Those who follow recruiting know Georgia's best high school players for their college potential. It shouldn't be assumed that every blue-chip prospect carries the same reputation as a high school player.
Here is a look at the 27 Georgia high school seniors who garnered four-star ratings by at least one recruiting service. Each is given a verdict.
A producer is a player who had an outstanding senior season in high school, usually enough to garner all-state recognition.
A project is a player whose production didn't match his status as an elite recruit in 2010. In parentheses is the school to which the prospect has committed.
DE Sterling Bailey, East Hall (Georgia): Bailey is known as a great athlete and character kid. His senior season was good, but not what you'd expect from an Army All-American -- 64 tackles, five sacks. "Statistically, it was not [his] best because of the attention [he] received,'' East Hall coach Bryan Gray said. "But that's what happens when people know who you are.'' The team's MVP was Jamond Witt, a 5-foot-9 running back with over 2,000 all-purpose yards on a 3-7 team.
Verdict: Project
RB Quan Bray, Troup County (Auburn): Bray transferred from Callaway, a smaller school, to county rival Troup. He'd been a quarterback but moved to his projected college position as a senior. Bray had a brilliant career but unspectacular senior season that included being shut down against his former teammates in a season-opening 29-0 loss.
Verdict: Project
LB Shannon Brown, Cook (Alabama): After a spotty junior season, Brown was the Class AA defensive player of year as a senior and led his team to a 12-1 record. He had 105 tackles, 14 for losses, and he also rushed for 14 touchdowns as a special-weapon fullback. The Valdosta Daily Times chose Brown as the MVP among players in its coverage area – ahead of Valdosta stars Jay Rome and Malcolm Mitchell.
Verdict: Producer
DB Justin Coleman, Brunswick (Tennessee): Playing in a coastal town outside the media spotlight, Coleman had one of the more impressive all-around seasons of any Georgia player. He had 802 yards rushing and 520 receiving. On defense, he had 92 tackles and five interceptions. He returned two kicks for touchdowns. He was his region's player of the year.
Verdict: Producer
WR Christian Conley, North Paulding (Georgia): Conley had 61 receptions for 1,021 yards and 15 touchdowns in just 10 games for a 6-4 team. He is his school's first all-state player. A few coaches have suggested that Conley's wideout teammates, Joey Eliezer and Joel Brooks, were pretty good too and made it harder to stop Conley than it would've been. But Conley wrapped up a highly productive career.
Verdict: Producer
RB Isaiah Crowell, Carver Columbus (undecided): Crowell rushed for more than 1,700 yards on just 147 carries. That included a 305-yard effort in the Class AA quarterfinals against Thomasville. Crowell missed parts or all of several games due to injury, or he would've easily led the state in rushing. He was held to 94 yards in the semifinals, when Carver lost to Calhoun 27-14.
Verdict: Producer
DE Xzavier Dickson, Griffin (Alabama): Dickson had fewer than 50 tackles as teams ran away from him, but when it came time to pass, Dickson was hard to contain. He had 19 sacks. Dickson was a unanimous all-state pick.
Verdict: Producer
DE Ray Drew, Thomas County Central (Georgia): Drew is a bit of a riddle. He was a Super 11 pick and first-team all-state player according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but the Associated Press left him off the all-state team entirely. Said one prominent South Georgia coach, ‘'Ray Drew has tremendous upswing for a college recruit, but as a high school player he was not one of the better ones we saw this year.'' Drew did have 2.5 sacks in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Verdict: Project
OL Watts Dantzler, Dalton (Georgia): Dantzler is a two-time first-team all-state performer, but most linemen who have committed to top schools are going to be all-state because there aren't reliable statistics to give underdog performers a fair chance at the honor. Dantzler was an asset to his team, but many coaches and reporters questioned whether he was more of a star prospect than a star player.
Verdict: Project
DT Lamichael Fanning, Harris County (Alabama): Fanning played for three schools in his four seasons and quit his final one at Harris County before the season ended. He made no all-state teams.
Verdict: Project
LB Justin Garrett, Tucker (Auburn): Garrett was credited with 37 total tackles for Tucker, a loaded program that made the Class AAAA semifinals. Garrett was the third best linebacker in 2010 on a team that included Stanford-bound James Vaughters.
Verdict: Project
LB Amarlo Herrera, North Clayton (Georgia): Herrera had 151 tackles in just 11 games for a 9-2 team. He was the defensive player of the year in Region 4-AAAA and first-team all state.
Verdict: Producer
LB Jabari Hunt-Days, Hillgrove (Georgia Tech): Hunt-Days had 137 tackles for a surprising 10-3 team, one that upset No. 1-ranked Camden County in the Class AAAAA playoffs. He was the defensive player of the year in Region 4-AAAAA and made every all-state team.
Verdict: Producer
LB A.J. Johnson, Gainesville (Tennessee): Johnson was a one-man wrecking crew at times for Gainesville, which finished 10-2. He had 173 tackles, nearly 15 per game. He also rushed for more than 300 yards from the wildcat formation.
Verdict: Producer
QB Nick Marshall, Wilcox County (Georgia): Marshall threw for 2,728 yards and 41 touchdowns as a senior and set the state record for career touchdown passes with 101. He was the first-team all-state quarterback in Class A for the second straight year. He's looking to be a defensive back in college. Playing cornerback, he had six interceptions and returned two for touchdowns and another one more than 75 yards.
Verdict: Producer
DT Chris Mayes, Spalding (Georgia): Mayes, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound athlete, is probably more purely a prospect than player over any other Georgia player so highly regarded by college coaches. He's played football for only about two years. He has made no all-state teams.
Verdict: Project
DB Malcolm Mitchell, Valdosta (Georgia): Mitchell caught 77 passes for 1,419 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was player of the year in 1-AAAAA, Georgia's most famous region. That was ahead of heralded teammate Jay Rome. Said Lowndes coach Randy McPherson, "Rome is a great athlete, but Mitchell, he'll run by you, now. He was the best player I saw in our region.''
Verdict: Producer
Corey Moore, Griffin (Georgia): Moore had a good season – 44 tackles, eight for losses – on a 10-2 team. He even played quarterback in a pinch. But he didn't make any all-state teams playing in the shadow of teammate Xzavier Dickson.
Verdict: Project
TE Jay Rome, Valdosta (Georgia): Rome caught 45 passes for 555 yards and seven touchdowns, and he's an excellent blocker and overall athlete, the two-time region player of the year in basketball. As a two-time all-state player, Rome is not questioned as an elite high school player, but there was debate as to whether he was Georgia's best tight end. Rory Anderson (committed to South Carolina) of McEachern had 34 catches for 500 yards, and Alvin Dupree (committed to Kentucky) of Wilkinson County had 45 receptions for 1,021 yards and 10 touchdowns in Class A.
Verdict: Producer
Justin Scott-Wesley, Mitchell County (Georgia): Scott-Wesley, a nationally renowned track-and-field sprinter, was an all-Region 1-A pick but caught fewer than 30 passes and was not the most dangerous player on his team. His teammate and quarterback, Jesse Atkins, was the region's player of the year. "The wide receiver was good,'' said Jim Morrell of region rival Pelham, ‘'but that quarterback was the one you hoped didn't get off the bus.''
Verdict: Project
DE Terrance Smith, Southwest DeKalb (Florida State): Smith had a team-leading seven sacks for an 8-3 team whose defensive leader was a junior linebacker named Torian Smith. By most accounts, Smith had a better junior year. He didn't make any all-state teams.
Verdict: Project
Damian Swann, Grady (Georgia): Swann had an all-state year for the second straight season as a two-way star on an 11-2 team. He had 45 receptions on offense and 67 tackles and seven interceptions on defense. His on-field performance helped affirm his selection as a preseason Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 pick.
Verdict: Producer
DE Stephon Tuitt, Monroe Area (Notre Dame): Tuitt was part of perhaps the most remarkable turnaround story in Georgia football history – a team that went 11-2 after consecutive 0-10 seasons. He made 123 tackles – 13 for sacks and another 18 for losses. He was a unanimous first-team all-state player.
Verdict: Producer
QB CJ Uzomah, North Gwinnett (Auburn): Uzomah was perhaps Georgia's most impressive multi-role offensive player in 2010, at least in the highest classification. He passed for 856 yards, rushed for 570 and had 310 receiving yards. He had a hand in 20 touchdowns. Uzomah was largely shut down in the season's biggest game against Grayson, which upset previously unbeaten North Gwinnett in the second round. He's slated to play tight end in college.
Verdict: Producer
LB James Vaughters, Tucker (Stanford): Vaughters had only 57 tackles, but those numbers were deflated by a three-and-out defense (not many tackles to be had) and a very strict definition of what's a tackle. Few argued that Vaughters was the best player on his 13-1 team.
Verdict: Producer
DB Avery Walls, Eagle's Landing Christian (California): Walls transferred from Union Grove, a bigger public school, to smaller ELCA, which made a run in the Class A playoffs, finishing 13-1. Walls was a big reason why, playing safety, cornerback and running back. He was probably the team's second-best player. Keep an eye on his teammate, running back/linebacker Keyante Green, a rising junior.
Verdict: Producer
DT Gabriel Wright, Carver Columbus (undecided): While a key player in Carver's 13-1 seasons, he wasn't his team's best-performing defensive lineman in 2010. That would be a junior, Derious Bennett, who will be a top recruit for 2012. Wright had only 41 tackles and failed to make all-state teams. Yet he was named as one of three Georgia players on Parade's All-America team.
Verdict: Project
