Ean Pemberton has no scholarship offers, but he's on my all-state team.
Pemberton, a 5-foot-4 running back, rushed for 1,949 yards as a junior for Grayson High in GwinnettCounty last season.
‘’I don't know what colleges are looking for because it's not production,’’ says Pemberton’s coach, Mickey Conn. ‘’They're so caught up on measurement, the height/weight of these kids. They overlook winners. Some of these colleges need to wake up because this kid can flat play.''
Ean Pemberton, Grayson
Photo by Cecil Copeland
Last week, I compiled tentative preseason all-state teams for each classification for Georgia High School Football Daily, my e-mail newsletter. After getting loads of feedback from our readers, here is my all-class team, exclusively for MaxPreps. Most of these are big-time recruits, but a few are not. Each has one thing in common: They were productive in 2008. Pemberton heads the list.
OFFENSE
QB Hutson Mason, Lassiter (6-AAAAA): Mason threw for 3,705 yards as a junior. That’s five yards short of the Georgia record set by Jeremy Privett of CharltonCounty in 2003. It was Mason’s first season as a starter, and it led his high school team to its first nine-win season and state-playoff victory in history. Mason has an offer from Iowa.
RB Ean Pemberton, Grayson (8-AAAAA): Pemberton was the star player on Grayson’s team that finished 13-1 last season. Pemberton carried 35 times for 163 yards and scored both touchdowns in Grayson’s upset of nationally ranked Lowndes of Valdosta in the quarterfinals. Fourteen of those carries came in an 18-play, 80-yard drive that sealed the win.
RB Mack Brown, M.L. King (2-AAAAA): Brown is generally regarded as Georgia’s No. 1 running back prospect, and he’s backed those ratings on the field. He rushed for 1,712 yards in 11 games. He’s a consensus choice as one of the top 10 running backs in the country.
WR Tai-Ler Jones, Gainesville (8-AAA): Jones caught 81 passes for 979 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2008. He also averaged 17.5 yards on punt returns and 43.8 yards on punts. Jones’ team, Gainesville, went 12-1 last season and could be the preseason No. 1 in Class AAA with four members of Georgia High School Football Daily’s tentative preseason all-state team. Rivals and Scout each rate Jones the No. 17 wide receiver prospect in the country. He has committed to Stanford.
WR Da’Rick Rogers, Calhoun (7-AA): Rogers is rated the No. 1 receiver in Georgia by both Scout and Rivals. He caught 47 passes for 855 yards and nine touchdowns in 2008 for a team that reached the Class AA championship game. Calhoun should be even better in 2008 and challenge Buford’s two-year reign in AA. Rogers has indicated that Georgia, Florida and MississippiState are his college leaders.
TE Jay Rome, Valdosta (1-AAAAA): Rome had 29 catches for 413 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore for a 5-5 team. His coach, Rick Tomberlin, has predicted since Rome was a freshman that he would be the No. 1 recruit in Georgia as a senior. Rome is the son of former high school All American Stan Rome, whose 1,573 yards receiving in 1971 set a national record.
OL David Beasley, Carver Columbus (2-AAA): Beasley made first-team all state in Class AAA last season and was considered the best lineman on a team that had UAB-signee Chris Hubbard and reached the state final. His coach, former NFL player Dell McGee, reports that Beasley had 88 pancake blocks last season. He’s Rivals’ No. 23 guard and Scout’s No. 28 guard nationally.
OL Ed Christian, Lowndes (1-AAAAA): As a junior, Christian was considered the best offensive lineman in the state’s toughest region, one that included Valdosta’s Antonio Foster, who signed with Georgia Tech. Christian could be the best offensive lineman ever for a school that has won four state titles in Class AAAAA since 1999. Christian is Scout’s No. 17 guard and Rivals’ No. 24 tackle nationally. He has committed to FloridaState.
OL Trevor McBurnett, Peachtree Ridge (7-AAAAA): McBurnett isn’t getting the raves of recruiting services, but he was the top lineman and the best junior on Georgia’s Class AAAAA runner-up team. He also was first-team All-Gwinnett County by the Touchdown Club of Gwinnett, ahead of Juwuan James and Austin Shepherd of North Gwinnett, who have committed to Alabama. McBurnett is an outstanding drive blocker who might not perform as well in combines as he does in the high school trenches.
OL Kolton Houston, Buford (6-AA): Houston is the best blocker on a team that has won 30 straight games. He joined McBurnett as a first-team All-Gwinnett County player. He’s Scout’s No. 6 guard and Rivals’ No. 18 guard nationally.
OL David Yankey, Centennial (6-AAAAA): Yankey graded out 95 percent for Centennial in 2008. He already had offers from Tennessee and Florida during his junior season. His 1,300 SAT score doesn’t hurt. Yankey is Scout’s No. 43 tackle and Rivals’ No. 47 tackle nationally.
DEFENSE
DL Garrison Smith, Douglass (2-AAAAA): Smith had a monster year in 2008 with 14 sacks and 27 tackles for loss. Smith is rated the No. 2 defensive tackle by Scout and Rivals, keeping up a recent tradition of highly rated Georgia players at the position. DeAngelo Tyson of Statesboro (2007) and Abry Jones of Northside Warner Robins (2008) had similar ratings.
DL Anthony Williams, Union Grove (2-AAAAA): Williams was his team’s best player in 2008, when he had 76 tackles, 16 for losses, including one for a safety. He also knocked down eight passes at the line of scrimmage. Williams is the No. 18 strongside defensive end, according to Rivals.
DL Allen Stripling, Southwest DeKalb (6-AAAA): A 6-foot-6 defense end, Stripling had 18 tackles for losses and 14 sacks last season for a 9-4 team. He’s Rivals’ No. 16 weakside defensive end and Scout’s No. 16 defensive end overall. He was first-team all state in Class AAAA by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last season.
DT Jeffrey Whitaker, Warner Robins(1-AAAAA): Whitaker was first-team all-region last season. He and Smith were the most nationally known defensive lineman in Georgia leaving the 2008 season. Rivals rates him the No. 7 defensive tackle nationally. Scout rates him No. 25.
LB Michael Copeland, Lowndes (1-AAAAA) Copeland and teammate Telvin Smith are both solid Division I-A recruits and form the best linebacker pair in Georgia. Copeland was the more consistent on the field last season with his 102 tackles, six sacks and 16 tackles for losses.
LB Tyrone Cornelius, Stephenson (2-AAAAA): Cornelius is a tackling machine for a program that has produced many top defensive players to major college teams. Cornelius had 117 tackles in 2008 for a 9-2 team.
LB Clarence Jackson, North Clayton (4-AAAA): Jackson, who has committed to Ole Miss, is not the highest-rated linebacker in Georgia, but he’s the best all-around football player at the position. He was the Clayton County player of the year and his region’s offensive player of the year for his 1,236 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns, but he also made 15 sacks at linebacker, according to Scout.com.
DB Ryan Ayers, South Paulding (7-AAAAA): Ayers is a two-way player who had five interceptions and 16 pass receptions last season. He’s almost always the fastest player on the field. Scout and Rivals each rate him among the top 15 cornerbacks nationally.
DB Isaiah Johnson, Sandy Creek (5-AAAA): Probably the best defensive back in school history, Johnson had seven interceptions and 35 solo tackles, including several sacks, last season. Although he has several offers from Division I-A schools, he is not rated nationally at his position by most recruiting services.
DB Alec Ogletree, Newnan (4-AAAAA): Ogletree was the best defensive player on a team that led the state in scoring defense. He blocked six kicks. He’s Rivals’ No. 1 safety in the nation.
DB Brian Randolph, Kell (6-AAAAA): Randolph made 117 and intercepted three passes (returning one for a touchdown) in just 11 games. He is one of two juniors on this team. The other is Rome, the tight end. Randolph was an ESPN Rise sophomore All-American.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K/P Joe Mansour, LaGrange (2-AAA): Mansour averaged 41.6 yards per punt last season. He also made a 55-yard field goal and put 76 percent of his kickoffs in the end zone.
Todd Holcomb is the editor of Georgia High School Football Daily, a free email newsletter. To subscribe, click here or e-mail Todd at ghsfdaily@bellsouth.net.
