Roswell, Newton loaded at receiver

*Trey Blount, Pace Academy (6-2, 185):  Blount, who committed to Georgia in May, didn't make the AJC's first-team all-state team last year, which was controversial, but his numbers weren't remarkable considering his team played 15 games (13-2 record, Class AA title). He had 34 catches for 595 yards and nine touchdowns. But Pace didn't throw much. There could be little doubt of Blount's talents. He's a top-300 national recruit.

 

*Jayden Comma, Roswell (6-2, 205):  Comma had 44 catches for 1,049 yards and 13 touchdowns for Class AAAAAA runner-up Roswell. He's actually not the highest-rated WR recruit on his team. Mays transfer Corey Reed, only a little less accomplished as a high school player, is rated Georgia's No. 53 senior prospect. Comma is 54. It will be a pretty good receiver tandem. Comma's top three schools are Louisville, Maryland and West Virginia.

 

*Justin Gibbs, Grovetown (6-2, 195):  Gibbs caught 36 passes for 646 yards and seven touchdowns last season at Aquinas. He played only 11 games because of injury. He has about 20 offers and reportedly is a Mississippi State lean. Gibbs is one of three Division I prospects that came to Grovetown from Aquinas in the offseason. The others are RB T.J. Smith, a 1,000-yard rusher last season, and DB D'Angelo Durham.

 

*Justin Hall, Alexander (5-10, 170):   Hall is the leading returning receiver in the state. He had 86 receptions for 1,309 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. Hall has almost 20 reported offers, mostly mid-majors, including Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Kennesaw State. He's viewed as an athlete and could end up in the secondary in college.

 

*Louis Hall, Woodstock (6-0, 180):  Hall had 1,067 yards receiving on 72 catches in only 10 games out of Region 5-AAAAAA. He had 12 touchdowns. He was second-team all-state, per the Georgia Sports Writers. Hall is a junior.

 

Holloman (Photo by 247Sports)

*Jeremiah Holloman, Newton (6-2, 185):  Holloman is the top-rated wide-receiver recruit in the state. He's the consensus No. 23 receiver nationally. Holloman was good, but not great, as a junior in a balanced offense with lots of weapons. Holloman had 32 catches for 632 yards and seven touchdowns. Newton suddenly has another high-caliber wide receiver, Justin Marshall, who transferred from Salem. He's also a top-50 recruit in Georgia and probably gives Newton the best pair of receivers in Class AAAAAAA if not the state.

 

*Markese Jackson, East Hall (5-11, 170):  Jackson is an under-the-radar do-it-all player for the Vikings. In 2016, he had 65 catches for 1,056 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also played some quarterback and passed for 352 yards and rushed for 454. He had a hand in 14 touchdowns for a 6-5 team. He is being recruited by multiple Sun Belt Conference schools, "but I believe he will really take off once people follow up from the spring," said coach Bryan Gray.

 

*Josh Johnson, Woodward Academy (5-11, 175):  Johnson was a key offensive cog on Woodward Academy's AAAA semifinal team. He caught 51 passes for 1,111 yards and 11 touchdowns. He had a couple of 100-yard receiving games in the playoffs. Johnson is a top-100 state recruit who has more than 20 offers, mostly mid-major.

 

*Nick Singleton, Jones County (5-11, 185):  Singleton missed a couple of games to injury last year, so his numbers were off - 70 catches, 905 yards, four touchdowns. Consider that he had 76 catches for 1,226 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore. Colleges are waiting for news of his academics, but he's a major Division I talent.

 

*Chad Terrell, North Paulding (6-3, 205):  This is the school that produced NFL and former Georgia receiver Chris Conley. Terrell, a lttle bigger than Conley was, is rising in the recruiting ranks. He's the No. 42 college prospect in Georgia with offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina and others. In 2016, he caught 51 passes for 826 yards and 10 touchdowns for a 3-8 team. He had seven catches for 98 yards and a TD vs. Colquitt County in the playoffs.

 

Coming Friday: Offensive linemen

Class AAAA

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A new day in AA

The best teams in most classifications are the familiar suspects. Not Class AA. Only 18 of the current 57 schools in AA have ever won GHSA titles, and only five have won them in the past 20 years. Two of the past three AA champions, Pace Academy and Lovett, moved to AAA along with power Greater Atlanta Christian. Jefferson, the 2012 champion, is long gone, now in AAAA. So is 2011 champ Calhoun, in AAA. Buford, which won its fourth consecutive AA title in 2010, is now a AAAAA school. Benedictine (2014 champion) is now the only football-playing private school in AA. How much has that opened things up in AA? It has been 10 years since any current AA school other than Benedictine has won a state championship in football. Here are the most recent state championships won by current AA teams, with total number of state titles in parentheses.

 

2014 - Benedictine

2006 - Dublin (4)

2002 - Screven County

2000 - Swainsboro

1997 - Washington County (3)

1995 - Elbert County

1995 - Josey

1994 - Brooks County

1990 - Pepperell

1988 - Thomasville (4)

1979 - Model (3)

1969 - Vidalia

1969 - Coosa (2)

1967 - Putnam County

1959 - Albany

1956 - Monticello (2)

1950 - Rockmart

1948 - Fitzgerald

GHSF Daily asked Georgia head coaches to answer these four questions. We'll report from a different head coach each day.

 

 

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