following is an excerpt from the Georgia High School Football Daily, an e-mail newsletter compiled by longtime Atlanta high school football writers Todd Holcomb and Chip Saye:
Calhoun wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers is the No. 5 player in the Mobile Press-Register’s annual Super Southeast 120 released Sunday. Marcus Lattimore, a running back from Byrnes High in South Carolina, is No. 1. (Byrnes and Lattimore will face Central Gwinnett on Aug. 28.)
Georgia’s 22 players were second-most to Florida’s 48. South Carolina was next with 13. The Mobile newspaper doesn’t consider North Carolina to be part of the South.
Georgia’s 22 players include eight defensive linemen but no linebackers.
The 22 Georgia players are:
No. 5 – WR Da’Rick Rogers, Calhoun (committed to Georgia)
No. 8 – DT Garrison Smith, Douglass
No. 11 – DB Alec Ogletree, Newnan (Georgia)
No. 14 – RB Mack Brown, M.L. King
No. 31 – DE Jalen Fields, Dalton (Georgia)
No. 40 – WR Tai-ler Jones, Gainesville (Stanford)
No. 42 – WR Markeith Ambles, Henry County
No. 46 – DT Jeffrey Whitaker, Warner Robins
No. 59 – OL JuWuan James, North Gwinnett (Alabama)
No. 60 – RB Storm Johnson, Loganville (LSU)
No. 70 – TE Brian Vogler, Brookstone
No. 75 – ATH Garry Peters, Heritage, Conyers
No. 78 – RB Ken Malcome, Southwest DeKalb (Georgia)
No. 84 – DE T.J. Stripling, Southwest DeKalb
No. 93 – DT Denzel McCoy, Northview (Georgia Tech)
No. 95 – DB B.J. Bostic, Jefferson County (Georgia Tech)
No. 98 – DT Michael Thornton, Stephenson
No. 102 – DE J.C. Copeland, Troup (Tennessee)
No. 108 – DE Anthony Williams, Union Grove
No. 110 – OL Ed Christian, Lowndes (Florida State)
No. 112 – WR Antonio Goodwin, Washington
No. 113 – CB Ryan Ayers, South Paulding (Georgia Tech)
AUG. 1 START TO PRACTICE NOT FAIR TO EVERYONE, COACHES SAY
Several coaches whose schools open in July or the first week in August say they’re at a disadvantage to schools that open later. Football practice begins Aug. 1 statewide, but the first day of school varies from July 17 to Sept. 8, depending on the school system. Most open between Aug. 3 and Aug. 10. Schools that open closer to Aug. 1 don’t have time for two-a-day practices or camps.
“It’s a huge advantage to be able to take your kids off to camp, or even if you don’t, decide to do it at your school and have two-a-days,” said Fitzgerald coach Robby Pruitt, whose school starts classes July 31. “It’s just common sense. If you’re practicing two or three times and I’m practicing one, you’re going to be better prepared. But that’s out of my control, and I hate that.”
Fitzgerald is one of 18 football-playing high schools in Georgia that will start classes this month. The earliest is Dooly County, which opens next week.
On the other end, Savannah schools open Sept. 1, and Murray County and North Murray high schools are opening Sept. 8.
The most common start date is Aug. 10. That’s the first day for schools in almost every metro Atlanta system, including Atlanta, Cobb, DeKalb, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett.
Hart County coach Joby Scroggs agrees with Pruitt that schools starting Aug. 10 or later have an edge. Hart County opens Aug. 3.
“Our competitors may not start school for another two weeks,” Scroggs said. “This give them at least 10 more practices. Talk about getting a head start.”
Greene County coach Charlie Winslette, whose school also opens Aug. 3, suggests allowing every school five days of practice before school opens.
“The date the GHSA set [Aug. 1] is a good date for those opening at least a week after that, but for those opening early, let us go back a week,” Winslette said. “You could get your two-a-days in or go to camp. But starting on Aug. 1, all we can do is a Saturday-Sunday camp. I don’t know about that.”
But Pruitt and other coaches, including Colquitt County’s Rush Propst, aren’t fond of practicing in July, either. They wish the season were pushed back two weeks so that practices could begin in mid-August, when it’s not so hot.
“We start football too early,” said Propst, whose school opens Aug. 17. “I don’t think we should put pads on until Aug. 15. Wait until it’s closer to fall.”
But Wilcox County coach Mark Ledford, who has averaged 11 victories the past three seasons, likes things the way they are. His school opens Aug. 3, and he thinks that’s a good thing. If players are in school before practice, he knows where they’ve been all day and can keep track of them. Ledford says he’s never held two-a-day practices in his eight seasons as coach.
The controversy over start dates has existed for many years, according to Ralph Swearngin, executive director of the Georgia High School Association.
Swearngin said there is no practical solution to perceived advantages because the GHSA has no say in when schools open. Those are school board decisions.
The GHSA sets the start dates for practices based largely on health and safety issues, Swearngin said. The GHSA then sets the opening dates for competitions in relationship to the date of first practice.
“Coaches have unique ways of determining advantages and disadvantages,” Swearngin said. “It would be chaotic [or the GHSA] to try to accommodate the large variety of school schedules in the GHSA rules for scheduling.”
EARLY STARTERS
Public schools that start in July:
July 17: Dooly County
July 27: Early County
July 28: Seminole County
July 29: Central (Talbotton), Chattahoochee County
July 30: Trion, Lamar County, Loganville, Monroe Area, Stewart County, Upson-Lee, Walnut Grove
July 31: Crawford County, Crisp County, Hawkinsville, Marion County, Taylor County, Terrell County
LATE STARTERS
Public schools that begin Aug. 17 or later:
Aug. 17: Colquitt County, Mitchell County, East Paulding, North Paulding, Paulding County, South Paulding, Hiram
Aug. 20: Dodge County, Jones County
Aug. 21: Turner County
Aug. 24: Brantley County, Lanier County
Aug. 31: Hawkinsville, Putnam County
Sept. 1: Beach, Groves, Jenkins, Johnson (Savannah), Savannah, Windsor Forest
Sept. 8: Murray County, North Murray
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