GHSA championship week takes place Monday through Wednesday this week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and in the eight title games, 60 recruits who have signed with a Power 4 school or have a scholarship offer from one, will take the field. Three-fourths of those players (45) play in the Class 5A and 6A championships, with 17 in the 5A game between Milton and Hughes, and 28 in 6A’s matchup of Carrollton and Collins Hill.
Two quarterbacks, Carrollton’s Julian “JuJu” Lewis, and Milton’s Luke Nickel, could start as freshmen next year at Colorado and Miami, respectively. Grayson junior linebacker Tyler Atkinson is the only consensus 5-star among this year’s recruits, and there are 23 4-stars. There also are three freshman — Carrollton offensive tackle Kweli Fielder, Grayson tight end Elijah Tillman and his teammate, defensive end Ismael Schiefer — who have yet to be rated but have received major Power 4 offers.
Chris Mooneyham, who will call the A Division II, 3A and 5A games for 680 The Fan, believes this year’s Peach State recruits are the nation’s best, pound for pound.
“California, Florida, Georgia and Texas are what we understand as the Big Four in terms of recruiting,” he said. “If you ranked those four with a points system based on position, I’d bet my mortgage that Georgia would have the higher point total, collectively, at quarterback, running back, receiver, defense, every position across the field. For me, it’s the sheer depth of recruits. Look at how these nationally ranked recruits are spread out across, not just Carrollton, Milton and Grayson, but Brooks County and Bowdon.”
It’s expected that coaches and staff from the most prominent Power 4 schools in the country will be on hand for the games. That could present a great opportunity for players such as Milton senior athlete Amauri Anderson, who will make his season debut in the championship after missing the season with a torn ACL. Undecided, he holds 10 offers, including Arkansas, Colorado and Indiana.
“The Amauri Anderson kid is an interesting case study in improving your stock,” Mooneyham said. “He was known as a freshman and earned playing time as a sophomore in 7A. ... Now he may get one last opportunity to impress recruiters. It could simply be a day which changes his life.”
Northeast-Macon, Burke County and Marist are the only teams competing for a championship that don’t have a player with a reported Power 4 offer, and all three are projected to lose, according to Maxwell’s projections. That they could win is what makes championship week so special.
“Will the major prospects carry the day, or can a more well-rounded team with more depth mitigate that star power?” Mooneyham said. “We’ll see the biggest stars on the biggest stage. How many of them will take the next step necessary, beyond the regular season and the Sweet 16? We can talk about how it’s just another game, but once you step inside The Benz, in many cases you’ll be playing the best team you’ll see all year. Say you’re a 4-star cornerback going against a 4-star receiver. If you make two mistakes that lead to two scores, that could be the difference in a tight ballgame.
“So, I’m looking to see the big stars step up.”
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POWER 4 PROSPECTS
Class A Division I: Toombs County vs. Northeast-Macon
Toombs County
2025 4-star DB Lagonza Hayward (Florida signee)
Class A Division II: Brooks County vs. Bowdon
Brooks County
2027 4-star ATH George Lamons (17 offers, including Alabama, Georgia, Wisconsin)
Bowdon
2026 4-star TE Kaiden Prothro (27 offers, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida State)
Class 2A: Carver-Columbus vs. Burke County
Carver
2026 4-star DE Tristian Givens (23 offers, including Florida, Georgia Tech, USC)
2026 3-star OT Parker Pritchett (15 offers, including Alabama, Cal, Miami)
Class 3A: Calhoun vs. Jefferson
Calhoun
2025 3-star TE Emaree Winston (Texas signee)
Jefferson
2027 LB Max Brown (10 offers, including Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas A&M)
Class 3A-A private: Hebron Christian vs. Prince Avenue Christian
Hebron Christian
2025 3-star DT Sichan John (Virginia signee)
2025 3-star S Gerritt Kemp (N.C. State signee)
2025 3-star LB Carrington Coombs (Georgia Tech signee)
Prince Avenue Christian
2025 4-star DT Christian Garrett (Georgia Tech signee)
2027 4-star RB Andrew Beard (13 offers, including Georgia, Miami, Oklahoma)
2027 QB Ben Musser (Five offers, including Nebraska)
Class 4A: North Oconee vs. Marist
North Oconee
2025 3-star WR Landon Roldan (Georgia signee)
2026 4-star LB Khamari Brooks (12 offers, including Clemson, Georgia, Michigan)
Class 5A: Milton vs. Hughes
Milton
2025 4-star QB Luke Nickel (Miami signee)
2025 4-star WR CJ Wiley (Georgia signee)
2025 4-star OL Braden Jacobs, Milton (Clemson signee)
2025 3-star TE Ethan Barbour, Milton (Georgia signee)
2025 3-star DB Dylan Lewis, Milton (Tennessee signee)
2025 3-star DB Tyler Redmond, Milton (Tennessee signee)
2025 3-star TE Ryan Ghea, Milton (Auburn signee)
2025 3-star DE Caleb Bell, Milton (Arkansas signee)
2025 3-star DB Ma’khi Jones, Milton (Duke signee)
2025 ATH Amauri Anderson, Milton (10 offers, including Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana)
2027 WR Grant Havilhand, Milton (Nine offers, including Florida, Georgia Tech, Tennessee)
Hughes
2025 4-star OT Tavaris Dice (Florida signee)
2025 4-star G Dontrell Glover (Georgia signee)
2026 4-star TE Xavier Tiller (Texas A&M commit)
2025 3-star DE Canaan Edwards (Rutgers signee)
2026 4-star RB Carsyn Baker (30 offers, including Alabama, Ohio State, SMU)
2025 WR Maurice Gleaton (15 offers, including Georgia, Georgia Tech)
Class 6A: Carrollton vs. Grayson
Carrollton
2025 4-star QB Julian “JuJu” Lewis (Colorado signee)
2025 4-star S Zelus Hicks (Texas signee)
2025 4-star CB Shamar Arnoux, Carrollton (Florida State signee)
2026 4-star C Zykie Helton (18 offers, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia)
2026 3-star LB CJ Gamble (Five offers, including Tennessee, Wake Forest)
2026 4-star CB Dorian Barney (39 offers, including Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State)
2026 3-star WR Peyton Zachary (25 offers, including Georgia, Indiana, Ole Miss)
2026 4-star WR Ryan Mosley (27 offers, including Alabama, Clemson, Colorado)
2026 3-star RB Kimauri Farmer (12 offers, including Indiana, Kansas State)
2028 OT Kweli Fielder (five offers, including Auburn, Florida, Florida State)
Grayson
2026 5-star LB Tyler Atkinson (49 offers, including Alabama, Clemson, Georgia)
2025 4-star OT Nicolai Brooks (Texas signee)
2025 4-star DE Joseph Mbatchou (Florida signee)
2026 4-star LB Anthony Davis (32 offers, including Arizona State, Clemson, Colorado)
2025 3-star DB Jaylen Bell (Indiana signee)
2025 3-star DT Josiah Victor (NC State signee)
2025 3-star DE Andre Fuller Jr. (Georgia Tech signee)
2026 QB Travis Burgess (seven offers, including Arizona State, Boston College, Pitt)
2026 WR Ty’Jae Clark (South Carolina offer)
2026 DT Cameron McGee (eight offers, including Auburn, Michigan, Southern Cal)
2027 LB Eli Harris (Auburn offer)
2027 CB Jett Watson (Indiana offer)
2027 DE TK Cunningham (35 offers, including Arizona, Cal, Colorado)
2027 DT Waylon Wooten (seven offers, including Georgia, Michigan, USC)
2027 CB Rilee Drew (seven offers, including Auburn, Penn State, Tennessee)
2027 RB Joel Bradford (10 offers, including Georgia, Nebraska, Pitt)
2028 TE Elijah Tillman (Duke, Texas offers)
2028 DE Ismael Schiefer (nine offers, including Auburn, Florida, Texas)
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