*Best player: Jalen Addie has one reported offer, from Akron, which is not unusual for quarterbacks this early, but no returning Class 5A player had more impact on the game than the Warner Robins quarterback. He was 141-of-269 passing for 2,341 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior for a 13-2 state runner-up. He also rushed for 593 yards. He's a load to defend at a mobile 6-3, 210 pounds.
*Best position: All five offensive linemen might end up in Power 5 conferences. Committed are Jordan Davis (South Carolina), Weston Franklin (Georgia Tech) and Ty Furnish (Virginia). Cameron Ball and Jalil Muhammad also have Power 5 offers. All made their all-region teams last year.
*Most highly recruited: Woodward Academy safety Khari Gee is the consensus No. 28 senior prospect in Georgia and No. 22 safety nationally. He committed to LSU in May.
*Underrated: Jerrian Hames’ size – 5-10, 180 pounds – isn’t what major Division I schools typically want, but the Calhoun running back rushed for 1,526 yards and 22 touchdowns in 12 games last season.
*That’s interesting: Woodward Academy has moved up in class, and 5A should be forewarned. Four War Eagles made this team, and it easily could’ve been six as Alan “Taco” Wright, a cornerback committed to Vanderbilt who also might be the best return man in the class, and Damari Alston, a Division I running-back recruit who had more than 1,300 all-purpose yards, were left out.
*Snubbed? Like Woodward, Cartersville could’ve had more players, among them Devonte Ross, who had 53 receptions for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, and Amarai Orr, who had six sacks and scored four touchdowns playing various roles. Also missing are some stout quarterbacks, such as Dutchtown’s Arendez Fedd and Ware County’s Thomas Castellanos.
*What else is new? Fourteen of the 26 players on this team played in other classifications last year. Their teams include Blessed Trinity, Calhoun, Cartersville and Creekside, schools that have won state titles in the past decade. They also include Greenbrier, Stone Mountain, Tri-Cities and Woodward. Coffee didn’t have a preseason all-state player but will be a force with which to be reckoned, too.
OFFENSE
QB - Jalen Addie, Warner Robins, Sr.
RB - Jerrian Hames, Calhoun, Sr.
RB - Justice Haynes, Blessed Trinity, So.
WR - Jairus Mack, Clarke Central, Sr.
WR - Maleek Wooten, Jones County, Sr.
TE - Jaden Miller, Wayne County, Sr.
OL - Cameron Ball, Tri-Cities, Sr.
OL - Jordan Davis, Creekside
OL - Weston Franklin, Wayne County, Sr.
OL - Ty Furnish, Blessed Trinity, Sr.
OL - Jalil Muhammad, Creekside, Sr.
ATH - Shahiem Bailey, Stone Mountain, Sr.
PK - Kriston Esnard, Decatur, Sr.
DEFENSE
DL - Ozzie Hoffler, Woodward Academy, Sr.
DL - Devin Lee, Ola, Sr.
DL - Neto Okpala, Loganville, Sr.
DL - Beau Shugarts, Greenbrier, Sr.
LB - Jackson Hamilton, Blessed Trinity, Sr.
LB - Michael Mincey, Ware County, Sr.
LB - Errington Truesdell, Woodward Academy, Sr.
LB - Ahmad Walker, Warner Robins, Sr.
DB - Cole Bishop, Starr's Mill, Sr.
DB - Jordan Favors, Griffin, Sr.
DB - Khari Gee, Woodward Academy, Sr.
DB - Evan Slocum, Cartersville, Sr.
P - Davis Golick, Woodward Academy, Sr.
Coming Thursday: Class 4A
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