Georgia football: where are the best players in the state coming from
The Peach State has many of the best players in nation. Georgia football has reaped the benefits with three straight top-three classes.
The state of Georgia currently has 34 players listed as four or five-star prospects. The best is athlete Arik Gilbert, ranked no. 10 in the nation. At no. 34 is offensive guard Avery Jernigan. But where are these players coming from? Are there any regions that produce considerably more talent than others?
21 players are from the Atlanta area.
No surprise, the Atlanta area is the most talent rich area in the state. 21 of the 34 best prospects are from either Gwinnett, Fulton, Cobb, Henry or Dekalb counties. Most players are from outside I-285. Five players are from Marietta, including Gilbert. He attends Marietta High School along with:
- Harrison Bailey (no. 80 overall, no. 5 pro-style quarterback)
- B.J. Ojulari (no. 152 overall, no. 8 weakside defensive end)
- Jake Wray (no. 224 overall, no. 21 offensive tackle)
- Rashad Torrence II (no. 338 overall, no. 38 safety)
Powder Springs is the second best talent producing city in Georgia. Hillgrove defensive end Myles Murphy is the best. he’s ranked no. 11 overall and no. 2 out of strongside defensive ends. The other two Powder Springs stars attend McEachern. They are:
- Jamil Burroughs (no. 89 overall, no. 8 defensive tackle)
- Javon Baker (no. 157 overall, no. 29 wide receiver)
On the other side of Atlanta, Gwinnett and Dekalb combine to produce seven players. The best in Dekalb is Broderick Jones of Lithonia (no. 19 overall, no, 2 OT). Gwinnett’s biggest star is Myles Hinton of Greater Atlanta Christian (no. 23 overall, no. 3 OT). The rest are from either the Alpharetta area North of Atlanta, or the McDonough area south of Atlanta.
Next largest chunk isn’t far from Atlanta
To find more great talent, you don’t have to go far past the suburbs of Atlanta. Seven players are from at least an hour and half from downtown Atlanta. Two of which are right outside of Athens. Quarterback Max Johnson (nephew of Mark Richt, nephew of Brad Johnson) attends Oconee County High School. Just down the road at Athens Academy is Len’Neth Whitehead (no. 214 overall, no. 7 inside linebacker).
But the LaGrange and Carrolton areas are best with four players near U.S. Highway 27. Tank Bigsby (no. 47 overall, no. 8 running back) is from Hogansville. Kobe Hudson (no. 68 overall, no. 14 WR) is the best from LaGrange, and Kevin Swint (no. 166 overall, no. 5 ILB) is the best from Carrolton.
Beyond Atlanta
Middle and south Georgia isn’t short on talent either. The best player beyond Atlanta is Zykeivous Walker (no. 99 overall, no. 5 SDE). He’s from a small town between Macon, Albany and Columbus called Ellaville. Right behind him in the state rankings is Sergio Allen (no. 131 overall, no. 4 ILB) from about 45 minutes away in Fort Valley.
You can find the other four top Peach State Prospects scattered around south Georgia. The best player from the coastal plain region is Rico Powers Jr. (no. 250 overall, no. 46 WR) of Benedictine Military in Savannah.
Next. top 30 players of the Mark Richt era. dark
Based on populations, the talent in the Peach State is very well distributed. The Atlanta area has the highest population in the state, so the area should produce the most talent. It is surprising to see only one player from Savannah though. It’s the fifth largest town in the state afterall. But even more surprising is no players from Augusta or Columbus this year. You have to go all the way down to no. 58 in the state rankings to find another player from Savannah (Michael Robertson). You won’t find an Augusta player in the top 100 at all.