Newnan High School football players Alec and Alexander Ogletree are arguably the state's most famous twins. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Alec is rated as one of the nation's top college prospects at safety and committed to Georgia over more than 50 scholarship offers. The 5-10, 205-pound Alexander, nicknamed "Zander" as a toddler, is an All-State candidate at linebacker but has yet to generate as much college attention as his brother because of height.
This season, AJC reporter Michael Carvell and photographer Jason Getz will follow the twins as they deal with the pressures of the recruiting process, new-found stardom, and attempting to lead Newnan to the Class AAAAA state championship.
I was born two minutes before my brother on Sept. 25, 1991. Growing up, we always loved sports. We played on all the recreation teams and pretty much dominated.
One year, when we were 13 years old, the [league officials] put us on two different basketball teams because I think a lot of people thought it was unfair we always played together. My parents weren’t sure about the situation, and asked us what we thought about it. We couldn’t care less, we were out there to have fun.
As it turned out, both of our teams went to the championship game that year. I played for the Magic and Alec was on the Heat, and they beat us by 3 points or something in the championship.
People don’t really get us confused as twins because Alec has always been taller than me. We have our normal fights and arguments like any brothers, but he is my best friend and we’re always hanging out and watching each other’s backs.
On the football field, we’re a lot different. The coaches say that I’m more of a vocal leader and sure tackler. Alec is a quiet leader and known for making that big hit that can change a game.
It has been cool seeing Alec so highly recruited. There’s no jealousy from me. It has helped get me some looks by scouts, but I know I have to hold my own. It makes me want to practice harder and be better than him.
I’ve got an offer from Savannah State, and there are other schools, including Florida State and Miami, that have shown a lot of interest. We'd love to be teammates at Georgia.
If it doesn’t work out at Georgia, then that would be OK, too. If I go somewhere else, it would be like spending the night at someone else’s house and Alec is not there. But we’ll always be best friends.
Contact Michael Carvell at mcarvell@ajc.com or Jason Getz at jgetz@ajc.com
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