More than 4,000 Georgians on 2017 college football rosters
More than 4,000 former Georgia high school players have been on college rosters this season, according to the annual research of Steve Slay, a member of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association and football fan who has tracked these numbers in Georgia for the past 10 years.
His 4,191 Georgia players on 2017 rosters are the most he's counted. They range from the 585 playing in Power 5 Conferences such as the SEC and ACC to the 372 on the rosters of junior-college teams such as the Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters of the Western States Football League. Fun fact: There are 28 former Georgia high school players who were Gila Monsters this fall.
There also are six recently selected Associated Press All-Americans from Georgia.
Those include Oklahoma tackle Orlando Brown (Peachtree Ridge), N.C. State defensive end Bradley Chubb (Hillgrove) and Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith (Macon County), all on the first team. On the second team are Clemson tackle Mitch Hyatt (North Gwinnett) and Colorado State receiver Michael Gallup (Monroe Area). Clemson defensive end Austin Bryant (Thomas County Central) made the third team.
Which Georgia high school has produced the most current college players?
That would be McEachern in Cobb County. The Indians are now the state leader with 56 alumni on college rosters. Their players are spread from Southern Cal (Chuma Edoga) and Oregon (brothers Taj and Ty Griffin) to College Football Playoff participants Georgia (Julian Rochester and Tyler Simmons) and Clemson (Tremayne Anchrum).
"That's a good distinction," McEachern coach Kyle Hockman said. "That's a big part of what we do here, get them some money to go to school. And we're blessed to have a lot of good kids."
McEachern has an assistant coach, Bryan Jacobson, who is dedicated to college recruiting. He corresponds with coaches and sends video, transcripts and test scores, among other things. It's almost year-round.
"We work pretty hard at it," Hockman said. "We spend as much time on a kid that's going to Pikeville or Pima Community College as we do one going to UGA or Florida State. It takes a lot of effort, and not a lot of coaches want to spend that kind of time."
Stephenson, which for years had led, is now second with 52. Others with 40 or more are Buford (49), Norcross (46), Grayson (45), Sandy Creek (43), Peachtree Ridge (41) and Colquitt County (40).
Here is the breakdown of Georgia players by college division:
1,089 - FBS (formerly called Division I-A)
585 - Power 5 conferences
504 - Mid-majors and independents
873 - FCS (formerly called Division I-AA)
815 - Division II
516 - Division III
526 - NAIA
372 - JUCO
4,191 - TOTAL
Below are the numbers of college players from each GHSA school. If the totals are off, it's likely because of an error on the college roster or an omission due to red-shirting. But it's safe to say that Slay nailed more than 99 percent of them in work that has not been replicated in many states.
| Class AAAAAAA | Region 5 | Class AA |
| Region 1 | 27 - Arabia Mountain | Region 1 |
| 25 - Camden County | 11 - Chamblee | 4 - Berrien |
| 40 - Colquitt County | 1 - Clarkston | 4 - Brooks County |
| 22 - Lowndes | 20 - Columbia | 3 - Early County |
| 12 - Tift County | 1 - Cross Keys | 9 - Fitzgerald |
| Region 2 | 16 - Lithonia | 3 - Thomasville |
| 10 - Campbell | 14 - Miller Grove | Region 2 |
| 21 - East Coweta | 15 - Southwest DeKalb | 4 - Bacon County |
| 14 - Newnan | Region 6 | 13 - Benedictine |
| 15 - Pebblebrook | 8 - Banneker | 4 - Bryan County |
| 33 - Westlake | 13 - Carver (Atlanta) | 1 - Jeff Davis |
| 19 - Wheeler | 15 - Decatur | 2 - Metter |
| Region 3 | 22 - Grady | 5 - Swainsboro |
| 27 - Hillgrove | 4 - Jackson (Atlanta) | 6 - Toombs County |
| 5 - Kennesaw Mountain | 3 - Lithia Springs | 9 - Vidalia |
| 13 - Marietta | 7 - North Springs | Region 3 |
| 56 - McEachern | 17 - Riverwood | 5 - Bleckley County |
| 22 - North Cobb | Region 7 | 3 - Dodge County |
| 13 - North Paulding | 21 - Carrollton | 11 - Dublin |
| Region 4 | 2 - Cass | 1 - East Laurens |
| 9 - Cherokee | 10 - East Paulding | 6 - Northeast |
| 15 - Etowah | 17 - Hiram | 3 - Southwest |
| 15 - Lassiter | 19 - Kell | 6 - Washington County |
| 30 - Roswell | 9 - Paulding County | Region 4 |
| 23 - Walton | 11 - Rome | 1 - Butler |
| 9 - Woodstock | 4 - Villa Rica | 1 - Glenn Hills |
| Region 5 | 8 - Woodland (Cartersville) | 1 - Harlem |
| 8 - Forsyth Central | Region 8 | 12 - Jefferson County |
| 16 - Lambert | 49 - Buford | 3 - Josey |
| 29 - Milton | 7 - Cedar Shoals | 11 - Laney |
| 9 - North Forsyth | 7 - Clarke Central | 4 - Screven County |
| 13 - South Forsyth | 10 - Flowery Branch | 6 - Westside (Augusta) |
| 14 - West Forsyth | 1 - Johnson (Gainesville | Region 5 |
| Region 6 | 12 - Loganville | 12 - Callaway |
| 31 - Collins Hill | 3 - Walnut Grove | 9 - Heard County |
| 1 - Discovery | 3 - Jordan | |
| 10 - Duluth | Class AAAA | 10 - Lamar County |
| 34 - Mill Creek | Region 1 | 9 - Spencer |
| 21 - Mountain View | 7 - Americus-Sumter | 1 - Temple |
| 34 - North Gwinnett | 13 - Cairo | Region 6 |
| 41 - Peachtree Ridge | 23 - Carver (Columbus) | 3 - B.E.S.T. Academy |
| Region 7 | 8 - Columbus | 6 - Douglass |
| 8 - Berkmar | 6 - Hardaway | 23 - Hapeville Charter |
| 31 - Brookwood | 6 - Northside (Columbus) | 8 - KIPP Atlanta Collegiate |
| 32 - Central Gwinnett | 4 - Shaw | 5 - South Atlanta |
| 16 - Lakeside (Atlanta) | 16 - Westover | 1 - Therrell |
| 6 - Meadowcreek | Region 2 | 7 - Washington |
| 46 - Norcross | 3 - Howard | Region 7 |
| 21 - Parkview | 12 - Mary Persons | 2 - Armuchee |
| Region 8 | 5 - Perry | 5 - Chattooga |
| 23 - Archer | 15 - Spalding | 4 - Coosa |
| 45 - Grayson | 6 - Upson-Lee | 0 - Dade County |
| 31 - Newton | 9 - West Laurens | 4 - Gordon Central |
| 14 - Rockdale County | Region 3 | 6 - Model |
| 26 - Shiloh | 10 - Baldwin | 2 - Pepperell |
| 20 - South Gwinnett | 8 - Burke County | 4 - Rockmart |
| 4 - Cross Creek | Region 8 | |
| Class AAAAAA | 4 - Hephzibah | 1 - Banks County |
| Region 1 | 12 - Richmond Academy | 12 - Elbert County |
| 14 - Coffee | 16 - Thomson | 2 - Monticello |
| 19 - Houston County | Region 4 | 1 - Oglethorpe County |
| 20 - Lee County | 8 - Druid Hills | 1 - Putnam County |
| 18 - Northside (W.R.) | 10 - Eastside | 6 - Rabun County |
| 20 – Valdosta | 7 - Henry County | 0 - Social Circle |
| Region 2 | 14 - Luella | |
| 6 - Bradwell Institute | 6 - North Clayton | Class A |
| 12 – Brunswick | 17 - Salem | Region 1 |
| 5 - Effingham County | 26 - Woodward Academy | 0 - Baconton Charter |
| 17 - Glynn Academy | Region 5 | 1 - Calhoun County |
| 6 - Richmond Hill | 24 - Cartersville | 2 - Chattahoochee County |
| Region 3 | 4 - Cedartown | 5 - Miller County |
| 10 – Alcovy | 6 - Central (Carrollton) | 4 - Mitchell County |
| 6 – Evans | 11 - Chapel Hill | 0 - Pataula Charter |
| 3 – Greenbrier | 17 - LaGrange | 1 - Pelham |
| 6 – Grovetown | 43 - Sandy Creek | 3 - Randolph-Clay |
| 23 - Heritage (Conyers) | 8 - Troup | 4 - Seminole County |
| 10 - Lakeside (Evans) | Region 6 | 0 - Stewart County |
| Region 4 | 7 - Gilmer | 2 - Terrell County |
| 21 – Drew | 3 - Heritage (Ringgold) | Region 2 |
| 2 - Forest Park | 1 - LaFayette | 2 - Atkinson County |
| 14 – Jonesboro | 5 - Northwest Whitfield | 5 - Charlton County |
| 32 – Lovejoy | 4 - Pickens | 4 - Clinch County |
| 18 - M.L. King | 5 - Ridgeland | 1 - Irwin County |
| 4 - Mount Zion (Jonesboro) | 2 - Southeast Whitfield | 1 - Lanier County |
| 13 - Mundy's Mill | Region 7 | 4 - Telfair County |
| 52 – Stephenson | 20 - Blessed Trinity | 6 - Turner County |
| 35 – Tucker | 2 - Chestatee | 3 - Wilcox County |
| Region 5 | 14 - Marist | Region 3 |
| 15 – Alexander | 9 - West Hall | 8 - Calvary Day |
| 31 – Creekside | 7 - White County | 0 - Claxton |
| 15 - Douglas County | Region 8 | 6 - Emanuel Co. Institute |
| 24 – Hughes | 8 - Jefferson | 1 - Jenkins County |
| 23 – Mays | 1 - Madison County | 1 - Johnson County |
| 10 - New Manchester | 9 - North Oconee | 13 - McIntosh Co. Acad. |
| 13 – Northgate | 9 - Oconee County | 1 - Montgomery County |
| 17 - South Paulding | 13 - St. Pius | 1 - Portal |
| 12 - Tri-Cities | 5 - Stephens County | 8 - Savannah Christian |
| Region 6 | 4 - Savannah Country Day | |
| 17 – Allatoona | Class AAA | 2 - Treutlen |
| 7 – Creekview | Region 1 | 1 - Wheeler County |
| 12 – Dalton | 2 - Cook | Region 4 |
| 22 – Harrison | 9 - Crisp County | 4 - Brookstone |
| 5 – Osborne | 6 - Dougherty | 1 - Central-Talbotton |
| 7 - River Ridge | 9 - Monroe | 1 - Crawford County |
| 13 – Sequoyah | 4 - Worth County | 8 - Dooly County |
| 12 - South Cobb | Region 2 | 4 - Greenville |
| 12 – Sprayberry | 6 - Appling County | 3 - Hawkinsville |
| Region 7 | 1 - Brantley County | 6 - Macon County |
| 19 – Alpharetta | 9 - Liberty County | 6 - Manchester |
| 5 – Cambridge | 4 - Long County | 3 - Marion County |
| 12 – Centennial | 4 - Pierce County | 4 - Pacelli |
| 13 – Chattahoochee | 1 - Tattnall County | 1 - Schley County |
| 11 – Dunwoody | Region 3 | 4 - Taylor County |
| 6 - Johns Creek | 1 - Beach | Region 5 |
| 6 - North Atlanta | 3 - Groves | 14 - ELCA |
| 10 – Northview | 1 - Islands | 6 - Holy Innocents’ |
| 11 – Pope | 9 - Jenkins | 12 - Landmark Christian |
| Region 8 | 0 - Johnson (Savannah) | 6 – Mt. Vernon Presbyterian |
| 2 - Apalachee | 5 - Savannah | 13 - Our Lady of Mercy |
| 25 - Dacula | 0 - Southeast Bulloch | 1 - Strong Rock Christian |
| 17 - Gainesville | 3 - Windsor Forest | 13 - Wesleyan |
| 5 - Habersham Central | Region 4 | Region 6 |
| 15 - Lanier | 5 - Central (Macon) | 2 - Bowdon |
| 11 - Winder-Barrow | 15 - Jackson | 3 - Christian Heritage |
| 5 - Kendrick | 11 - Darlington | |
| Class AAAAA | 14 - Peach County | 5 - Fellowship Christian |
| Region 1 | 3 - Pike County | 1 - Gordon Lee |
| 6 - Bainbridge | 3 - Rutland | 5 - King's Ridge Christian |
| 13 - Harris County | 12 - Westside (Macon) | 11 - Mount Paran Christian |
| 9 - Thomas County Central | Region 5 | 7 - Mount Pisgah Christian |
| 12 - Veterans | 31 - Cedar Grove | 5 - Mount Zion-Carroll |
| 10 - Warner Robins | 6 - Lovett | 2 - North Cobb Christian |
| Region 2 | 4 - McNair | 5 - Pinecrest Academy |
| 2 - New Hampstead | 16 - Pace Academy | 4 - St. Francis |
| 7 - South Effingham | 4 - Redan | 1 - Trion |
| 3 - Statesboro | 5 - Stone Mountain | 1 - Walker |
| 12 - Ware County | 5 - Towers | 5 - Whitefield Academy |
| 14 - Wayne County | 12 - Westminster | Region 7 |
| Region 3 | Region 6 | 10 - Aquinas |
| 19 - Fayette County | 10 - Adairsville | 5 - First Presbyterian |
| 22 - Griffin | 12 - Bremen | 4 - Georgia Military |
| 4 - McIntosh | 19 - Calhoun | 0 - Glascock County |
| 3 - Morrow | 2 - Coahulla Creek | 5 - Greene County |
| 19 - Riverdale | 0 - Haralson County | 3 - Hancock Central |
| 6 - Starr's Mill | 1 - Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe | 8 - Lincoln County |
| 14 - Whitewater | 2 - Murray County | 4 - Mount de Sales |
| Region 4 | 4 - North Murray | 2 - Stratford Academy |
| 14 - Dutchtown | 6 - Ringgold | 6 - Tattnall Square |
| 11 - Eagle's Landing | 5 - Sonoraville | 5 - Twiggs County |
| 0 - Hampton | Region 7 | 6 - Warren County |
| 13 - Jones County | 10 - Dawson County | 7 - Washington-Wilkes |
| 7 - Locust Grove | 7 - East Hall | 3 - Wilkinson County |
| 7 - Ola | 4 - Fannin County | Region 8 |
| 26 - Stockbridge | 27 - GAC | 5 - Athens Academy |
| 8 - Union Grove | 1 - Lumpkin County | 4 - Athens Christian |
| 16 - Woodland (Stock.) | 2 - North Hall | 4 - Commerce |
| 4 - Union County | 3 - George Walton Acad. | |
| Region 8 | 5 - Hebron Christian | |
| 1 - East Jackson | 2 - Lakeview Academy | |
| 9 - Franklin County | 6 - Prince Ave. Christian | |
| 11 - Hart County | 2 - Providence Christian | |
| 4 - Jackson County | 2 - Riverside Military | |
| 7 - Monroe Area | 3 - Towns County | |
| 6 - Morgan County |
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
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