As always, Class A is chock full of talented players who would be successful in any classification. We highlighted some seniors earlier this week. Here is a list of 10 more players to watch this season (again, in alphabetical order).
Deion Colzie, ATH, Athens Academy: Colzie is his team's best receiver and cornerback, an irreplaceable piece of a program that has reached the state finals the past two seasons. He's 6 feet, 4 inches, and 190 pounds, yet still a shutdown cover corner. He's the consensus No. 7 WR recruit in the class of 2021, per the 247Sports Composite.
Jaquez Dew, ATH, Whitefield Academy: Dew was the quarterback of Whitefield's defense last season and second-leading tackler in Cobb County, but he also played every offensive snap at guard in 2018. He was the runner-up for defensive player of the year in his region. He's a senior, yet only 16 years old.
Trice McCannon, ATH, Marion County: McCannon led Marion to the Class A public-school semifinals and a tight loss to eventual champion Clinch County. He passed for 2,002 yards and rushed for 1,242 with a hand in 30 touchdowns for a team that averaged a school-record 39.5 points per game. McCannon (5-8, 160) is not highly recruited.
Tyler Morehead, ATH, Clinch County: Morehead projects to be the primary quarterback for the defending public-school champion. He was 22-of-41 passing for 491 yards and five touchdowns without an interception last season, but he's more of a runner. He put up 1,156 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. He also intercepted five passes and returned three kickoffs for touchdowns. Morehead is a top-300 national recruit with offers from Florida State, Tennessee and Kentucky.
Tate Ratledge, OL/DL, Darlington: Ratledge (6-6, 320) was first-team all-state as a junior. He'll join Hinton at the postseason All-American Bowl in Texas.
James Thomas, ATH, Mitchell County. Thomas lines up at quarterback, linebacker and safety for the Eagles. The 6-3, 180-pounder is also a standout on the basketball and baseball teams. He has offers from UGA, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Michigan and West Virginia.
Desmond Tisdol, LB, Wilcox County: An inside linebacker, Tisdol was the co-defensive player of the year in Region 2-A and first-team all-state despite playing on a 5-6 team. He had 12.5 tackles for losses and scored four times on fumble returns. He also had 645 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. Tisdol (6-0, 215) is an uncommitted four-star recruit.
Brock Vandagriff, QB, Prince Avenue Christian: Vandagriff, a junior, committed to Oklahoma in June. He was 192-for-296 passing for 3,190 yards and 38 touchdowns with seven interceptions on an 11-2 Class A team in 2018. He rushed for 1,001 yards and 23 touchdowns on 138 carries.
Zykeivous Walker, DL, Schley County: Walker, a first-team all-state player last season, had 10.5 sacks and 14.5 other tackles for losses on a 9-3 team. He's the highest-rated defensive player in Class A. He's been all-region in football and basketball since he was a freshman. Walker (6-4, 260) is an uncommitted four-star recruit.
James Williams, K/P, Athens Academy: Committed to Syracuse, Williams is the No. 4-rated senior punter by both Kohl's and Sailer, but he got more attention as a place-kicker last season, when he made a 57-yard field goal in a 31-27 victory over rival Prince Avenue Christian. He was 10 of 15 on field goals and put 49 of 80 kickoffs into the end zone. His punting average was 36.7.
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