Champ Bailey and Calvin Johnson are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Eric Berry could join them in the next few years.
But the trio of football greats from the state of Georgia already have something in common - each began their senior season of high school football as members of the AJC Super 11 team.
The newspaper’s annual preseason list of its top high school football players in the state, the Super 11 debuted in the summer of 1985, and the 2022 team will be unveiled Aug. 14. Two items of note on the AJC Super 11 project:
- The players on each decade team and the all-time team where chosen from the complete list of Super 11 selections during its 37-year existence (and such differs from more comprehensive Hall of Fame lists of Georgia’s best-ever high school players).
- High school, college and professional accomplishments were all a part of the selection process.
Bailey was selected to the AJC Super 11 team in 1995 and eventually finished his career at Charlton County High School with nearly 6,000 all-purpose yards as a running back, quarterback and return man. Bailey was named the nation’s top defensive player in his final season at the University of Georgia in 1998 and was selected seventh overall in the 1999 NFL draft.
Bailey played 15 seasons in the NFL and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
Johnson was named to the 2003 team heading into his senior season at Sandy Creek High School. A three-time All-ACC and two-time All American receiver at Georgia Tech, Johnson had more than 11,000 receiving yards in nine seasons with the Detroit Lions and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021 - a month before his 36th birthday.
A preseason 2006 Super 11 selection, Berry went on to be named the state’s all-classification player of the year after his senior season at Creekside High.
A two-time All-American safety at the University of Tennessee, Berry was a five-time Pro Bowler with the Kansas City Chiefs and one of three safeties (Earl Thomas, Eric Weddle) honored by the NFL on its 2010 all-decade team.
Other selections on the all-time team:
- Trevor Lawrence: Holds state record for passing yards, second in Heisman Trophy voting as junior at Clemson, No. 1 pick in 2021 NFL draft.
- Jamal Lewis: Nearly 5,000 rushing yards in high school, 2,877 yards in college, more than 10,000 rushing yards in NFL.
- Hines Ward: Nearly 4,000 yards rushing, passing and receiving at Georgia, Super Bowl MVP during 13 NFL seasons.
Others receiving strong consideration:
- Nick Chubb: Rushed for 6,983 yards and 102 touchdowns in high school, finished college career with 4,769 yards, second in UGA and SEC history to Herschel Walker, 4,816 rushing yards and 36 rushing touchdowns in four pro seasons. All-State in high school, dominant
- Travon Walker: All-State in high school, six sacks and seven tackles for loss as a junior at Georgia, No. 1 pick in 2022 NFL draft.
Top non-Super 11 selections:
- Cam Newton: Westlake High graduate eventually won the Heisman Trophy and the NFL MVP award.
- Alvin Kamara: State player of the year in 2012 after leading Norcross to state title, five-time Pro Bowler in the NFL.
Here’s a look at all of the players recognized during the AJC Super 11 project:
- 1980s: All-decade team | All Super 11 selections during decade
- 1990s: All-decade team | All Super 11 selections during decade
- 2000s: All-decade team | All Super 11 selections during decade
- 2010s: All-decade team | All Super 11 selections during decade
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