The following is an excerpt from the August 10 edition of the Georgia High School Football Daily, an e-mail newsletter compiled by longtime Georgia high school football writers Todd Holcomb and Chip Saye:
Spotlight: Top Players By Position- Defensive Lineman:
For each of the next several issues of GHSF Daily, we’ll be listing the best five players in Georgia at the following positions – quarterback, running back, receiver, offensive lineman, defensive lineman, linebacker, defensive back and kicker/punter.
Today, we resume with defensive linemen.
In making these choices, we value a history of production over potential (listed in alphabetical order).
Garrison Smith, Douglass: Smith had a monster year in 2008 with 14 sacks and 27 tackles for loss. Smith is rated the No. 2 defensive tackle by Scout and Rivals, keeping up a recent tradition of highly rated Georgia players at the position. DeAngelo Tyson of Statesboro (2007) and Abry Jones of Northside Warner Robins (2008) had similar ratings. Smith has committed to Georgia.
T.J. Stripling, Southwest DeKalb: A 6-foot-6 defensive end, Stripling had 18 tackles for losses and 14 sacks last season for a 9-4 team. Rivals ranks Stripling the No. 2 overall player in Georgia behind Calhoun receiver Da’Rick Rogers. He has committed to Georgia.
Michael Thornton, Stephenson: His coach, Ron Gartrell, calls Thornton the best interior lineman to play at Stephenson. Thornton had 95 tackles last season, 15 for losses. He’s the No. 9 defensive tackle nationally and No. 9 overall player in Georgia, according to Rivals. He’s the No. 24 DT and No. 15 Georgia player, according to Scout.
Jeffrey Whitaker, Warner Robins: Whitaker was first team all-region last season. He and Smith were the most nationally known defensive linemen in Georgia leaving the 2008 season. Rivals rates him the No. 10 defensive tackle nationally. Scout rates him No. 29. Whitaker and Thornton are the highest-ranked uncommitted prospects in Georgia.
Anthony Williams, Union Grove: Williams was his team’s best player in 2008, when he had 76 tackles, 16 for losses, including one for a safety. He also knocked down eight passes at the line of scrimmage. Williams is the No. 18 strongside defensive end, according to Rivals. Williams committed to Georgia Tech earlier this month.
Others: Henry Anderson, Woodward Academy; Neiron Ball, Jackson; Joe Champaign, Grayson; Lacy Coleman, Sandy Creek; J.C. Copeland, Troup; Corey Crawford, Carver (Columbus); Jalen Fields, Dalton; Shawn Green, Grayson; Delzel McCoy, Northview; Tank Sessions, Columbia.
Class A Super 11:
On Sunday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in partnership with Georgia High School Football Daily, will release its 25th Super 11 team, a preseason list of Georgia’s 11 best senior football players.
Today through Friday, GHSF Daily will select its Super 11 for each classification, starting with Class A.
Remember that these are seniors only:
QB Vintavious Cooper, Clinch County: Passed for 1,618 yards and 15 touchdowns with just three interceptions in 2008. Also rushed for 437 yards and scored 10 TDs.
WR Darqueze Dennard, Twiggs County: Caught 61 passes for 923 yards and 17 TDs in 2008.
DL Marcus Fairley, Eagle’s Landing Christian: Two-way starter with 22 tackles for loss on defense and a 90 percent grade on offense. First team all-state in 2008, according to the AJC.
LB Bobby Fulton, Wesleyan: First team all-state in 2008, according to the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association and the Georgia Sports Writers Association. The Gwinnett Daily Post counted 22 tackles in the Class A championship game against ECI.
RB A.G. Middlebrooks, Lincoln County: Rushed for 1,439 yards, caught 25 passes and scored 18 TDs in 2008.
RB Cartell McLendon, Treutlen: Rushed for 1,496 yards and 20 TDs in 2008.
WR Keith Mumphery, Dooly County: Caught 49 passes for 970 yards and 14 TDs in 2008.
OL Colby Nelson, Taylor County: Named first team all state by the AJC and GACA in 2008.
LB Quayshon Simmons, Wilkinson County: First team all-state in 2008, according to the AJC. Averaged more than 10 tackles a game for Class A semifinalist.
TE Brian Vogler, Brookstone: Rated the No. 1 tight end prospect in Georgia by Rivals and Scout and one of the 25 best players in Georgia overall. First team all-state by the AJC and GSWA. Caught 19 passes in a run-oriented offense in 2008.
QB Conor Welton, Wesleyan: Passed for 1,555 yards and 15 TDs and led Wesleyan to its first state championship in 2008.
Newswire:
A.G. Middlebrooks, a member of GHSF Daily’s preseason all-state team and the Class A Super 11, will miss four to six weeks because of a stress fracture in his leg, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
The newspaper reported that the injury was believed to be shin splints until a trip to the doctor. Lincoln County coach Larry Campbell told the newspaper that Middlebrooks, who rushed for more than 1,400 yards, might not return until the start of the region schedule in October.
Middlebrooks is one of nine running backs in the Augusta area who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season, including Westside’s Chris Hunter (1,558 yards) and Evans’ Jonathan Finch (1,620).
In this story in the Augusta Chronicle, Matt Middleton explores the water in the Savannah River and other possible explanations.
The news of Middlebrooks appears at the bottom.
Lowndes-Northside makes Macon top 16
Lowndes’ trip to Northside of Warner Robins on Sept. 11 made the Macon Telegraph’s list of the best 16 games in middle Georgia this year. None of those games made the GHSF Daily’s Top 10 of 2009, to be released soon. But some were close, including Peach County at Baldwin (Sept. 11) and ECI at Johnson County (Oct. 16).
Mark calendar for Nov. 6: Jefferson Co. at Dublin
Another of the Macon Telegraph’s top 16 middle Georgia games was Jefferson County at Dublin in Region 3-AA.
“Right now, we’re the favorite,” Jefferson County quarterback B.J. Bostic told GHSF Daily on Sunday night. “I feel this year, if we do everything we’re supposed to do, we ought to blow everybody out of the water.”
But Dublin was the team that gave Bostic the most reason for pause. The quarterback wished the Dublin game was sooner, before the Irish had a chance to find the best solutions to some 18 starters lost.
“We play them in game 10,” Bostic said, “and I know coach Roger Holmes will have them ready then.”
Riverside Military receives Canadian aid
Only about half of Riverside’s players live close enough to campus to work out during the summer. That’s because Riverside is a military boarding academy. Bill Murphy of the Gainesville Times looks at Riverside’s players – including one from Toronto – who train on their own during the summer. “As a player, you have to have the self drive to become better,” said Alex O’Donnell, a first-year Riverside cadet and quarterback from north of the border.
Jackson County sees ‘end of the tunnel’
The Panthers have 19 seniors on their roster, much better than the three from last season. According to this story by Jonathan Zopf in the Gainesville Times, coach Billy Kirk says his team “can see the light at the end of the tunnel” with a program that has won just nine games in 10 years and lost students to the opening of other schools in the county.
Central of Carrollton opens new field house
Central opened a 10,000-square-foot field house on Saturday, and the celebration was attending by Ronnie Burchfield, coach of Central’s 1986 and 1987 state championship teams. “It’s way better than the shack we had last year,” Central player Burton Thomas said in this story (with a slideshow) by Corey Cusick of the Times-Georgian of Carrollton. “We had to go out in that little barn out in the back. But this year we get to come in here in the cool air, you know.”
Bremen quarterback has legacy to live up to
Sophomore Brent Copeland is the new quarterback, replacing Clayton McIntosh and a long line of good players at the position for Bremen. Is there any pressure? “Our quarterback’s going to execute,” Bremen coach Ricky Tolleson tells Clark Leonard for this story in the Times-Georgian of Carrollton. “If he can’t execute, then we’re going to have some woodshed issues. But he knows it. He understands it. And, you know, we work for perfection.”
Carrollton has wealth of quarterbacks
Coach Rayvan Teague has two good quarterbacks – junior A.J. Barge, who started eight games last season, and sophomore Dallas Dickey, who split time at the position last year after Barge got hurt. Teague tells Clark Leonard of the Times-Georgian for this story that Barge is the leader on the depth chart and that there will be no controversy. “One of the good things is that they have such a good relationship together,” Teague says. “There’s no rivalry between the two or anything like that. They’re both comfortable with their roles. You know, I think a lot of times Dallas views A.J. as the starter right now, which is fine. But he knows that he gets opportunities, as well.”
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