OCTOBER 26, 2024
AT THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
IS
A PROUD SPONSOR OF THE
GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
TRAILBLAZERS, STATE CHAMPIONS AND HOMETOWN HEROES UNDERLINE CLASS OF 2024
BY CRAIG SAGER II
The Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame’s 30-member Class of 2024 represents the third group of inductees since the hall’s inaugural 2022 Class and welcomes in an exceptional collection of trailblazers, state champions and homegrown heroes that spans across the decades and throughout Georgia’s gridiron landscape. Board members of the Hall of Fame began submi ing nominees for the Hall’s third class in early spring and then held commi ee votes before the final ballot was narrowed down to the finalists in midMarch. Once the ballot was set, each board member was required to vote for 30 players that spanned across these eras (Pre-1948, 194859, 1960’s, GIA, 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s). The top two from each era and a minimum of seven linemen were guaranteed spots, but neither requirement factored in and the top 30 vote-ge ers ultimately formed the class. The board’s ballots were all submi ed by Monday, May 20, but a three-way tie for the final spot forced a runo and the 30-player class became o cial Tuesday evening.
TIME TO SHINE
There were 10 first-time nominees that were voted into the 2024 class, 14 individuals that have appeared on all three ballots and six guys that debuted last year that were successful in their second a empt. Additionally, 22 of the 30 inductees are the first players from their respective school to enter the hall. The firsttime nominees that were successfully voted in were Frank Broyles (Decatur, 1941), Alfred Jenkins (Hogansville, 1968), Homer Jordan (Cedar Shoals, 1978), Jessie Tuggle (Gri n, 1982), David Rocker (Fulton, 1986), David Greene (South Gwinne , 1999), George Atkinson (Johnson-Savannah, 1963) and a trio of players that graduated in the 2000’s with Alec Ogletree (Newnan, 2009), Demaryius Thomas (West Laurens, 2005) and Thomas Davis (Randolph-Clay, 2000). Tuggle and Jenkins are both long-time Atlanta Falcon greats that played their entire professional careers with the franchise.
The six inductees that were voted in this year a er debuting on last year’s ballot are Lauren Hargrove (Fitzgerald, 1948), Je Bower (Roswell, 1970), Terry Harvey (Dacula, 1990), Leonard Pope (Americus, 2001), Tommy Hart (Ballard-Hudson, 1963) and Silas Jamison (Washington, 1959). Finally, the inductees that have the distinction of appearing on all three ballots and successfully joining the hall this year are Evere Strupper (Riverside Military, 1913), Len Hauss (Wayne County, 1959), Edgar Chandler (Cedartown, 1963), Andy Spiva (Chamblee, 1972), Ben Zambiasi (Mount de Sales, 1973), Kent
Hill (Americus, 1974), Jerry Mays (Thomson, 1984), Robert Lave e (Cartersville, 1980), Bill Mayo (Dalton, 1980), Joe Burns (Thomas County Central, 1997), Hutson Mason (Lassiter, 2009), Tray Blackmon, LaGrange (2004), Jonathan Dwyer (Kell, 2006) and Jack Pi s (Trinity, 1965).
STATE PROWESS
UGA led all colleges with 10 former Bulldogs represented and Georgia Tech accounted for seven. For Georgia, Mason, Ogletree, Pope, Greene and Davis are five products of the Mark Richt-era that got in—joining previous Bulldogs from that era like Rennie Curran and DJ Shockley. Pope joins 1974 Americus alum Kent Hill as the only pair of inductees from the same high school this year and the two hall of famers graduated 27 years apart.
Georgia Tech’s group includes Dwyer and Thomas, who were both teammates under Paul Johnson on the Yellow Jackets’ 2009 ACC Championship Team. The other Yellow Jackets include Lave e, Burns, May, Broyles and Strupper. A total of three College Football Hall of Famers are represented in this year’s class—including Strupper—who became the first former Georgia high school player to become a consensus All-American while starring at hal ack for Tech’s 1917 national championship team. Broyles is a Hall of Famer for his athletic career and is also a College Football Hall of Fame coach who won seven SWC championships and a 1964 national title at Arkansas. Dacula’s Harvey became a football and baseball star at NC State a er his varsity career—se ing a school record in passing as a three-year starting quarterback and becoming a NC State baseball Hall of Famer in 2012 as a pitching ace with a school-record 35 wins on the mound.
Mason led Lassiter to its first-ever playo berth and became the first quarterback in state history to pass for more than 4,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a season. He joins other trailblazers in this year’s class—such as Hargrove—who accounted for more than 60 touchdowns and 421 total points in his varsity days during a time when teams not only played fewer games per season, but also were significantly lower scoring.
There are 12 players that won football state championships, including Bower—who won five total state titles while at Roswell—two in football, two in baseball and one in basketball. Mason, Burns and LaGrange’s Tray Blackmon are the three inductees that were All-Classification Players of the Year during their varsity careers.
BITTER RIVALS REUNITE AT THE GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
BY SETH ELLERBEE
TheGeorgia vs. Georgia Tech rivalry is well-known for carrying the moniker ‘Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate’ and is inarguably the greatest rivalry in college football.
And yes, there is ‘The Iron Bowl’ between Alabama and Auburn, which began the same year – 1893 – as the Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry. That might be the closest rivalry series to match the levels of family-dividing hatred that breeds between and during the yearly contests.
Sure, there are other rivalries like Michigan-Ohio State across the NCAA landscape, but it’s di erent down South.
Down here, the hatred and disgust for the other team – and their supporters –in ‘Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate’ transcends generations, well beyond the players’ time between the hedges or on The Flats.
A VESTIGE OF ESTEEM
For generations, gentlemen and ladies around the state have been laid to rest with their Bulldog or Buzz pendants on their lapels. Their friends – who might support ‘the other team’ -- will a end the funeral ceremonies in the colors of the deceased’s favorite team.
A Georgia fan wearing Old Gold and White to say goodbye is the ultimate sign of respect.
And visa versa.
In this year’s Third-Annual Class of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame there are 17 former University of Georgia and Georgia Institute of Technology players entering the Hall of Fame. Georgia leads with 10 inductees and Georgia Tech adds seven legendary high school players to the Hall.
Evere Strupper – an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame -- was born in Columbus in 1896 and is the eldest of the inductees, graduating from Riverside Military in Gainesville in 1913 before taking his talents to Georgia Tech. Strupper played hal ack at Georgia Tech and led the Jackets to a 24-0-2 record while on the team.
THE UNBREAKABLE RECORD
He was a key member of Georgia Tech’s 222-0 victory against Cumberland College in 1916 and rushed for eight touchdowns in the NCAA’s unbreakable victory margin. He led the Jackets to a National Championship in 1917. He passed away in 1950 at the age of 53 in Atlanta.
Kell legend Jonathan Dwyer and the late, great Demaryius Thomas – whose name will live in the hearts and minds of West Laurens fans forever -- both played under Paul Johnson’s Georgia Tech teams in the late 2000’s that ran the triple-option to perfection.
Dwyer was the hal ack, while Thomas, known as ‘Bay Bay’ was the stud receiver. Thomas – who caught 82 passes for 1,234 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior at West Laurens -- tragically passed away in 2021 at the age of 33 due to complications from a car crash two years prior.
Robert Lave e was a stud running back at Cartersville before graduating in 1980 and accepting an o er to Georgia Tech. He rushed for 5,870 yards and 49 touchdowns while se ing nine career records at Cartersville. Against top-ranked Georgia – featuring Herschel Walker – Lave e had 203 yards on 23 carries, outgaining Walker by 40 yards.
JUNKYARD DAWGS AND HOBNAIL BOOTS
Fitzgerald legend Lauren Hargrove passed away in 2009 and was known as the ‘Herschel Walker’ of his day. As a star at Fitzgerald, he did everything -- ran the ball, kicked extra points, played defense and was a punt returner. He le ered for three years at UGA from 1950-52. Quarterback Je Bower – a 1970 Roswell graduate –played for one season (1971) between the hedges before transferring to Southern Miss, where he coached from 1975-77.
Quarterbacks David Greene and Hutson Mason were some of the best pass throwers in Bulldog history and are highlights of the UGA inductees. Greene, a South Gwinne product, will forever be remembered for a single drive and a Larry Munson call in the 2001 Tennessee game UGA won 26-24.
The victory was punctuated by Munson’s legendary voice, “We just stepped on their face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose. We just crushed their face!” as Haynes – on the play call ‘P44 Haynes’-- caught Greene’s game-winning touchdown.
Mason, a 2009 graduate at Lassiter, once held the Georgia high school passing record of 4,560 yards and 54 touchdowns as a senior. Mason played behind Aaron Murray as a freshman and made his first career start against Georgia Tech a er Murray was injured. Mason passed for two touchdowns to lead Georgia to a 41-34 double-overtime victory.
Newnan’s Alec Ogletree was one of the most dominant linebackers in Georgia High School Football history and was one of the top prospects in the 2010 recruiting class. During his senior season at Newnan, he made 85 tackles, five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, two blocked kicks and five touchdown receptions on o ense.
The group below and highlighted above displays each of the former Georgia or Georgia Tech players who spent time being exceptional on their high school football fields and the years they graduated. .
Georgia Tech Inductees
Joe Burns – Thomas County Central – 1997
Jonathan Dwyer – Kell – 2006
Kent Hill – Americus – 1974
Robert Lave e – Cartersville – 1980
Jerry Mays – Thomson – 1984
Demaryius Thomas – West Laurens – 2005
Evere Strupper – Riverside Military – 1913
Georgia Inductees
Je Bower (and Southern Miss) – Roswell – 1970
Edgar Chandler – Cedartown – 1963
Thomas Davis – Randolph-Clay – 2000
David Greene – South Gwinne – 1999
Lauren Hargrove – Fitzgerald – 1948
Len Hauss – Wayne County – 1959
Hutson Mason – Lassiter – 2009
Alec Ogletree – Newnan – 2009
Leonard Pope – Americus – 2001
Ben Zambiasi – Mt. de Sales – 1973
GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME STAFF
AARON LUPULOFF BOARD MEMBER
AHMAND TINKER BOARD MEMBER
ASHLEY CAREY EVENT COORDINATOR
BECKY TAYLOR HISTORIAN
BETH ANN ROSENBERG EVENT COORDINATOR
BILL HARTMAN BOARD MEMBER/MC
BRANDON ADAMS BOARD MEMBER
BRYAN LAMAR BOARD MEMBER
BUCK BELUE BOARD MEMBER/INDUCTEE
CHASE ROSENBERG EVENT DAY DJ - CHOZEN
CHIP SAYE BOARD MEMBER
CHRIS CHILTON BOARD MEMBER
CHRIS PARKER BOARD MEMBER
CRAIG SAGER II BOARD MEMBER
DAMON GRIEVE EVENT COORDINATOR
DAVE HUNTER CO-CHAIR OF THE BOARD
DJ JONES BOARD MEMBER
EARL ETHERIDGE BOARD MEMBER
EDDY SHADDIX BOARD MEMBER
ERIC PARKER BOARD MEMBER
FRED KALIL BOARD MEMBER
GRACE ROTHBERG EVENT COORDINATOR
GRAHAM DAVID SECRETARY
HAYDEN GILBERT EVENT COORDINATOR
IJ ROSENBERG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
JASPER JEWELL BOARD MEMBER
JIM SMITH BOARD MEMBER
JIMMY DORSEY BOARD MEMBER
JON NELSON BOARD MEMBER
KENNY MULLINS BOARD MEMBER
LAURA GRIEVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
LUCIUS SANFORD BOARD MEMBER/INDUCTEE
LYNN HUNNICUTT BOARD MEMBER
MACKEL HARRIS BOARD MEMBER/INDUCTEE
MATT STEWART BOARD MEMBER/MC
MAURICE FREEMAN BOARD MEMBER
MAX WOLBORSKY EVENT COORDINATOR
MIKE LUTZENKIRCHEN BOARD MEMBER
NAJEH WILKINS BOARD MEMBER
RANDY BEALL BOARD MEMBER
REGINA MONTGOMERY BOARD MEMBER
ROB SAYE PHOTOGRAPHER
ROBIN HINES BOARD MEMBER
RODDY WHITE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
RUSTY MANSELL CO-CHAIR OF THE BOARD
SAM CRENSHAW BOARD MEMBER
SETH ELLERBEE BOARD MEMBER
STEVE LANGLEY BOARD MEMBER
TED LANGFORD BOARD MEMBER
TIM MCFARLIN BOARD MEMBER
TIM SCOTT BOARD MEMBER
TODD HOLCOMB HISTORIAN
1. GEORGE ATKINSON
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
JOHNSON-SAVANNAH HIGH SCHOOL
2. TRAY BLACKMON
LAGRANGE, GEORGIA
LAGRANGE HIGH SCHOOL
3. JEFF BOWER
ROSWELL, GEORGIA
ROSWELL HIGH SCHOOL
4. FRANK BROYLES
DECATUR, GEORGIA
DECATUR HIGH SCHOOL
5. JOE BURNS
THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA
THOMAS CO. CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
6. EDGAR CHANDLER
CEDARTOWN, GEORGIA
CEDARTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
7. THOMAS DAVIS
CUTHBERT, GEORGIA
RANDOLPH-CLAY HIGH SCHOOL
8. JONATHAN DWYER
MARIETTA, GEORGIA
KELL HIGH SCHOOL
9. DAVID GREENE
SNELLVILLE, GEORGIA
SOUTH GWINNETT HIGH SCHOOL
10. LAUREN HARGROVE
FITZGERALD, GEORGIA
FITZGERALD HIGH SCHOOL
11. TOMMY HART
MACON, GEORGIA
BALLARD-HUDSON HIGH SCHOOL
12. TERRY HARVEY
DACULA, GEORGIA
DACULA HIGH SCHOOL
13. LEN HAUSS
JESUP, GEORGIA
WAYNE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
14. KENT HILL
AMERICUS, GEORGIA
AMERICUS HIGH SCHOOL
15. SILAS JAMISON
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
16. ALFRED JENKINS
HOGANSVILLE, GEORGIA
HOGANSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
17. HOMER JORDAN
ATHENS, GEORGIA
CEDAR SHOALS HIGH SCHOOL
18. ROBERT LAVETTE
CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA
CARTERSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
19. HUTSON MASON
MARIETTA, GEORGIA
LASSITER HIGH SCHOOL
20. BILL MAYO
DALTON, GEORGIA
DALTON HIGH SCHOOL
21. JERRY MAYS
THOMSON, GEORGIA
THOMSON HIGH SCHOOL
22. ALEC OGLETREE
NEWNAN, GEORGIA
NEWNAN HIGH SCHOOL
23. JACK PITTS
DECATUR, GEORGIA
TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL
24. LEONARD POPE
AMERICUS, GEORGIA
AMERICUS HIGH SCHOOL
25. DAVID ROCKER
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
FULTON HIGH SCHOOL
26. ANDY SPIVA
CHAMBLEE, GEORGIA
CHAMBLEE HIGH SCHOOL
27. EVERETT STRUPPER
GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA
RIVERSIDE MILITARY ACADEMY
28. DEMARYIUS THOMAS
DUBLIN, GEORGIA
WEST LAURENS HIGH SCHOOL
29. JESSIE TUGGLE
GRIFFIN, GEORGIA
GRIFFIN HIGH SCHOOL
30. BEN ZAMBIASI
MACON, GEORGIA
MOUNT DE SALES ACADEMY
GEORGE “BUTCH” ATKINSON Congratulations to the Class of 2024 Inductees!
OF JOHNSON-SAVANNAH HIGH
SCHOOL
George Atkinson was an 11-year NFL player and two-time Pro Bowl performer for the Oakland Raiders. He led Sol C. Johnson High of Savannah to the Class AA championship game in 1963 in the school’s fifth year of existence. Johnson’s football teams were 21-6-2 over Atkinson’s final three seasons. With SEC schools not recruiting African American players at the time, Atkinson signed with Atlanta’s Morris Brown College and became a four-year starter playing receiver and safety. The Raiders drafted the speedy Atkinson in the seventh round, and the defensive back was the 1968 AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was boosted by his 802 return yards. He would have 3,681 all-purpose yards in his career, but he was best known as the strong safety nicknamed “Hitman” in the Raiders’ Soul Patrol secondary that included cornerbacks Willie Brown and Skip Thomas and free safety Jack Tatum. They were the first all-black starting secondary in NFL history. The Raiders won more games (10.6 per season) in Atkinson’s 10 years as a starter (1968-77) than any other NFL team. The Raiders’ 1976 Super Bowl winning team went 16-1. Atkinson is currently a Raiders broadcaster who does pre-game and post-game shows. Atkinson was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2020 and was a finalist for the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2024.
TRAY BLACKMON
OF LAGRANGE HIGH SCHOOL
Tray Blackmon was the 2004 AJC and Gatorade all-classification Player of the Year in Georgia and the face of dominating LaGrange defenses that allowed only 6.4 points per game while winning 2003 and 2004 Class AAA championships. LaGrange was 55-2 in Blackmon’s four varsity seasons under GACA Hall of Fame coach Steve Pardue. A linebacker, Blackmon started his final three seasons, the last two ending in state titles. As a senior, Blackmon was credited with 115 tackles, eight sacks and seven forced fumbles on a LaGrange team that went 15-0 and won each game by more than 10 points. No opponent scored more than one touchdown against the starting lineup. Blackmon had 116 tackles, 12 sacks and six forced fumbles as a junior and 101 tackles and five sacks as a sophomore. He was a Parade All-American, an AJC Super 11 pick and the state’s No. 1 recruit as a senior. Blackmon got freshman All-SEC recognition at Auburn but had an up-and-down college career. He played briefly in the Canadian Football League. In 2014, Blackmon finished tied for fifth in a Georgia High School Football Daily survey that asked active head coaches, “Who is the best Georgia player you ever faced?” Blackmon was named to GHSF Daily’s 24-member team of the decade for 2000-09.
JEFF BOWER
OF ROSWELL HIGH SCHOOL
Jeff Bower was a quarterback who led Roswell to state championships in 1968 and 1970 before becoming a standout player and a long-time head coach at Southern Miss. Bower passed for 3,008 yards in his high school career and was the 1970 AJC Class A Back of the Year and a Senior Scholastic Magazine All-American. Roswell was 33-4 in Bower’s three seasons as a starter. He made first-team all-state in 1969 and 1970. Bower was a starter on five Roswell state championship teams, two in baseball and one in basketball in addition to the two in football. With Bower as his school’s best all-around athlete, Roswell won the Class A triple crown of those sports in the 1970-71 academic year. Bower signed to play football at Georgia but transferred to Southern Miss after his freshman year. He started three years at Southern Miss and passed for 3,589 yards. Bower was the Southern Miss head coach from 1990 to 2007 and compiled a 119-83-1 record with six bowl game victories. At one time, Bower ranked sixth in the USM total offense all-time as a player while having coached the five quarterbacks in front of him, including Brett Favre. Bower is a member of the Southern Miss Sports Hall of Fame (1988) and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (2009).
The Atlanta Falcons congratulate the members of the Class of 2024 of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame
OF DECATUR HIGH SCHOOL
Frank Broyles is best known as the College Football Hall of Fame coach who won seven SWC championships and a 1964 national title at Arkansas. He also was a popular color commentator alongside Keith Jackson covering football games for ABC Sports. As a 1941 senior at Decatur Boys High, Broyles was perhaps the best all-around schoolboy athlete in Georgia. In football, playing in the single-wing offense, the red-headed Broyles was a passer, runner, kicker and punter who scored 112 points and 15 touchdowns on a 7-2 team. In basketball, he averaged 17 points and led Decatur to the Class B semifinals. In baseball, he batted .420 and was his team’s ace pitcher. He played football and basketball at Georgia Tech. As the Yellow Jackets’ quarterback in 1945, Broyles set the Orange Bowl record for passing yards (304), a mark broken 55 years later by Michigan’s Tom Brady. Broyles was the Chicago Bears’ third-round NFL Draft pick in 1946. The Basketball Association of America, which later merged with another league to form the NBA, also drafted Broyles in the third round, but Broyles went straight into coaching. Among his many honors are inductions into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame (1960), the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (1971) and the College Football Hall of Fame (1983). Broyles passed away in 2017 at age 92.
JOE BURNS FRANK BROYLES
OF THOMAS COUNTY CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
Joe Burns was the star running back on Thomas County Central teams that won 1996-97 state championships and a key figure in Georgia Tech teams that scored four winning seasons and four bowl bids in 1998-2001 under coach George O’Leary. As a high school senior, Burns was the 1997 AJC and GSWA all-classification Player of the Year as he led Thomas County Central to the Class AAA championship with a 15-0 record. Burns rushed for 1,940 yards, including 234 yards with two touchdowns in a 21-19 championship victory over Burke County. As a junior in 1996, Burns was the 1996 GSWA Class AAA Player of the Year and AJC Offensive Player of the Year and led Thomas County Central to the AAA championship with a 14-1 record. He rushed for 2,006 yards that year and 5,006 for his career and scored 68 touchdowns. He also played on Thomas County Central’s 1994 championship team as a freshman. At Georgia Tech, Burns was a 1,000-yard rusher and first-team All-ACC pick in 2001. Tech was 35-14 with three victories over Georgia in Burns’ four seasons. Burns left Tech as the fourth-leading rusher (2,634 yards) and second-leading touchdown scorer (34) in school history. Burns played four NFL seasons with the Buffalo Bills. In retirement, Burns started the Rising Seniors Foundation to help prepare aspiring college athletes for college sports. He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
EDGAR CHANDLER
OF
Edgar Chandler was the star player on Cedartown’s first state championship team in 1963, then a two-time consensus All-American at Georgia and a six-year NFL player. Chandler was the AJC’s 1963 Class AA Lineman of the Year and a 1963 Senior Scholastic magazine All-American, one of just three that year from Georgia. Atlanta Constitution prep writer Charlie Roberts wrote of Chandler, “Cedartown’s 208-pound tackle is probably North Georgia’s best all-around lineman in recent seasons’’ and “the defensive backbone of Cedartown’s championship 11.’’ Chandler’s Cedartown team beat North Clayton 21-7 for the Class AA championship. At 6-foot-3, Chandler also was a basketball center and a track-and-field star who won a state title in the shot put. He was a member of Georgia coach Vince Dooley’s first recruiting class in 1964. He was a consensus All-American on Georgia’s 1966 SEC championship team and again on the 1967 team. The Buffalo Bills took Chandler in the fourth round of the 1968 NFL Draft. Chandler converted to linebacker with his speed and played six NFL seasons (68 games, 46 starts) with the Bills and Patriots. Chandler finished his career as a member of the Birmingham Americans’ WFL championship team. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. Chandler settled back into northwest Georgia after retiring. He lost a battle to cancer and passed away in 1992 at age 46.
CEDARTOWN HIGH SCHOOL THOMAS DAVIS
OF RANDOLPH-CLAY HIGH SCHOOL
Thomas Davis was an honorable-mention all-state player with one major college offer, from Georgia, during his senior season in 2000, making this 16-year NFL veteran one of the most overlooked jewels in Georgia high school football history. Davis was an outstanding high school player and athlete, but hidden in the southwest corner of the state toiling for a Class AA team that had gone 0-19-1 in his freshman and sophomore seasons. As a senior, Davis rushed for 1,032 yards and 18 touchdowns on a 6-5 team. He rarely came off the field, playing running back, wide receiver, quarterback, defensive back, defensive end, punter and place-kicker in his high school career. He also played on three state semifinal basketball teams and was a member of Randolph-Clay’s baseball and track-and-field teams. Davis became a two-time first-team All-SEC player (2003, 2004) and consensus All-American (2004) at Georgia as a hard-hitting safety. The Carolina Panthers selected Davis in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2005 NFL Draft. Davis made the Pro Bowl three times as a Panthers linebacker. He made first-team All-Pro on the Panthers’ 2015 Super Bowl team. In 2014, Davis was the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year for making a significant positive impact on his community and he won the NFL’s Bart Starr Character Award in 2016. Davis was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
OF KELL HIGH SCHOOL
Jonathan Dwyer rushed for a Cobb County record 5,565 yards as the running back who put Kell High on the football map, then became the 2008 ACC Player of the Year while a sophomore at Georgia Tech. In high school, Dwyer was a Parade All-American and the GACA Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year in 2006, when he rushed for 1,802 yards. He rushed for 1,898 yards as a junior and more than 1,000 as a freshman in 2003, Kell’s first football season. Dwyer was named to Georgia High School Football Daily’s all-decade team (2000-09) as one of two running backs. As an AJC Super 11 pick and a consensus top-100 national prospect, Dwyer signed with Georgia Tech. He rushed for exactly 1,395 yards twice (2008, 2009) and was voted the ACC’s top player in 2008. He also earned All-America recognition from Pro Football Weekly. Declaring for the 2010 NFL Draft after his junior season, Dwyer was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round. He played five NFL seasons and was the Steelers’ leading rusher in 2012. Dwyer now works as an assistant coach on the staff of his high school alma mater, which inducted him into its first sports hall of fame class in 2020.
DAVID GREENE JONATHAN DWYER
OF SOUTH GWINNETT HIGH SCHOOL
David Greene was the Class AAAA first-team all-state quarterback and the Touchdown Club of Atlanta’s Quarterback of the Year in 1999, when he became the first Gwinnett County player to pass for 2,000 yards in consecutive seasons. South Gwinnett, under newly hired coach T. McFerrin, changed its offense during Greene’s junior season to maximize Greene’s passing and leadership abilities. Winless the year before, South Gwinnett rose to 8-5 and 9-3 in Greene’s final two years. In 2017, GHSF Daily named Greene the best player in South Gwinnett football history. An AJC Super 11 pick, Greene signed with Georgia and set the NCAA record for victories by a starting quarterback with 42 as a four-year starter, breaking a record held by Peyton Manning. Greene led Georgia to an SEC championship in 2002, the Bulldogs’ first in 20 years. Also that year, Greene threw a famous touchdown pass to Verron Haynes in the closing seconds of Georgia’s hobnail-boot victory over Tennessee. Greene passed for an SEC-record 11,528 yards in his Georgia career. He was the SEC Freshman of the Year (2001), the SEC Championship Game MVP (2002), three-time All-SEC (2002 first team, 2003-04 second team) and the Citrus Bowl MVP (2004). Greene was a third-round NFL Draft pick. He remained in the NFL for four seasons before retiring.
The Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame was established in 2022 with the hopes of honoring the great traditions and players that Georgians have had the pleasure of experiencing on Friday nights for decades.
The Hall continues to grow year a er year as the event enters its third year of existence. The selection commi ee will be adding 30 new inductees to the Hall, with a grand total of over 100 inductions following this year’s ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 26.
While the ceremony is only once a year in October, the memory of each career that is enshrined into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame is honored at one of the epicenters of football in the state of Georgia, Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
At the home of the Atlanta Falcons in the North side of the stadium in-between Gate 1 and Gate 2 on the 100 Concourse-level, an updated Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame exhibit featuring memorabilia from our Hall of Famers and facts about their careers is encased, honoring the history of the great players that have been
GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL
inducted from the previous years.
“When the stadium was built, we were the ones that were hired to do the high school helmet wall,” said Score Atlanta Executive Director and President I.J. Rosenberg. “It’s a thrill that all of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame memorabilia is stored below there. It’s a great hit for the Hall of Fame as well as the new digital board that has just recently been put in, we will be creating vigne es on di erent players for the board.”
LIGHT IT UP
The recent updates to the exhibit added a new LED board within the last couple of weeks that features every player who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame listed by the decade they played their high school football in.
The case features memorabilia from a handful of former high school football standouts around the state that have been
MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM SHEDS NEW LIGHT
ON
SCHOOL FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
inducted into the Hall of Fame such as Alfred Jenkins, Buzy Rosenberg, Calvin Johnson Jr., John Davis, Anthony Flanagan, Pat Swilling, Keith Henderson, and a handful of others, with only room to grow.
HALL ON DISPLAY
The exhibit can be found next to the GHSA helmet wall and the GHSA flag wall, two more exhibits honoring Georgia high school football being played around the state, featuring every high school around the state’s football helmet and every participating programs flag for fans to pay a visit to whenever they attend an event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Fans can go look at the wall and find their high school and reflect on past times watching their team on Friday nights, while also learning something new at the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame and the flag football display directly next to it.
BY MAX WOLBORSKY
“The other exciting part of where it is housed is that the high school helmet wall is the busiest area outside of the field in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, so a lot of people have the opportunity to see what we have done with the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame within just three short years,” Rosenberg added.
The newly improved display honoring all of the inductees at the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame gives fans and families the chance to learn the deeply-rooted history and stories of the Hall of Famers’ careers and how they reached the levels that most see as unobtainable.
The 2024 class of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame will be inducted at the end of this month at another epicenter of football in the state of Georgia, the College Football Hall of Fame, when the inductees will be honored for their outstanding accomplishments over their careers, being recognized for their hard work and determination that people know them so well for today.
Former Atlanta Journal prep editor Gene Asher in his book, “Legends: Georgians Who Lived Impossible Dreams,’’ stated that Lauren Hargrove was the most recruited player in the country as a high school senior. He was a 1948 Wigwam Wiseman All-American, the only one from Georgia. He made first-team All-Southern as a senior and a junior. Nicknamed the “Fabulous Phantom of Fitzgerald,” Hargrove scored 421 points in his high school career, scoring more than 60 touchdowns in an era when teams played fewer games and scored half the points as they do today. Atlanta Constitution sports editor Jesse Outlar said Hargrove “has been called the outstanding breakaway runner in Georgia prep history.” With 9.7-second speed across 100 yards, Hargrove led Fitzgerald to the 1948 Class A title with a 20-19 victory over Decatur. He scored two touchdowns after Fitzgerald trailed 13-0 and recovered the fumble to set up the game-winner. Often injured in college, Hargrove was largely a backup at Georgia, but his 167 yards rushing in the 1951 Auburn game was a Bulldogs record for 22 years. Hargrove was an eighth-round NFL Draft pick in 1953 and played briefly for the Packers before joining the Army. Hargrove worked most of his adult life for Ford Steel Company in Atlanta. He passed away in 2009 at age 79.
OF FITZGERALD HIGH SCHOOL TOMMY HART LAUREN HARGROVE
OF BALLARD-HUDSON HIGH SCHOOL
Tommy Hart was a 14-year NFL veteran and an All-Pro defensive end as a player and a three-time Super Bowl champion as an assistant coach. In high school at Macon’s Ballard-Hudson, playing on average teams, Hart was a three-year starter and the team MVP as a senior in 1963. With SEC opportunities unavailable, Hart became a three-time all-conference player at Atlanta’s Morris Brown College and also earned three letters as a lanky 6-foot-4 track-and-field sprinter and shot putter. The San Francisco 49ers took Hart in the 10th round of the 1968 NFL Draft. Hart became a starter at defensive end in 1970 and held the position through 1977. He finished third in voting for AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1976, when he recorded 16 of his 83 career sacks as part of the 49ers’ defensive line nicknamed the Gold Rush. Hart finished his career as a 1980 starter with the Chicago Bears. In 1981, 49ers coach Bill Walsh hired Hart as an assistant. He was on staff for the 49ers’ Super Bowl victories for the 1984, 1988 and 1989 seasons. Hart was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Macon Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
OF DACULA HIGH SCHOOL
Terry Harvey, one of the most celebrated all-around athletes in Gwinnett County history, was a three-time first-team all-state football player (1988-90) and the AJC Class A Player of the Year (1990). He went on to stardom as a football quarterback and baseball pitcher at NC State. Harvey’s first all-state season came as a sophomore linebacker, the final two as a dual-threat quarterback, though he was a two-way starter throughout. As a senior, he passed for 1,571 yards and 10 touchdowns and had 117 tackles, six forced fumbles and 14 interceptions. He finished his career with 7,100 combined rushing/passing yards and 82 combined touchdowns. Dacula, a Class A school at the time, was 46-7 with two region titles in Harvey’s four seasons as a varsity starter (13-27 in the four years prior). At NC State, Harvey was a three-year starting quarterback and passed for 5,925 yards and 38 touchdowns, both setting school records. He won 35 games as a pitcher, also a school record, and pitched a no-hitter against national power Florida State. Harvey chose baseball professionally and played three minor league seasons. Harvey is a member of the Gwinnett County Sports Hall of Fame (2010) and the NC State Baseball Hall of Fame (2012).
LEN HAUSS TERRY HARVEY
OF WAYNE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
Len Hauss was a 14-year NFL center and five-time Pro Bowl pick with the Washington Redskins. As a high school player, Hauss was the star fullback/linebacker of Wayne County’s Class AA championship team of 1959 and semifinal team of 1958. Hauss made first-team AJC all-state both seasons. In the 1959 state championship game, Hauss rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-7 victory over Rossville. He also recovered two fumbles. In a must-win region-title game weeks earlier, he rushed for 110 yards and scored the winning touchdown. He was credited with 10 tackles per game as a senior. John Donaldson, the coach of two state championship Wayne County teams, called Hauss “the most vicious tackler I’ve seen in high school.’’ Hauss started or played significantly all four years of high school. In college, he was switched from fullback to center by Georgia coach Wally Butts. Hauss started for two seasons, then was a ninth-round NFL Draft pick. Hauss was a 14-year starter who made 192 consecutive starts. He was the Redskins’ top lineman on their 1972 Super Bowl team under coach George Allen. Hauss was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Washington Football Ring of Fame in 2002. After retiring from football, Hauss worked in the banking industry. He died in 2021 in his hometown of Jesup.
OF AMERICUS HIGH SCHOOL
Kent Hill was the starting tight end on Americus’ 14-0 Class AA championship team of 1974 and later a five-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman. Playing at 6 feet, 6 inches, 225 pounds in high school, Hill often was the lead blocker on run-based offenses, so his transition to tackle at Georgia Tech was an easy one. He broke into the starting lineup late as a sophomore and anchored great wishbone offenses that produced a 1,500-yard rusher, Eddie Lee Ivery, in 1978 under coach Pepper Rodgers. Still underrated nationally, Hill had an outstanding Senior Bowl, and the Los Angeles Rams selected him in the first round, 26th overall, in the 1979 NFL Draft. Playing left guard and increasing his weight to 265 pounds, Hill was the Rams’ only rookie in the starting lineup for Super Bowl XIII. The next year, he made his first of five Pro Bowl appearances. In 1984, Hill was a Pro Bowl performer who helped pave the way for Eric Dickerson’s 2,105 rushing yards, still the NFL single season record. For 10 years in retirement, Hill was the director of student athlete development at Georgia Tech. Hill was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
SILAS JAMISON KENT HILL
OF WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
Silas Jamison was the star quarterback for Booker T. Washington’s 1958 Georgia Interscholastic Association Class AA championship team and the Bulldogs’ 1959 Class AA runner-up campaign. Jamison was identified by long-time GIA football coach Raymond “Tweet” Williams as the greatest football player and all-around athlete from Atlanta during the GIA era, which went from 1948 until Atlanta schools joined the Georgia High School Association in 1966. Jamison passed for three touchdowns and scored another in Washington’s 33-6 victory over Macon’s Ballard-Hudson for the 1958 championship. It was Washington’s fourth GIA title, the most of any school at that time, all under Georgia Sports Hall of Fame coach L.C. Baker. Jamison turned down several college football opportunities, including one from Indiana, when he signed a bonus contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He played four minor league seasons. “He was the top ball player in Atlanta, an all-around athlete,” said Williams, who coached outstanding teams at rival Turner High. “We had beaten Washington about five-straight times until Jamison came around. He was great.’’ Former Spencer player and long-time Carver-Columbus coach Wallace Davis confirmed Jamison’s reputation, saying: “He had a receiver named Joe Allen. You weren’t going to beat Washington with them boys.’’
Alfred Jenkins became the Atlanta Falcons’ all-time leading receiver as the favorite target of Steve Bartkowski in the 1970s and ‘80s. In high school, he was a first-team all-state quarterback for a 9-1 Class B team. As a senior at Hogansville in Troup County, Jenkins rushed for 721 yards and scored 18 touchdowns, including six on kick returns. He put up more than 1,500 all-purpose yards and scored more than half the points on a team that finished ranked No. 7 in the Atlanta Journal rankings. As a defender, he intercepted seven passes. Jenkins was also MVP of his football and basketball teams and finished fourth in the Class B 100-yard dash. Though many larger colleges recruited him, Jenkins played in college at Atlanta’s Morris Brown College, then went undrafted in 1974, and signed with the Birmingham Americans of the new World Football League. His 1,471 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns helped win the league championship. Many consider Jenkins to be the best player to come out of the WFL. When the league folded, he signed with the Falcons and played all nine of his NFL seasons in Atlanta. His 6,267 receiving yards was the franchise record until 2000. Jenkins made two Pro Bowls and was first-team All-Pro in 1981. Jenkins was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
OF HOGANSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL HOMER JORDAN ALFRED JENKINS
OF
CEDAR
SHOALS HIGH SCHOOL
Homer Jordan was a first-team Class AAAA all-state player in 1978 and later the quarterback who led Clemson to its first national title in 1981. Jordan was a three-year starter and two-way player in high school. He played quarterback and safety on an 11-1 team that was ranked No. 2 entering the playoffs his senior year. Jordan had 1,661 total yards that year and scored 13 touchdowns and passed for seven. Cedar Shoals was 19-3 in Jordan’s two seasons as its starting quarterback. At Clemson, Jordan was a three-year starter. The iconic 1981 Tigers team finished 12-0 and launched the program as a national power. Jordan was MVP of the Tigers’ Orange Bowl victory over Nebraska that ensured the national championship. The win also made Jordan the first African American starting quarterback to lead a Southern team to an NCAA Division I-A national title. Jordan was the All-ACC quarterback that season. He passed for 3,642 yards and rushed for 971 in his college career. Jordan played four seasons in the Canadian Football League and one in the NFL. After retirement, Jordan coached high school football, spending 10 seasons at alma mater Cedar Shoals. He is a member of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame (1993), the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame (1993) and the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame (2000).
HUTSON MASON ROBERT LAVETTE
OF LASSITER HIGH SCHOOL OF CARTERSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
Robert Lavette was a two-time AJC Class AA Back of the Year who rushed for 5,870 yards and 49 touchdowns in his high school career. He later became Georgia Tech’s all-time leading rusher, a title he still holds, and the face of the Yellow Jackets’ 1980s revival under coach Bill Curry. Lavette rushed for 2,103 yards as a Cartersville senior on an 8-3-1 team and ran for 2,144 as a junior on a 9-4 team that reached the Class AA quarterfinals. He also was a starting strong safety who totaled six interceptions as a junior. Lavette signed with Georgia Tech, which had won only one game the previous season. In the 1981 opener, the freshman Lavette scored two touchdowns, including the fourth-quarter game-winner, in a 24-21 victory over No. 1 Alabama. Lavette would rush for 203 yards against another No. 1 team, Georgia, in 1982, though in a losing cause. In his final college game, he led Tech to a 35-18 victory over No. 18 Georgia in Athens, ending a six-game losing streak to the Jackets’ rival and clinching a winning season. Lavette was first-team All-ACC twice (1982, 1984), and led the ACC in rushing in 1982. His final rushing total of 4,066 has been the school record for 40 years. Lavette was a fourth-round NFL Draft pick and played three NFL seasons with the Cowboys and Eagles.
Hutson Mason was the state’s first quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards or 50 touchdowns in a season and the first to demonstrate the full game-changing impact of the spread offense at the highest levels in the state. His high school, Lassiter, had never won a playoff game and was coming off a 3-7 finish when it hired coach and spread-offensive guru Chip Lindsey, who converted the Trojans to four- and five-receiver sets with Mason as its shotgun trigger man. Mason passed for 3,705 yards, the most ever for a Georgia player in the highest class, and led Lassiter to its first playoff victory. As a senior, Mason buried single-season records in all classifications by passing for 4,532 yards and 54 touchdowns and leading Lassiter to a 12-1 finish. Mason was the GSWA and Gatorade all-classification Player of the Year and the AJC’s Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year. He was also a Parade All-American and the quarterback on Georgia High School Football Daily’s all-decade Georgia team (2000-09). Mason still had few scholarship offers until late in his senior year and ultimately signed with Georgia. He became the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback in 2014 and passed for 2,167 yards and 21 touchdowns. Mason played briefly in the NFL and CFL.
OF DALTON HIGH SCHOOL
Bill Mayo was the AJC’s 1980 Class AAA Lineman of the Year who would become a four-year starter and consensus All-American at Tennessee. Dalton was 33-7 and played in a state final and semifinal in Mayo’s three seasons on varsity. He was a two-time first-team all-state player and was voted the state’s No. 1 college prospect as a 1980 senior in an Atlanta Constitution preseason survey of high school coaches. Dalton’s GACA Hall of Fame coach, Bill Chappell, called his 6-foot-4, 260-pound tackle “tremendously strong in the legs, which is what a lineman should be. He’s such a good blocker, he just overpowers people.’’ The AJC named Mayo as one of five offensive linemen on its 1987 GHSA all-integration team (1966-86). Georgia High School Football Daily in 2017 named Mayo the best player in Dalton history. At Tennessee, Mayo finished his career with more starts (44) than any player in school history. He was a two-time All-SEC player, the Touchdown Club of Atlanta’s 1984 SEC Lineman of the Year and a 1984 consensus All-American. After his playing days, Mayo returned to northwest Georgia and worked in the industrial gas business. He served as a community coach at Dalton middle and high schools, did radio broadcasts of Dalton varsity games and hosted the Dalton head coach’s TV show.
JERRY MAYS BILL MAYO
OF THOMSON HIGH SCHOOL
Jerry Mays was named the AJC Class AAA Offensive Player of the Year in 1984, when he rushed for 2,369 yards and led Thomson to a 15-0 finish and a state championship. He would go on to become a star running back at Georgia Tech. As a high school senior, Mays was just 5-foot-8, 168 pounds, but was known as much for his tough inside running as for his quick outside bursts in legendary coach Luther Welsh’s Wing-T offense. Mays rushed for 1,666 yards as a junior on a 10-2 team and finished with what remains a school record of 4,741 career rushing yards, which broke Eddie Lee Ivery’s mark. At Georgia Tech, the only major Division I school to offer him a scholarship, Mays was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 1985 as a key part of a 9-2-1 team that beat Georgia and won the Hall of Fame Bowl. Mays was an All-ACC pick in 1989 and rushed for 3,699 yards in his college career, which remains second in school history to Robert Lavette’s 4,066. Mays played one NFL season with the San Diego Chargers. He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
OF
NEWNAN HIGH SCHOOL
Alec Ogletree was the Parade and USA All-American who helped make Newnan a state power in the highest classification during his four years as a starter. Newnan was coming off a losing season in 2006 but would put together records of 7-4, 11-2, 13-1 and 13-1, each ending with region championships in Class AAAAA, then the highest class. Newnan also made the semifinals in 2008 and 2009. Ogletree, a starter at tight end and safety, was the 2009 AJC and GSWA Class AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year. Though recruited at safety, he was a top-notch high school tight end who had 33 receptions for 633 yards and five touchdowns his senior season. He blocked at least 14 punts in his high school career. As a preseason AJC Super 11 pick and the consensus No. 19 prospect nationally, Ogletree signed with Georgia, as did Alec’s twin, Alexander, a fullback. Alec, playing linebacker in college, was an All-SEC player and the leading tackler on Georgia’s 2012 team that finished 12-2 and No. 5 in the final AP poll. Ogletree declared for the NFL Draft after three seasons, and the St. Louis Rams selected him 30th overall in the first round. Ogletree played nine NFL seasons with five teams, and started in 110 of his 111 games played.
JACK PITTS ALEC OGLETREE
OF TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL
Jack Pitts was the quarterback of the 1965 Class A GIA championship team from Decatur’s Trinity High and was a catalyst for integrating Deep South college football. Pitts passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in Trinity’s 19-14 victory over Wilson of Tifton in the state championship game. Pitts also intercepted a pass that led to the winning touchdown, which he scored. Contemporary newspaper articles credited Pitts with 33 touchdowns scored for his career and 24 rushing or passing touchdowns in the first five games of 1965. He was the MVP of the 1966 GIA East-West All-Star Game. Pitts is believed to be the first African American from metro Atlanta to play football in the Big Ten after signing with Michigan State, whose coach, Duffy Dougherty, called Pitts “the greatest quarterback prospect we’ve ever seen.’’ Pitts, also the valedictorian of his class, had more than 20 scholarship offers. But as he recounted years later, “Georgia and Georgia Tech wouldn’t recruit me because I was a Negro.’’ In 1966, the Atlanta Constitution and Sports Illustrated pointed to Pitts as an example of how racist policies held back Southern college football. A neck injury sidelined Pitts at Michigan State, but he went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees there. Decatur High, a formerly all-white school that absorbed Trinity’s students in 1968, added Pitts to its Wall of Honor in 2015.
Leonard Pope was the star tight end and a first-team all-state player on Americus’ 2000 and 2001 Class AA championship teams. Americus, ahead of its time as a passing team in those days, was 29-1 while averaging 39 points per game during this future Georgia and NFL player’s junior and senior seasons. Pope had more than 50 receptions in those championship years. He also played in the secondary and, according to head coach Erik Soliday, “was actually better on defense than offense. He would drop down from safety and hit you, and at 6-6, 230, his high school size, he was a force. People were hesitant to catch a ball around him.” Pope was the tight end on Georgia High School Football Daily’s 24-player all-decade team (2000-09). Pope played at Georgia and was a two-year starter before declaring for the NFL Draft after his junior season, when he was a key figure on the Bulldogs’ SEC championship team. He was the unanimous first-team All-SEC tight end as a junior and senior. The Arizona Cardinals drafted Pope in the third round of the 2006 draft. He played seven NFL seasons and was the Cardinals’ starting tight end on their 2008 Super Bowl team.
OF AMERICUS HIGH SCHOOL DAVID ROCKER LEONARD POPE
OF FULTON HIGH SCHOOL
David Rocker was a 1986 USA Today and Parade All-American and was widely regarded as the state’s No. 1 college prospect when he signed with Auburn, where he would win three SEC titles, make two All-SEC teams and finish as an All-American. Rocker was a defensive tackle and center at Atlanta’s Fulton High. The Redbirds were 23-10 in his three seasons as a starter. Rocker averaged eight tackles and 2.5 sacks per game over his junior and senior seasons. The AJC ranked Rocker as the No. 8 prospect nationally, and Auburn would not be disappointed at what today would be called a five-star prospect. After backing up his brother, All-American Tracey Rocker, David began playing full-time and was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1989 and 1990. He was a 1990 consensus first-team All-American and Lombardi Award finalist. Rocker played on Pat Dye-coached Auburn teams that had Auburn’s greatest sustained success. They were 37-8-3 overall, 3-1 vs. Alabama and 4-0 vs. Georgia while Rocker was there. The Los Angeles Rams drafted Rocker in the fourth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He played four NFL seasons. Since retiring from football, Rocker has worked as a high school and college coach, a sports broadcaster and as an ordained minister.
EVERETT STRUPPER ANDY SPIVA
OF RIVERSIDE MILITARY
ACADEMY OF CHAMBLEE HIGH SCHOOL
Andy Spiva, the SEC’s all-time leading tackler from his days as a Tennessee linebacker, was the 1972 AJC Class AAA Lineman of the Year in the highest classification and a high school All-American in three publications – College & Athlete, Senior Scholastic and Parade. As a senior, he averaged 14.7 tackles per game, intercepted three passes and recovered six fumbles on an 8-2 team that remains the only one in Chamblee history to attain a No. 1 ranking during the season. The Atlanta Constitution commonly referenced Spiva as Georgia’s No. 1 college prospect during his senior year. GACA Hall of Fame coach Dave Hunter, a Chamblee assistant at the time and former long-time Brookwood head coach, has called Spiva the best player that he coached in a 40-year career. Spiva signed with Tennessee and was a two-time first-team All-SEC linebacker (1975, 1976). Spiva went in the fifth round of the 1977 NFL Draft to the St. Louis Cardinals. He later signed with the Atlanta Falcons after impressing head coach Leeman Bennett during a preseason game against the Cardinals. Spiva won the Falcons’ starting middle linebacker job entering the 1978 season before suffering a season-ending injury. Spiva died the next offseason in an automobile accident at age 24. Spiva’s SEC record of 547 career tackles has stood nearly 50 years.
Everett Strupper was the first former Georgia high school player to become a consensus college football All-American as the star halfback on Georgia Tech’s 1917 national championship team. In 1913, he was a prep standout at Gainesville’s Riverside Military Academy. The Atlanta Constitution described him as “the star of the day’’ in Riverside and Georgia Military’s game “for the championship of the state.’’ In the 20-20 tie, Strupper threw two touchdown passes and ran for the other score. Strupper, who was partially deaf and called his team’s signals so he could anticipate the snap, was a three-year starting halfback at Georgia Tech and led the Yellow Jackets to a 24-0-2 record. Tech coach John Heisman said of Strupper in 1934: “Were I compelled to risk my head on what one absolutely unaided gridster might accomplish, football under arm and facing 11 ferocious opponents, I would rather choose and chance this man on how he might come through the gauntlet than any ball carrier I have ever seen.” Strupper went on to become president of Atlanta’s Piedmont Life Insurance Company and was the first president of the Atlanta Touchdown Club. He passed away in 1950 at the age of 53. Strupper is a member of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame (1956), the College Football Hall of Fame (1972) and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (1974).
DEMARYIUS THOMAS
OF WEST LAURENS HIGH SCHOOL
Demaryius Thomas was an underrated All-State high school wide receiver who lifted up a traditionally struggling high school program and went on to become an All-America college player and All-Pro NFL player. Thomas had 56 receptions for 756 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior at West Laurens, which finished 6-5, its first winning season in nine years. Georgia High School Football Daily in 2017 named Thomas as West Laurens’ best player in school history. Thomas signed with Georgia Tech as a three-star recruit. Despite playing in an option offense, Thomas made first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American on Georgia Tech’s 2009 ACC championship team under Paul Johnson. He had 46 receptions for 1,154 yards, accounting for 61.1% of Tech’s passing yards. The Denver Broncos drafted Thomas in the first round, 22nd overall, in the 2010 NFL Draft. In his 10-year NFL career, Thomas made five Pro Bowl appearances (2012-16). He started on two Super Bowl teams and one Super Bowl championship team (2015). Thomas retired with 9,763 receiving yards and 63 touchdowns. Thomas died at age 33 in 2021 from what an autopsy determined were complications from a seizure disorder, which had troubled him since a 2019 car crash. Thomas was inducted posthumously into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
JESSIE TUGGLE
OF GRIFFIN HIGH SCHOOL
Jessie Tuggle was an undersized linebacker who overcame expectations at every level and wound up making the NFL Pro Bowl five times and led the Atlanta Falcons to their first Super Bowl. Tuggle was a first-team all-state player on Griffin’s 11-3 Class AAAA semifinal team in 1982. He started at linebacker and guard and rarely came off the field. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, Tuggle had offers from only Valdosta State and West Georgia. Choosing Valdosta State, just a two-year-old program at the time, Tuggle became a four-year starter, a three-time all-Gulf South Conference player, the 1986 Gulf South Defensive Player of the Year and a 1986 Division II All-American. He led Valdosta State to its first winning season (9-2) in 1986. The Falcons signed Tuggle as an undrafted free agent, and he broke into the starting lineup as a rookie. Tuggle played 14 NFL seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 1992, 1994-95 and 1997-98. Nicknamed “The Hammer,” Tuggle led the NFL in tackles five times and was the defensive leader of the Falcons’ 1998 Super Bowl team. Tuggle is a member of the Falcons Ring of Honor (2004), the College Football Hall of Fame (2007) and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (2007).
BEN ZAMBIASI
OF MOUNT DE SALES ACADEMY
Ben Zambiasi is the University of Georgia’s all-time leading tackler and a three-time All-SEC player who went on to become a Canadian Football League Hall of Famer. In high school as a four-year starter, Zambiasi led Mount de Sales of Macon to Class C championships in 1970 and 1971 and the Class A title in 1973. As a senior fullback/linebacker, Zambiasi was Mount de Sales’ leading tackler who also rushed for 1,131 yards on 171 carries. He ran for 145 yards in the Class A championship game victory over Commerce, outrushing the state’s all-time leading rusher at the time, Runt Moon. At Georgia, Zambiasi was the leader of the Bulldogs’ Junkyard Dawg defense and the 1976 SEC championship team. He was first-team All-SEC in 1976 and 1977 and second-team All-SEC in 1975. Zambiasi played 10 seasons in the CFL, was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 1978 and its Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1979. He was an All-CFL player for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ 1986 Grey Cup-winning team. Zambiasi was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2004 and Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. He is a member of the Tiger-Cats’ Wall of Honor and the University of Georgia’s Team of the Century.
