Eight former Georgia HS football players on Pro Football HOF nominee list

Eight former high school players in Georgia are up for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2026.

The Hall of Fame will trim the nominee list to 50 by mid-October. The list will then shrink to 25 and 15 before the 2026 class is announced, which will have three to five Modern-Era Players.

S Eric Berry (Creekside)

NFL stats: 445 tackles, 14 interceptions, 51 passes defended

Berry dominated every level of his football career, starting as a 2006 AJC Super 11 selection. The high school All-American left Creekside to be a three-year starter at the University of Tennessee, where he did enough to earn a No. 5 overall draft pick from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Berry was one of the NFL’s best safeties for half a decade before a Hodgkins Lymphoma diagnosis in 2014 put everything on hold. Berry underwent chemotherapy that offseason, was declared cancer-free, and returned for a Pro Bowl and All-Pro season in 2015.

Berry finished as a five-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

LB Thomas Davis Sr. (Randolph-Clay)

NFL stats: 1,216 tackles, 90 TFL, 29 sacks, 13 INT

Davis played just about everything during his four years at Randolph-Clay. He played quarterback, running back and receiver on offense, he played linebacker, defensive back and defensive end on defense, and he punted, kicked and returned on special teams.

Davis was an All-SEC linebacker at the University of Georgia, leading to a No. 14 overall NFL draft pick by Carolina. Davis was a three-time Pro-Bowler, a 2015 first-team All-Pro and a Bart Starr Award winner in 2016.

Davis is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time.

K John Kasay (Clarke Central)

NFL stats: 461 FGM, 81.9 FG%, 587 XPM, 98.2 XP%

Kasay was the first kicker to become an AJC Super 11 selection at Clarke Central. He stayed close to home in college, where he played four years as a standout kicker at the University of Georgia.

The fourth-round draft pick kicked 20 years in the NFL with Seattle, Carolina and New Orleans. Kasay’s best season came in 1996, when he was the NFL’s scoring leader, a Pro Bowler and earned second-team All-Pro honors.

RB Jamal Lewis (Douglass)

NFL stats: 2,542 rushes, 10,607 yards, 58 TD; 221 catches, 1,879 yards, 4 TD

Lewis’ speed made him one of the most dominant running backs in the country and a 1996 AJC Super 11 selection. The MVP of the 1997 Georgia-Florida All-Star Game led Douglass to its first state quarterfinals appearance in 17 years.

Lewis’ best statistical season at the University of Tennessee was actually his freshman year, when he rushed for over 1,300 yards and seven touchdowns. Baltimore drafted Lewis with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft.

A 2001 Super Bowl title and a 2003 season as the NFL’s rushing leader, Offensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection headline Lewis’ accomplishments. He’s also in the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor.

DL Jeremiah Ratliff (Lowndes)

NFL stats: 285 tackles, 13 sacks, 58 TFL, 13 FR

Ratliff, formerly known as Jay Ratliff, was rated as a tight end at Lowndes, where he had 44 catches for 702 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior and an AJC Super 11 selection. Ratliff switched to the defensive line as a sophomore at Auburn and didn’t start until his senior year.

Dallas drafted Ratliff in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft, pushing down the depth chart again. He earned his first starting job two seasons later and never gave it up, becoming a force in the middle of Dallas’ defense.

Ratliff achieved two first-team All-Pro seasons and four consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 2008-11.

C Jeff Saturday (Shamrock)

Saturday was a dominant force on both lines of scrimmage for Shamrock, but he didn’t get much college attention. He eventually earned a scholarship from the University of North Carolina, where he was an All-ACC center as a junior and senior.

Saturday went undrafted and was cut by his first NFL team before Indianapolis signed him in 1999. Saturday earned two starts before the end of his rookie season and became the team’s starting center the next year.

Saturday missed just eight regular season games over the next 13 seasons. He finished as a Super Bowl XLI champion, a two-time first-team All-Pro, a six-time Pro Bowler and a member of the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor.

LB Takeo Spikes (Washington County)

NFL stats: 1,431 tackles, 79 TFL, 29 sacks, 18 FR

Spikes was dominant enough to earn the AJC’s No. 7 ranking among all-time Georgia high school football players in 2007. The star linebacker was just as dominant at Auburn, where he won All-SEC honors twice and a second-team All-American selection.