This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting takes a look at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s annual “Super 11″ feature honoring the top football players from around the state.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has published its Super 11 every August since 1985.
That’s when the first feature highlighting the Peach State crop of top talent made its debut with future Saturday mainstays like Wilcox County’s Alfred Rawls (Kentucky) and Winder-Barrow all-name team member Hiawatha Berry (UGA) on what was originally called “The Best 11″ in its freshman season.
Lakeside’s Huey Richardson, the 6-foot-6 nephew of Atlanta Falcon Al Richardson, went on to star at Florida and was selected in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft.
The signature Super 11 phrasing was adopted with the 1986 edition and the annual rollout began to spotlight future NFL Hall of Famers like Charlton County’s Champ Bailey and Sandy Creek’s Calvin Johnson as well as future Super Bowl MVPs like Hines Ward at Forest Park.
Not to mention future No. 1 overall draft picks like Trevor Lawrence at Cartersville and Travon Walker from Upson-Lee in Thomaston.
The annual rollout of that feature is a welcome tell that football season is finally upon us.
DawgNation, which is a part of the AJC, is keenly aware of how tough that selection process turns out to be.
The feature, which looks at a player’s total high school resume and not just their pure recruiting rankings, seems to get harder every summer.
PHOTOS: Check out this year’s AJC Super 11
This year’s selections were some of the toughest in recent history. There were several automatic selections given how well this year’s rising seniors have already made their mark on Georgia high school history and also how they rated nationally across the major recruiting services.
Consider the fact UGA commitment Zayden Walker is ranked as the nation’s No. 1 LB by On3.com. Yet that distinction only lands him as the No. 6 player in Georgia in this year’s class.
This Super 11 also saw a reclassified 5-star 2026 to the 2025 class in Carrollton’s prolific signal caller Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis.
Lee County RB Ousmane Kromah is the No. 11 player is the state of Georgia this year on the 247Sports Composite ratings, but that distinction also places him at No. 83 nationally.
The state has 49 players rated nationally with a 4-star rating. The lowest-rated of those 4-star recruits still comes in at No. 416 nationally for the Class of 2025. That’s quite a haul for this fall.
The talent base of the state of Georgia has never been stronger and it is reflected in this year’s Super 11.
This year’s group features six players that have been rated as a 5-star prospect by at least one of the major national services.
- 5-star DL Elijah Griffin, Savannah Christian
- 5-star DL Justus Terry, Manchester
- 5-star QB Julian Lewis, Carrollton
- 5-star TE Elyiss Williams, Camden County
- 5-star LB Zayden Walker, Schley County
- 4-star EDGE Isaiah Gibson, Warner Robins
- 4-star RB Ousmane Kromah, Lee County
- 4-star WR CJ Wiley, Milton
- 4-star QB Luke Nickel, Milton
- 4-star QB Antwann Hill, Houston County
- 4-star DB Dee Reddick, Thomas County Central
That’s a strong list, but let’s take those selections a step further. The rankings and college choices for each selection also show how this year’s group stacks up nationally.
| Player | Hometown | National rankings (247Sports Composite) | College choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elijah Griffin | Pooler | No. 1 DL/ No. 4 overall | Undecided |
| Justus Terry | Manchester | No. 2 DL/ No. 8 overall | Undecided |
| Julian Lewis | Carrollton | No. 3 QB/ No. 15 overall | USC |
| Elyiss Williams | Kingsland | No. 1 TE/ No. 23 overall | UGA |
| Zayden Walker | Ellaville | No. 2 LB/ No. 24 overall | UGA |
| Isaiah Gibson | Warner Robins | No. 2 EDGE/ No. 39 overall | UGA |
| Ousmane Kromah | Leesburg | No. 5 RB/No. 83 overall | Undecided |
| CJ Wiley | Milton | No. 15 WR/ No. 98 overall | FSU |
| Dee Reddick | Thomasville | No. 13 S/ No. 131 overall | UCF |
| Antwann Hill | Warner Robins | No. 17 QB/ No. 215 overall | Memphis |
| Luke Nickel | Milton | No. 21 QB/ No. 245 overall | Miami |
Georgia has 13 in-state commitments this year, but only three of those made this year’s team.
There’s also a growing chance to add at least two more in the 5-star DL dream tandem of Elijah Griffin and Justus Terry.
The Dawgs have never signed the nation’s top two DTs in the same class before. Not even during the Kirby Smart era. The fact that those two are homegrown in-state blue-chips makes that chase even sweeter.
The Bulldogs are also in the final group for Kromah and receivers coach James Coley is still in regular contact with Wiley. The Milton standout had 1,473 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior and he’s told DawgNation he will likely visit UGA this fall.
That said, he also stated his pledge to FSU was still firm at this time.
Georgia football and the Super 11 over the years
The Bulldogs have only seen five head coaches (Vince Dooley, Ray Goff, Jim Donnan, Mark Richt and Kirby Smart) aim to recruit the state’s top talent during the “Super 11″ era.
This year’s group is the largest collection of future Dawgs from the Smart era since the 2020 Super 11 and its six UGA signees
- 2023: S KJ Bolden; DB Demello Jones
- 2022: LB CJ Allen; OT Bo Hughley
- 2021: S Malaki Starks; QB Gunner Stockton; DE Mykel Williams
- 2020: LB Chaz Chambliss; CB Nyland Green; OT Amarius Mims; LB Smael Mondon; OT Micah Morris; QB Brock Vandagriff
- 2019: OL Broderick Jones; OL Tate Ratledge (TE Arik Gilbert also transferred to UGA after his first year at LSU)
- 2018: WR Dominick Blaylock; LB Trezmen Marshall; DL Travon Walker
- 2017: OLB Adam Anderson; DE Brenton Cox; QB Justin Fields, WR Kearis Jackson; S Otis Reese; OL Jamaree Salyer
- 2016: QB Jake Fromm; S Deangelo Gibbs; DE Malik Herring; S Richard LeCounte III; LB Nate McBride; OT Andrew Thomas
- 2015: OL Ben Cleveland; ATH Mecole Hardman Jr.; RB Elijah Holyfield; DL Julian Rochester; TE Charlie Woerner (WR Demetris Robertson also transferred to UGA after his time at Cal)
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
