*Best player: Kyle Hamilton. Marist coach Alan Chadwick says that Hamilton is the best all-around player - offense, defense, special teams - that he has coached. That's going back some 34 years and 364 victories. In 2017, for a state runner-up team, Hamilton had 55 solo tackles and six interceptions from his safety position. He had 28 catches for 485 yards. (Marist doesn't pass much.) Hamilton had 460 return yards and one kickoff return for a touchdown. A tad underrated as a college prospect because he hasn't spent much time on the combine circuit, Hamilton is committed to Notre Dame.
*Best position: Defensive line. Travon Walker of Upson-Lee and King Mwikuta of Troup are four-star recruits and the highest-rated prospects in AAAA. Mwikuta is more of an outside linebacker prospect for college but is listed here as a high school defensive end.
*Highly recruited: Travon Walker. The Upson-Lee senior is the consensus No. 2 defensive tackle, and No. 28 player overall, in the country. He is the state's No. 1 prospect, according to 247Sports. He committed to Georgia last month.
*That's interesting: Blessed Trinity, the defending champion, has four players on preseason all-state and its best overall team yet. The Titans' talents include RB/LB Steele Chambers (committed to Ohio State), LB/TE J.D. Bertrand (committed to Georgia), WR/DB Ryan Davis (several mid-major offers, two-time all-state) and DL/FB J.R. Bivens (committed to Middle Tennessee). And though he didn't make this team, QB/DB Jake Smith (major Division I baseball prospect) is another outstanding two-way player for the Titans.
*Snubbed? Kobe Hudson. The Troup receiver is a four-star recruit among juniors and committed to Auburn. He had 44 catches for 876 yards and 14 touchdowns last season in a record-setting offense. His teammate, Jamari Thrash, got the nod. Thrash had 62 catches for 1,410 yards and 18 touchdowns.
*What else is new? Damekus Taylor, the choice at dual-threat quarterback, was the offensive player of the year in Region 3-AAAAAA while at Evans. He has taken his talents - which came to 1,441 yards passing and 1,455 yards rushing last season - to Thomson.
OFFENSE
QB (pro) - Max Johnson, Oconee County
QB (dual) - Damekus Taylor, Thomson
RB - Steele Chambers, Blessed Trinity
RB - Tahj Gary, Woodward Academy
TE - Jackson Lowe, Cartersville
WR - Ryan Davis, Blessed Trinity
WR - Jamari Thrash, Troup
OL - Connor Brown, St. Pius
OL - Dean Colton, Marist
OL - Christian Coulter, Thomson
OL - Fredrick Norman Jr., Ridgeland
OL - Bayard Taylor II, Columbus
ATH - Zion Puckett, Spalding
PK - Marshall Golick, Woodward Academy
DEFENSE
DL - J.R. Bivens, Blessed Trinity
DL - Ryan Mannelly, Marist
DL - Travon Walker, Upson-Lee
DE/LB - King Mwikuta, Troup
LB - Milton Adams, Baldwin
LB - J.D. Bertrand, Blessed Trinity
LB - DeMarcus Mitchell, St. Pius
LB - Jacorius "Joko" Willis, Troup
DB - Keevan Bailey, Salem
DB - Jamari Brown, Eastside
DB - Kyle Hamilton, Marist
DB - Zach Ranson, St. Pius
P - Brandon Farrell, Marist
Coming Tuesday: Class AAA
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