We are right on the heels of the 2017 Georgia high school football season, so we are rolling out our preseason All-State teams for every classification in the state of Georgia this week. Underneath the All-State selections we wrote about each player selected, our thoughts, and various stats. Also, be sure to checkout additional Preseason All-State selections by clicking HERE.

OFFENSE

QB – Trevor Lawrence, Cartersville
RB – Rico Frye, Cartersville
RB – Colby Wood, Jefferson
RB – Jalyn Shelton, Ridgeland
WR – EJ Turner, Cartersville
WR – Ryan Carter, Heritage
WR – Jatavious Harris, Baldwin
WR – Ryan Davis, Blessed Trinity
TE – John Fitzpatrick, Marist
OL – Josh Taylor, West Hall
OL – Shiva Puttagunta, Woodward Acd.
OL – Riley Maynard, Cairo
OL – Sam Barczak, Sandy Creek
OL – Lamarius Benson, Eastside
OL – Nick Root, Cartersville
K – Jonathan Cruz, Cartersville
ATH – Steele Chambers, Blessed Trinity

DEFENSE

DL – Jon Tant, NW Whitfield
DL – Aaron Hall, Jefferson
DL – Travon Walker, Upson-Lee
DL – Taylor Hodge, Sandy Creek
DL – Luke Johns, SE Whitfield
LB – Artest Banks, Thomson
LB – Jatorian Hansford, Mary Persons
LB – K.J. Phillips, Woodward Acd.
LB – Caleb Johnson, Northside-Col.
DB – Luke Grant, Heritage
DB – Christian Tutt, Thomson
DB – TJ Peavy, Sandy Creek
DB – Kyle Hamilton, Marist
DB – Markeith Montgomery, Ridgeland
P – Steven Martinez, Chestatee
RET – Tony Mathis Jr, Cedartown

---

Class AAAA has been dominated by Cartersville the last few seasons. Against Thomson in the state championship they won 58-7 and still return a ton of starters. Headlining that group of returning Hurricanes is everybody’s All-American Trevor Lawrence. The 2018 signal-caller easily wins our preseason All-State spot after his amazing junior season where he totaled 3904 yards, 51 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.

Moving over to running back, but still another Cartersville player is Rico Frye. The senior has played all 3 years of varsity and rushed for 4886 yards (11.6 ypc), on 420 carries and 55 touchdowns over his career. He is an instinctual back and should have gaping holes to run through in Cartersville’s wide open offense. Jefferson senior running back Colby Wood has almost equally impressive stats as Frye. During his varsity career, Wood has romped for 4237 yards rushing, 65 touchdowns and 558 yards receiving while also posting 70 tackles and eight interceptions. The last back to make preseason All-State is Jalyn Shelton from Ridgeland. He displays really good balance and vision while toting the pigskin. His 23 rushing touchdowns last season ranks him at the top of the classification for returning backs and he also rushed for 1428 yards (129.8 ypg).

EJ Turner is Trevor Lawrence’s top returning target after he caught 36 passes for 615 yards and 8 touchdowns. The new Rutgers commit should see his usage increase after the loss of two seniors who caught a total of 101 passes. Ryan Carter from Heritage-Catoosa had 1010 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns last season. The dynamic athlete is the returning leader in the Class 4-A in both categories. Baldwin’s Jatavious Harris is a human highlight reel out there on the field. He did a little bit of everything and does a masterful job of high-pointing the pass over the defensive back. Speaking of high-point masters, Blessed Trinity’s junior receiver Ryan Davis is every bit of that. The first team All-Region selection had 1384 all-purpose yards and the degree of difficulty of the catches he pulls down is amazing considering he is listed at 5’11”. John Fitzpatrick doesn’t get a ton of looks in Marist’s option offense but still played a dominating role in the redzone. At 6’6″, almost no defender in Georgia can really matchup with the UGA commit. 

West Hall senior Josh Taylor is a hard-nosed lineman that has been working on his agility this offseason. The 2x first team All-Region selection is a big dude at 6’4″ 315 pounds. Shiva Puttagunta out of Woodward just bullies defenders onto the the turf. He is very athletic getting up field and making key blocks at the 2nd level. Riley Maynard was voted offensive lineman of the year last fall at Cairo. He has good size at 6’4″ 285 pounds, and really came on strong last fall playing his best football during the playoffs. Sam Barczak has moved over to center at Sandy Creek, which should be a perfect role for him. He is possibly the fastest lineman in the state of Georgia and has increased his weight over 260 pounds. Lamarious Benson is a monstrous lineman at Eastside who played his first year of varsity on the offensive side after playing at DT the year before. The impact blocker is battle-tested against top-flight defensive linemen and more than held his own. He is an elite run blocker. Paving the way for Cartersville’s high-powered offense is senior Nick Root. The 2x All-Region selection is a tough customer and shows a proficiency in the run, as well as the pass. 

Steele Chambers makes our selection at athlete. The Blessed Trinity star is a bruising athlete who rushed for 1486 yards last season and 21 touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball. On defense he totaled 74 tackles and was a ball-hawk with 4 interceptions. Chambers has been a varsity starter every year of high school, and is one of the best athletes in the class of 2019.  Tony Mathis Jr. is a dangerous athlete out of Cedartown that is our choice at returner. The long-striding back can cover some serious ground. 

Cartersville’s Jonathan Cruz is our preseason selection at kicker. He consistently kicks the ball 50 yards through the uprights and is clutch. Steven Martinez averaged 35.5 yards per punt and dropped 13 inside the 20 last fall. The rising senior is the returning leader in both categories and also blasted a punt 73 yards last fall.

Moving over to the defensive side of the ball, which we will kick off with the defensive line. Northwest Whitfield senior Jon Tant had an unbelievable 122 tackles last season with 27 of those tackles for a loss. He is sneaky-quick and utilizes one of the best spin moves we have seen on film.  Jefferson’s Aaron Hall will be leaned on heavily this season at Jefferson after the graduation of a few key senior contributors. At 6’3″, and 280-pounds, Hall has elite athleticism running a 4.75 40. Upson-Lee defender Travon Walker is a load out there on the field, and is another elite athlete with the versatility to line up at any spot. The 2019 athlete can impact the game in so many ways. Sandy Creek senior defensive tackle Taylor Hodge might be short on size, but his motor is limitless. He gets outstanding leverage and has a nose for getting into the backfield and decimating the running back.  SE Whitfield senior Luke Johns had over 80 tackles last season and is one of the best all-around athletes in the Class 4-A. He holds a few Power 5 offers but his recruitment could really hit a new level this fall. 

Thomson senior linebacker Artest Banks collected 98 tackles last fall and was the leader in the middle of their defense. He is a slobber-knocking hitter that can jar the ball loose from any back. Jatorian Hansford is a very underrated 6’4″ backer at Mary Persons who is exceptional at defending the run and the pass. KJ Phillips is a tackling-machine out there on the field. The Woodward senior has collected 432 tackles, 37 tackles for loss and 17 sacks during his high school career. He plays the game with a ton of passion. Northside-Columbus linebacker Caleb Johnson is an imposing athlete who also looks great in pass coverage. He took several interceptions all the way back for a touchdown. 

Heritage-Catoosa two-way athlete Luke Grant led Class 4-A last year with 6 interceptions. The sure-handed athlete totaled 1544 all-purpose yards & 14 touchdowns as well. Christian Tutt is a lockdown cornerback that takes away his side of the field on passing downs. He is a top-rated recruit that has colleges from around the country after him. TJ Peavy led his Sandy Creek squad in tackles and pass-breakups last fall. He is a bone-crushing tackler. Marist junior defensive back Kyle Hamilton had 4 interceptions last year. The rangy athlete has spider-like reflexes and a punishing tackler to boot. Markeith Montgomery is a 2x All-State selection from Ridgeland high school. He goes into the ball carrier like a torpedo sinking a battleship. 

NEW PROFILES
TOP STORIES
CLASS OF 18 NEWS

All stats are from MaxPreps or the Recruit Georgia database.