The following is an excerpt from the August 11 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:
Linebackers
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 linebackers:
In making these choices, we value a history of production over potential (listed in alphabetical order).
LB Michael Carlisle, Jonesboro: Carlisle had nearly 10 tackles a game for Jonesboro, which won seven games – more than the previous three seasons combined. Carlisle appears headed to Mississippi State, though he has not committed.
LB Michael Copeland, Lowndes: Copeland and teammate Telvin Smith form perhaps the best linebacker pair in Georgia. Copeland was the more consistent on the field last season with his 102 tackles, six sacks and 16 tackles for loss. He is leaning toward taking an offer from Vanderbilt.
LB Tyrone Cornelius, Stephenson: Cornelius is a tackling machine for a program that has produced many top defensive players. Cornelius had 117 tackles in 2008 for a 9-2 team. Cornelius is expected to commit soon. His leaders are Georgia Tech and Miami.
LB Telvin Smith, Lowndes: Smith is a playmaker whose three consecutive tackles for loss settled Lowndes’ big victory against Northside of Warner Robins last season. He’s Rivals’ No. 2 linebacker in Georgia behind Westlake’s Michael Taylor. He has committed to Florida State.
LB Michael Taylor, Westlake: Recruiting services view Taylor as the top linebacker in Georgia. He committed to Tennessee last weekend.
Others: LB Kedron Aker, Calhoun; Randy Bailey, Callaway; Vic Beasley, Adairsville; LB Jessel Curry, Buford; LB Trokon Gaye, Central Gwinnett; Shaun Kitchens, Banneker; LB Rip Rowan, Lassiter; Tommy Sanders, Crisp County; Jake Schmidt, Armuchee; Cody Ralston, Calhoun.
Class AA 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.
This week, GHSF Daily will select its Super 11 for each classification. Today, it is Class AA.
We struggled with AA a little more than A and regretted leaving out a couple of Region 6-AA receivers (GAC’s Julian Horton and Blessed Trinity’s Jake Skole) and a pair of Division I-A offensive linemen (Adairsville’s Catlin Alford and Buford’s Du’Von Millsap), among others.
Remember that these are seniors only:
WR Markeith Ambles, Henry County: Recently committed to Tennessee, Ambles caught 40 passes for 764 yards (19.1 per reception) and eight touchdowns in 2008. Ambles is a consensus top 10 recruit in Georgia and perhaps the best receiver in school history over recent graduates Jamal Patterson (Stanford) and Chris Jackson (Auburn).
QB B.J. Bostic, Jefferson County: Bostic has rushed and passed for more than 1,250 yards each of the past two seasons. Bostic has committed to Georgia Tech, where he wants to play cornerback.
QB Jonathan Carkhuff, Lovett: Carkhuff passed for 2,178 yards and 22 touchdowns last season for Lovett, which reached the Class AA quarterfinals. He’s a baseball player and not heavily recruited in football.
FB/LB Jessel Curry, Buford: Curry is a two-way player who rushed for 403 yards, caught passes for 332 yards, scored 15 touchdowns and made 109 tackles for a state championship team. He has committed to Auburn.
RB Keith Christopher, Brooks County: Christopher is the top returning rusher in Class AA. He rushed for 1,690 yards (7.8 per carry) and 22 touchdowns and was the Region 1-AA offensive player of the year on a 12-2 team. He’s 5 feet, 8 inches, and not heavily recruited.
QB Malcolm Eady, Swainsboro: Eady might’ve had more total yards from scrimmage per game than any player in Class AA last season. He threw for 1,653 and rushed for 1,055 in 10 games and was a part in 31 touchdowns for a 5-5 team.
WR Blake Gowder, Union County: Gowder caught 77 passes for a state-best 1,453 yards in 2008. Only Division I-AA schools have made Gowder offers so far, and he might wind up as a tight end, H-back or fullback in college.
OL Kolton Houston, Buford: Houston is the best blocker on a team that has won 30 consecutive games. He’s Scout’s No. 6 guard and Rivals’ No. 18 guard nationally. Houston committed early to Georgia.
QB Darius Minor, Jefferson: Minor passed for 1,914 yards and 26 touchdowns and rushed for 890 yards and nine touchdowns as Jefferson finished 11-1 won its first region title in 31 years.
ATH Trenton Pruitt, Fitzgerald: Expect Pruitt to stand out more this season now that Jemea Thomas has moved on to Georgia Tech. Pruitt, coach Robby Pruitt’s son, rushed for 670 yards and 14 touchdowns and caught 28 passes with six touchdowns for an 11-3 team in 2008. He has committed to Vanderbilt.
WR Da’Rick Rogers, Calhoun: He’s the No. 1 prospect in the state, according to Rivals. Rogers caught 47 passes for 855 yards (18.2 average) and nine touchdowns in 2008. Rogers has committed to Georgia.
In The News:
Calhoun’s Johnson to play baseball only
Michael Johnson, the first team all-state quarterback in Class AA last season, will not play his senior season, Calhoun coach Hal Lamb confirmed Monday.
Johnson will focus on baseball. He was a star player for Calhoun’s baseball team, which reached the Class AA quarterfinals.
In football, Johnson passed for 2,559 yards (167-for-276) and 25 touchdowns with only five interceptions and led Calhoun to the AA championship game against Buford in the Georgia Dome.
Calhoun’s new quarterback is Nash Nance, a transfer from Darlington who has committed to Vanderbilt.
Falcons offer $5 tickets to high schools
The Atlanta Falcons are offering Georgia high schools 100 tickets for $5 each for a preseason game Aug. 29 against the San Diego Chargers or Sept. 3 against the Baltimore Ravens.
The tickets may be used for fundraising or as an inexpensive way to see an NFL game.
To purchase these tickets or find out more about this program, call Gene Shatlock at (404) 367-2190 or ticketservices@falcons.nfl.com.
Grayson No. 5 in preseason national ranking
Grayson, at No. 5, is the highest-ranked Georgia team in the RivalsHigh 100 national preseason rankings.
Five other Georgia teams made the top 100, and four Class AAAA schools are in the top 40 nationally.
“The overall depth of Georgia football players and teams has been on a steady rise recently to a point where there is real national discussion as to Georgia’s place in the top-five high school football states,” Dallas Jackson, who compiles the rankings, told GHSF Daily on Monday. “The quality of play has generally been high in the larger classes, but the depth of the state in the AAA and AA levels is something that good states have and something that Georgia now has.”
Grayson won Region 8-AAAAA, upset Lowndes in the quarterfinals and finished 12-1 last season. Jackson said he had no reservations putting a school so highly that had never played in a state final.
“The reason we are comfortable with Grayson this year is that they are bringing back 10 starters to a team that went undefeated in the regular season and then almost defeated Peachtree Ridge in double overtime,” Jackson said. “The style of play they run is very physical and takes a toll on the opposition as well as chews up clock. They are fundamentally sound and well-coached, and while they may not have history on their side, they have solid playmakers on the defensive side of the ball and return many on the offensive line at their star running back.
”Also, what many people forget, is that we don’t rank history; we rank 2009. Teams that were good in 2004 have no bearing on this season.”
Here is Rivals’ take on each of them:
No. 5 Grayson
No. 8 Peachtree Ridge
No 33 Lowndes
No 38 Camden County
No 85 Gainesville
Loading ...
