More than 4,600 Georgia players on ‘22 college rosters; Grayson leads state with 68

Ladd McConkey-Georgia football-2023 offense

Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey (84) of North Murray High School catches a touchdown pass against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second half of the College Football Playoff National Championship at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday, January 9, 2023. (Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com)

For the second year in a row, Grayson led the state in players on college football rosters last season with 68, according to Steve Slay, a researcher with the Georgia High School Football Historians Association.

Some of Grayson’s notable players are Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe, Clemson running back Phil Mafah, Oklahoma lineman Wanya Morris and Miami lineman Jakai Clark.

Next with the most college players were North Gwinnett (47), Norcross (44), Archer (43), McEachern (43) and Westlake (41). Those are Class 7A schools.

Leading Class 6A was Johns Creek with 39 players. Other classification leaders were Warner Robins (31) in 5A, Hapeville Charter (32) in 4A, Cedar Grove (38) in 3A, Eagle’s Landing Christian (23) in 2A, Heard County (14) in A Division I and McIntosh County Academy (11) in A Division II.

Georgia had 4,646 players overall on college rosters, up from 4,631 last season. Georgia’s numbers have risen more than 40% since Slay began doing the research about 15 years ago.

By division, there were 1,197 Georgia players in FBS, 906 in FCS, 1,121 in Division II, 687 in Division III, 502 in the NAIA and 233 playing in junior college.

Below is a list of each school by classification and its number of 2022 college players. They include walk-ons.

Class 7A (1,164)

68 - Grayson

47 - North Gwinnett

44 - Norcross

43 - Archer

43 - McEachern

41 - Westlake

38 - Buford

37 - Milton

36 - Harrison

36 - Parkview

36 - South Gwinnett

35 - Brookwood

34 - Valdosta

31 - Mill Creek

30 - Hillgrove

29 - Carrollton

29 - Colquitt County

29 - Lowndes

29 - North Cobb

28 - Marietta

28 - Peachtree Ridge

28 - Walton

27 - Dacula

26 - Collins Hill

24 - Camden County

22 - Newton

22 - Pebblebrook

19 - Richmond Hill

18 - West Forsyth

16 - East Coweta

16 - North Paulding

15 - Central Gwinnett

15 - Denmark

14 - Cherokee

14 - Discovery

14 - Duluth

14 - South Forsyth

13 - Lambert

12 - Forsyth Central

12 - Kennesaw Mountain

12 - Mountain View

10 - Campbell

10 - Meadowcreek

10 - Wheeler

5 - Berkmar

5 - Osborne

Class 6A (871)

39 - Johns Creek

36 - Roswell

33 - Lee County

29 - Allatoona

29 - Douglas County

28 - Alpharetta

28 - Lanier

27 - Woodward Academy

25 - Lovejoy

24 - Hughes

22 - Brunswick

22 - Blessed Trinity

22 - Shiloh

20 - Houston County

19 - Gainesville

19 - Glynn Academy

19 - Tift County

18 - Marist

18 - North Forsyth

18 - New Manchester

18 - Newnan

17 - Alcovy

16 - Grovetown

16 - Etowah

16 - Alexander

15 - Rome

15 - Sprayberry

14 - Northside (Warner Robins)

13 - East Paulding

13 - Jonesboro

13 - South Paulding

12 - Riverwood

12 - South Effingham

12 - Woodstock

11 - Lassiter

11 - North Atlanta

11 - Thomas County Central

11 - Veterans

10 - Mundy’s Mill

10 - Apalachee

10 - Creekview

9 - Rockdale County

9 - South Cobb

8 - Evans

8 - St. Pius

7 - Habersham Central

7 - River Ridge

7 - Effingham County

7 - Sequoyah

6 - Paulding County

6 - Pope

6 - Jackson County

5 - Lakeside (Evans)

4 - Lakeside (Atlanta)

4 - Morrow

4 - Forest Park

3 - Dunwoody

Class 5A (697)

31 - Warner Robins

30 - Tucker

28 - Cartersville

27 - Dutchtown

25 - Creekside

24 - Arabia Mountain

23 - Mays

21 - Greater Atlanta Christian

21 - Ware County

19 - Kell

19 - Clarke Central

18 - Jenkins

17 - Calhoun

17 - Jefferson

16 - Eagle’s Landing

15 - Jones County

15 - Heritage (Conyers)

15 - Banneker

14 - Harris County

14 - Ola

14 - Flowery Branch

13 - Bradwell Institute

12 - Union Grove

11 - Hiram

11 - Dalton

11 - Coffee

11 - Eastside

10 - Loganville

10 - Greenbrier

10 - M.L. King

10 - Chapel Hill

10 - Centennial

10 - Villa Rica

9 - Drew

9 - Jackson (Atlanta)

9 - Chattahoochee

9 - Lithonia

9 - Decatur

9 - Locust Grove

9 - Winder-Barrow

8 - Midtown

7 - Lithia Springs

7 - North Springs

7 - Northgate

7 - Northside (Columbus)

7 - Cambridge

7 - Chamblee

7 - Statesboro

6 - Tri-Cities

5 - Cass

5 - McIntosh

5 - Northview

4 - Woodland (Cartersville)

Class 4A (590 players)

32 - Hapeville Charter

30 - Stockbridge

22 - Perry

22 - Stephenson

20 - Griffin

19 - Woodland (Stockbridge)

18 - Westminster (Atlanta)

15 - Riverdale

15 - Spalding

14 - Islands

14 - Holy Innocents

13 - Cedartown

13 - Pace Academy

13 - Fayette County

13 - Trinity Christian (Sharpsburg)

13 - Walnut Grove

13 - Westside (Macon)

12 - LaGrange

12 - New Hampstead

12 - Cairo

12 - Starr’s Mill

12 - Troup

11 - Southwest DeKalb

11 - Benedictine

11 - Cedar Shoals

11 - Westover

10 - Hardaway

10 - Lovett

10 - Whitewater

9 - Bainbridge

9 - Miller Grove

9 - Hampton

8 - Mount Zion (Jonesboro)

8 - Shaw

8 - Luella

8 - Howard

8 - Baldwin

8 - North Oconee

8 - Wayne County

7 - Cherokee Bluff

7 - McDonough

6 - Heritage (Ringgold)

6 - Southeast Bulloch

6 - Chestatee

5 - North Clayton

5 - Burke County

5 - West Laurens

4 - Druid Hills

4 - Stone Mountain

3 - Madison County

3 - Southeast Whitfield

3 - Central (Carrollton)

2 - Northwest Whitfield

2 - Sonoraville

2 - North Hall

2 - East Hall

1 - Clarkston

1 - Johnson (Gainesville)

Class 3A (452)

38 - Cedar Grove

27 - Sandy Creek

27 - Peach County

17 - Carver (Columbus)

16 - Ringgold

15 - Calvary Day

15 - Columbus

14 - Carver (Atlanta)

14 - Oconee County

11 - Hart County

11 - Dawson County

11 - Crisp County

11 - Mary Persons

11 - Thomasville

10 - Monroe Area

10 - Helpzibah

10 - Beach

10 - Wesleyan

9 - Morgan County

9 - Stephens County

9 - Upson-Lee

8 - Adairsville

8 - Harlem

8 - Pickens

8 - Liberty County

8 - Dougherty

8 - Lumpkin County

7 - Monroe

7 - Long County

7 - Salem

7 - Jackson

6 - Savannah Christian

6 - Richmond Academy

6 - Hebron Christian

6 - West Hall

5 - Bremen

5 - Ridgeland

5 - Douglass

4 - LaFayette

4 - Cross Creek

4 - Savannah Country Day

4 - White County

3 - Johnson (Savannah)

3 - Pike County

3 - Gilmer

3 - Gordon Lee

2 - McNair

2 - Jordan

2 - Glenn Hills

2 - Franklin County

2 - East Jackson

2 - Butler

2 - Brantley County

1 - Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe

1 - Coahulla Creek

1 - Banks County

Class 2A (336 players)

23 - Eagle’s Landing Christian

16 - Callaway

14 - Appling County

14 - Washington County

13 - Pierce County

12 - Columbia

10 - Rockmart

9 - Fitzgerald

9 - Central (Macon)

9 - Haralson County

9 - Washington

8 - Mount Paran Christian

8 - Athens Academy

8 - Northeast

8 - Thomson

7 - Sumter County

7 - Southwest

7 - Worth County

6 - Landmark Christian

6 - Model

6 - Putnam County

6 - Fellowship Christian

6 - Therrell

6 - Westside (Augusta)

6 - Windsor Forest

5 - B.E.S.T. Academy

5 - Spencer

5 - Dodge County

5 - Jeff Davis

4 - North Cobb Christian

4 - Laney

4 - Rutland

4 - Josey

4 - Redan

4 - Berrien

4 - Towers

4 - Walker

3 - ACE Charter

3 - South Atlanta

3 - Gordon Central

3 - Murray County

3 - Providence Christian

3 - Cook

3 - Fannin County

3 - North Murray

3 - Tattnall County

3 - Toombs County

3 - Union County

3 - Vidalia

2 - KIPP.Atlanta Collegiate

Class A-D1 (188 players)

14 - Heard County

12 - Bleckley County

10 - Irwin County

9 - Rabun County

8 - Prince Avenue Christian

8 - Mount Vernon

8 - Dublin

8 - Darlington

7 - Whitefield Academy

7 - Mount Pisgah Christian

6 - Swainsboro

6 - Pepperell

6 - Jefferson County

6 - Elbert County

5 - Trion

5 - King’s Ridge Christian

5 - Commerce

5 - Claxton

5 - Chattooga

5 - Brooks County

5 - Athens Christian

4 - Pelham

4 - Lamar County

3 - Temple

3 - St. Francis

3 - Screven County

3 - Savannah

3 - Coosa

3 - Armuchee

2 - Metter

2 - Jasper County

2 - Bryan County

2 - Bacon County

1 - Social Circle

1 - Oglethorpe County

1 - Dade County

1 - Crawford County

Class A Division II (171 players)

11 - McIntosh County Academy

10 - Manchester

8 - Chattahoochee County

8 - Washington-Wilkes

7 - Wilcox County

6 - Aquinas

6 - Christian Heritage

6 - Lanier County

6 - Macon County

6 - Turner County

5 - Clinch County

5 - Lincoln County

5 - Seminole County

5 - Wheeler County

4 - Bowdon

4 - Charlton County

4 - Early County

4 - Johnson County

4 - Mitchell County

4 - Montgomery County

4 - Taylor County

4 - Telfair County

4 - Treutlen

4 - Warren County

4 - Wilkinson County

3 - Dooly County

3 - Emanuel County Institute

3 - Greenville

3 - Jenkins County

3 - Mount Zion (Carroll)

3 - Terrell County

2 - Central (Talbotton)

2 - Greene County

2 - Miller County

2 - Randolph-Clay

1 - Atkinson County

1 - GMC Prep

1 - Hancock Central

1 - Hawkinsville

1 - Marion County

1 - Schley County

1 - Twiggs County

GIAA (108 players)

9 - Heritage (Newnan)

8 - Mount de Sales

7 - Loganville Christian

6 - Brookstone

6 - George Walton Academy

6 - St. Anne-Pacelli

6 - Valwood

5 - Memorial Day

5 - Riverside Military

5 - Tattnall Square

4 - Bethlehem Christian

3 - Bulloch Academy

3 - Deerfield-Windsor

3 - John Milledge Academy

3 - Piedmont Academy

3 - Pinewood Christian

2 - Frederica Academy

2 - Lakeview Academy

2 - Southland Academy

2 - St. Mary’s Academy

2 - Terrell Academy

2 - Tiftarea Academy

2 - Trinity Christian (Dublin)

2 - Windsor Academy

1 - Augusta Prep

1 - Gatewood

1 - Harvester Christian

1 - Notre Dame Academy

1 - Robert Toombs Christian

1 - St. Andrew’s

1 - Stratford Academy

1 - Strong Rock Christian

1 - Westfield

1 - Westminster (Augusta)

GAPPS (31 players)

4 - Cherokee Christian

4 - Community Christian

4 - Creekside Christian

4 - Pinecrest Academy

4 - Walker

3 - Calvary Christian

3 - Central Christian

1 - Johnson Ferry Christian

1 - New Creation Christian

1 - Rock Springs Christian

1 - Sherwood Christian

1 - Vidalia Heritage

Other (34 players)

18 - Rabun Gap-Nacoochee

6 - Augusta Christian

2 - Sound Doctrine Christian

1 - Albany

1 - Artios Academy

1 - Bethesda Academy

1 - Covenant Academy

1 - Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit

1 - Dawson Christian

1 - Georgia Force Home School

1 - Living Science Academy