Top-rated junior recruits Guyton, Jacobs headline Class 4A preseason all-state team

Ahead of the 2025 season, Georgia High School Football Daily and the AJC are naming the preseason all-state teams by classification.

GHSA’s Class 6A and 5A have already been announced. Up next is 4A.

Here are some notes and things to know followed by the selections.

*Best player: Khamari Brooks, North Oconee. Committed to Georgia, he’s a two-way starter who had 15 tackles for losses and eight TD receptions for a state championship team last season.

*Best position: Offensive line. Tre Glover, Langston Hogg, Bear McWhorter and Jared Smith are among the 10 offensive linemen in the Georgia Power 100. No other class has more.

*Most highly recruited: Benedictine defensive lineman LaDamion Guyton is the consensus No. 1 recruit among juniors. Blessed Trinity outside linebacker D.J. Jacobs is No. 2 among juniors. Both are uncommitted, though Guyton is set to choose Thursday.

*That’s interesting: The 1-2 rankings of Guyton and Jacobs won’t be final until after their senior seasons, but if it holds, they would become the second Georgia pair to finish 1-2 in the 247Sports Composite. The first? Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields in the class of 2018.

*Snubbed: Hard to leave off Perry’s best all-around player, Decorrion Daniels, a running back, wide receiver, cornerback and kick returner. He put up 1,169 all-purpose yards and scored 18 touchdowns last season.

*Underrated: Jack Richerson was the best all-around player as a junior on Marist’s state runner-up team, though he wasn’t heavily recruited until this year. He’s a 6-4, 220-pound defensive end/wide receiver that Georgia Tech plans to use as a tight end. He also hopes to play baseball there. His GPA is 4.3.

*What else is news? Benedictine’s 7-5 finish in 2024 was its worst in 13 years, but the Cadets lead this all-state team with three picks. And those don’t include Texas Tech-committed quarterback Stephen Cannon, whose midseason injury was a big part of last year’s struggles. Expect a big senior year from him.

Class 4A preseason all-state offense selections

QB - Harrison Faulkner, North Oconee, Sr.

RB - Quinterrius “Moonie” Gipson, Kell, Jr.

RB - Jonaz Walton, Central (Carrollton), Sr.

WR - Craig Dandridge, Cambridge, Sr.

WR - Brady Marchese, Cartersville, Sr.

TE - Jack Richerson, Marist, Sr.

OL - Tre Glover, Warner Robins, Sr.

OL - Langston Hogg, Cartersville, Sr.

OL - Bear McWhorter, Cass, Sr.

OL - Jayvon Perry, Creekside, Sr.

OL - Jared Smith, Stockbridge, Sr.

ATH - Bubba Frazier, Benedictine, Sr.

PK - Carter Spence, Ola, Sr.

Class 4A preseason all-state defense selections

DL - Kameron Cody, Benedictine, Sr.

DL - Tico Crittendon, Lithonia, Sr.

DL - LaDamion Guyton, Benedictine, Jr.

DL - Earnest Rankins, Southwest DeKalb, Sr.

LB - Khamari Brooks, North Oconee, Sr.

LB - D.J. Jacobs, Blessed Trinity, Jr.

LB - Major Levell, Creekside, Jr.

LB - Brayden Rouse, Kell, Sr.

DB - Djimon McClendon, Tucker, Sr.