Here are this year’s Class A Private All-State selections. Player of the Year voting is down below (only one vote per hour), there are 5 players nominated and voting ends on Sunday night at 9 pm. View more All-State teams by clicking HERE. Share your thoughts, leave a comment at the bottom of the page!
[polldaddy poll=10191112]
OFFENSE
QB – Brock Vandagriff, Prince Ave.
RB – Keaton Mitchell, ELCA
RB – Austin Douglas, Mount Vernon
RB – Murphy Reeves, Fellowship Christian
WR – Mack Simmons, Prince Ave.
WR – Jeffrey Saturday, Hebron Christian
WR – Christian Parrish, Prince Ave.
WR – Justin Robinson, ELCA
OL – Tate Ratledge, Darlington
OL – Nate Ellis, North Cobb Christian
OL – Zachary Schectman, Pinecrest Acd.
OL – Dylan McMahon, Savannah Christian
OL – Evan Zember, ELCA
OL – Cody Carder, ELCA
ATH – Len’Neth Whitehead, Athens Academy
K – Matthew Sumlin, Whitefield Acd.
DEFENSE
DL – Kyle Holt, Whitefield Acd.
DL – Duane Jones, Christian Heritage
DL – Marquis Black, ELCA
DL – Sayyid Stevens, Calvary Day
DL – Jordan Mitchell, Trinity Christian
LB – Harry Wookdong Kim, Riverside Military
LB – Johnathan Youngblood, ELCA
LB – William Mclanahan, Athens Academy
LB – Nate Moon, Savannah Christian
DB – Jake Wilson, Mount Paran
DB – Jamie O’Quinn, Stratford Acd.
DB – Trent Bartlett, Wesleyan
DB – Omar Burroughs, Savannah Christian
DB – Khalid Duke, Riverside Military
RET – Zach Gentry, Christian Heritage
P – Noah Chumley, Savannah Christian
Brock Vandagriff took over the starting duties this year, and the sophomore certainly had himself a special season. The big 6’4″ signal-caller from Prince Avenue had 3190 yards passing, which led all of Class A with 245.4 yards per game. He had the 2nd highest QBR in the Class A Private with a 122.7 rating. Not all of the damage was done thru the air, and Vandagriff rushed for 1001 yards, and 23 touchdowns as well, giving the 2021 recruit 4191 total yards and 51 touchdowns. He is definitely a class of 2021 recruit that will be on every colleges’ radar.
Keaton Mitchell led the state with 49 touchdowns on just 213 carries, which amazingly means he scored the ball 23% of the time he touched it. The ELCA junior finished the year with a classification leading 2509 yards on the ground and averaged 11.8 yard per carry. Recruitment is just kicking off, but already hearing from several FBS programs. Austin Douglas paced the way at Mount Vernon Presbyterian with 1673 yards, averaging out at 139.4 yard per game. His 10.5 yards per carry was the 2nd highest in Private for backs with over 100 carries. Douglas finished the year with 17 touchdowns. Fellowship Christian’s Murphy Reeves was the Region Offensive Player of the Year after he totaled 1710 yards on the ground and 18 touchdowns. His 155 yards per game was the 2nd highest of any back in Class A.
Mack Simmons was option 1A for Vandagriff this year at Prince. The quick receiver led Class A with 1128 yard receiving and 70 receptions on the year. He was tied for the lead in Private with 12 touchdowns as well. Jeffrey Saturday was Mr. Reliable over at Hebron Christian making one difficult catch after another. The senior finished 2nd in the classification with 1035 yards receiving, 18.8 yards per catch and 11 touchdowns. He is a very slept on recruit at this point. Christian Parrish was option 1B at Prince, and is not a new name to the All-State team after making it as a junior. The Army commit had 895 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns, while also rushing for 271 yards and 8 more scores. He finished the year with right at 1600 all-purpose yards. ELCA’s big pass target Justin Robinson burst onto the scenes this year tied with the Class A Private touchdown lead with 12. The dominating 6’5″ receiver ended with 748 yards on the year, and already holds several offers from schools like Clemson and UGA.
Darlington two-way lineman Tate Ratledge always finds his name on the end of year honors. The powerful athlete just dominates his side of the LOS with a near-perfect blend of speed and power. Nate Ellis was huge part of the surprise North Cobb Christian team that finished the regular season in the top 10. The All-Region offensive lineman has good leg drive and size at 6’4″ 285 lbs. Zachary Schechtman does everything right at Pinecrest Academy. The senior Butler commit plays low and fast, which is a perfect fit for his high school’s offensive scheme. Dylan McMahon was the engine for the Savannah Christian offense. Creating pancakes one after another, the senior NC State commit is just a terror. Interestingly, McMahon also had 87 tackles on defense this year. Keaton Mitchell didn’t rush for all of those yards by accident, and Air Force commit Evan Zember certainly played a huge role. The quick-pulling lineman meets his responsibilities with urgency. Joining his teammate is Cody Carder from ELCA. The 6’6″ 300 lbs offensive lineman is a mountain for Class A opponents and is nearly impossible to move.
Athens Academy junior Len’Neth Whitehead had such a huge impact for his team and earns the athlete honors this year All-State team. With over 1400 yards rushing on the year, and 23 touchdowns (many that came late-game in clutch situations) Whitehead was a nightmare for defenses. He was also the 2nd leading tackler on his team and created 10.5 tackles for loss for the state runner-ups.
Kyle Holt from Whitefield Academy earned region defensive player of the year with his 9 sacks and over 20 tackles for loss. Astonishingly, the senior only played 8 games. Still a very slept on 2019 recruit who deserves D1 interest. Duane Jones is an all-out hustle machine, leading Class A defensive lineman with 134 tackles on the year. Too many backside tackles to count, the 2019 defender just puts it all on the line for his Christian Heritage squad. Marquis Black is a rock in the defensive front for ELCA and gives every opponent, regardless of classification, a handful. He splits between DE and DT for his team, and his speed getting out to the sideline is special for a player at 6’4″ 290 lbs. Sayyid Stevens from Calvary Day makes his return to All-State for another year. The senior Duke commit finished the year with 15 tackles for loss, 6 sacks while also creating 3 fumbles and an interception too. Junior Jordan Mitchell won region defensive player of the year after his 82 tackle, 9 sack and 19 tackle for loss season. The outstanding edge rusher has some of the best pass-rush moves of any 2020 recruit in the state.
Harry Wookdong Kim from Riverside Military led Private with 166 tackles (13.8 tackles per game). The linebacker just torpedoes the ball carrier, and ended up in the backfield with 24 tackles for loss with 9 sacks to boot. Johnathan Youngblood is the lifeblood of the ELCA defense. The Region Athlete of the Year is all over the field making plays, and is one of the biggest hitters in Class A. William McLanahan from Athens Academy was the leading tackler with right over 60 on the season. The senior shows impressive footwork, does a great job of setting up his attempt and performing a textbook tackle right in the numbers. Nate Moon played a hybrid linebacker safety role this year at Savannah Christian totaling 158 tackles – the 2nd highest in Class A Private. The junior also had 19 tackles for loss and 3 defensive touchdowns as well.
Jake Wilson ended his senior campaign with 102 tackles and 2 INT’s on the year. Playing CB his entire career, Wilson moved over to safety after his team lost 9 defensive starters from the year prior. The heady DB always gets a good jump on each play. Jamie O’Quinn from Stratford Academy is a thunderous hitter that earned Region Defensive Player of the Year. The senior has impressive ball skills too, totaling 5 interceptions on the year while also causing several fumbles. Trent Bartlett from Wesleyan ended up with 9 INT’s while also totaling 6 tackles per game. The junior was playing his best football late in the season with several big games in October and November. Savannah Christian sophomore Omar Burroughs led the state of Georgia with 10 interceptions. The unbelievable 2021 defensive back also had over 80 tackles on the year and double digit pass-breakups. Definitely a football prospect to know in his class. Khalid Duke had himself a special season at Riverside Military. The senior who just committed to Kansas State, ended the year with 142 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 7 sacks and 8 PBU’s. On top of that, and yes we know this is defensive honors, Duke had right 955 yards of total offense.
Zach Gentry from Christian Heritage ended up with a Class A leading 886 yards returning the football. The excellent route runner also had 789 yards receiving, which made up for 50% of his team’s entire passing attack. Noah Chumley from Savannah Christian can flip the field with the best of them and averaged right at 43.8 yards per punt. He planted 6 inside the 20 yard line and had a long of 63 yards too.
How did Kurt Knisely from Athens Academy not make the list? 71 tackles and 29 pass breakups. Pretty much shut down the 3 receivers on the list that are in AA’s region while in man coverage.Check out his hudl.
Go buddy go!
Athens Academy has only two players on this team? The only team they lost to the last two years is ECLA and they only have two All-State players? Doesn’t seem right…..
No James Williams (K/P) from Athens Academy?