THE LEADERBOARD

‘Grossly overlooked’ RB flies up leaderboard with 411-yard rushing game

Houston County senior Austin Stinson is averaging 316 yards rushing per game, the highest in the state. ‘If he hits the open field, he’s gone,’ says coach Jeremy Edwards.
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(Branden Camp for the AJC)
(Branden Camp for the AJC)
Todd Holcomb
By
Sept 18, 2026

Austin Stinson’s 411-yard rushing game moved him up the AJC Varsity leaderboard this week. It also apparently moved him up on some recruiting boards, something Houston County coach Jeremy Edwards believes is overdue.

“To me, he’s been grossly overlooked,” Edwards said of his senior back who is committed to Colorado State. “Obviously, a lot of people are calling now. He’s a 10.7 track guy in the 100. If he hits the open field, he’s gone. Colorado State is getting a really good back if they can hold on to him.”

Stinson’s 411 yards came in a 73-66 loss to Central of Carrollton. Also in the game, he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and had another kick-return touchdown called back on a penalty. He scored seven touchdowns.

His performance against Central was the latest of three monster games. Stinson rushed for 226 yards the previous week against Jones County and 311 in the opener against West Forsyth, both victories.

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Stinson is averaging 316 rushing yards, highest in the state. He’s second in total rushing yards to Monroe Area quarterback Cooper Shumate, who has 1,035 in four games.

Edwards says Stinson isn’t having a breakout year. He’s always been good, the coach says.

Stinson rushed for 956 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore. He ran for only 642 as a junior because of a lingering high-ankle sprain. Houston County had another top back, Colin Anderson, now at Air Force.

But when healthy late in the season, Stinson ran for more than 100 yards against top-10 teams Thomas County Central, Lee County and Rome.

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This season, Stinson is the feature back.

“I challenged him to be (a) 25- to 30-carry back, so he went to work in the offseason,” Edwards said. “He’s only about 5-9, about 190-ish pounds, so maybe that holds him back a little bit (in the eyes of college coaches), but he’s pound for pound one of the strongest players on our team. And look at the region (we) play in (with Thomas Central, Lee County and a third top-10 team, Coffee). We’re playing against some good teams.”

Below are the state’s leading rushers, passers and receivers.

Rushing

Passing

Receiving

GIAA

Rushing

Passing

Receiving