Football poll talk: Grayson, 7 defending champs start season No. 1.

Seven of eight defending state champions will start the 2018 high school football season ranked No. 1.

The exception comes in Class AAAAAAA, where North Gwinnett will begin at No. 4 after the Bulldogs won their first-ever state championship in 2017.

Grayson, ranked in the top 10 of a couple of national preseason polls, will begin in the No. 1 position. The Rams have 10 of the top 100 senior college prospects in Georgia, according to the 247Sports Composite ratings. Those include No. 2 Wanya Morris, a five-star offensive lineman committed to Tennessee; No. 3 Owen Pappoe, an AJC Super 11 linebacker and five-star recruit committed to Auburn; and No. 9 Kelvin Harris, a defensive end/linebacker committed to Alabama.

North Gwinnett isn’t going away, though. The team has a 1,000-yard rusher, Tyler Goodson, and 1,000-yard receiver, Josh Downs, and Division I pledges in the secondary, Warren Burrell (Tennessee) and Quinton Newsome (Nebraska).

Defending champions that will start at No. 1 are Lee County (AAAAAA), Rome (AAAAA), Blessed Trinity (AAAA), Calhoun (AAA), Hapeville Charter (AA), Eagle’s Landing Christian (A private) and Clinch County (A public).

The 2018 season begins Thursday with four games, the first of 171 involving Georgia teams this week.

Nine games match ranked teams. They are Marietta at Rome, Allatoona at Cartersville, Buford vs. Tucker (Georgia State Stadium), Lovett at Greater Atlanta Christian, Tift County at Warner Robins, Woodward Academy at Westminster, Bremen vs. Rabun County (at Georgia Southern), Burke County vs. Benedictine (at Georgia Southern) and Colquitt County vs. McEachern (Mercedes-Benz Stadium).

Class AAAAAAA

Class AAAAAA

Class AAAAA

Class AAAA

Class AAA

Class AA

Class A (Private)

Class A (Public)