2000s
CLASS OF 2024 INDUCTEES
Tray Blackmon
LaGrange High School Graduate
Tray Blackmon was the 2004 AJC and Gatorade all-classification Player of the Year in Georgia and the face of dominating LaGrange defenses that allowed only 6.4 points per game while winning 2003 and 2004 Class AAA championships. LaGrange was 55-2 in Blackmon’s four varsity seasons under GACA Hall of Fame coach Steve Pardue. A linebacker, Blackmon started his final three seasons, the last two ending in state titles. As a senior, Blackmon was credited with 115 tackles, eight sacks and seven forced fumbles on a LaGrange team that went 15-0 and won each game by more than 10 points. No opponent scored more than one touchdown against the starting lineup. Blackmon had 116 tackles, 12 sacks and six forced fumbles as a junior and 101 tackles and five sacks as a sophomore. He was a Parade All-American, an AJC Super 11 pick and the state’s No. 1 recruit as a senior. Blackmon got freshman All-SEC recognition at Auburn but had an up-and-down college career. He played briefly in the Canadian Football League. In 2014, Blackmon finished tied for fifth in a Georgia High School Football Daily survey that asked active head coaches, “Who is the best Georgia player you ever faced?” Blackmon was named to GHSF Daily’s 24-member team of the decade for 2000-09.
Thomas Davis
Randolph-Clay High School Graduate
Thomas Davis was an honorable-mention all-state player with one major college offer, from Georgia, during his senior season in 2000, making this 16-year NFL veteran one of the most overlooked jewels in Georgia high school football history. Davis was an outstanding high school player and athlete but hidden in the southwest corner of the state toiling for a Class AA team that had gone 0-19-1 in his freshman and sophomore seasons. As a senior, Davis rushed for 1,032 yards and 18 touchdowns on a 6-5 team. He rarely came off the field, playing running back, wide receiver, quarterback, defensive back, defensive end, punter and place-kicker in his high school career. He also played on three state semifinal basketball teams and was a member of Randolph-Clay’s baseball and track-and-field teams. Davis became a two-time first-team All-SEC player (2003, 2004) and consensus All-American (2004) at Georgia as a hard-hitting safety. The Carolina Panthers selected Davis in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2005 NFL Draft. Davis made the Pro Bowl three times as a Panthers linebacker. He made first-team All Pro on the Panthers’ 2015 Super Bowl team. In 2014, Davis was the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year for making a significant positive impact on his community, and he won the NFL’s Bart Starr Character Award in 2016. Davis was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
Jonathan Dwyer
Kell High School Graduate
Jonathan Dwyer rushed for a Cobb County-record 5,565 yards as the running back who put Kell High on the football map, then became the 2008 ACC Player of the Year while a sophomore at Georgia Tech. In high school, Dwyer was a Parade All-American and the GACA Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year in 2006, when he rushed for 1,802 yards. He rushed for 1,898 yards as a junior and more than 1,000 as a freshman in 2003, Kell’s first football season. Dwyer was named to Georgia High School Football Daily’s all-decade team (2000-09) as one of two running backs. As an AJC Super 11 pick and a consensus top-100 national prospect, Dwyer signed with Georgia Tech. He rushed for exactly 1,395 yards twice (2008, 2009) and was voted the ACC’s top player in 2008. He also earned All-America recognition from Pro Football Weekly. Declaring for the 2010 NFL Draft after his junior season, Dwyer was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round. He played five NFL seasons and was the Steelers’ leading rusher in 2012. Dwyer now works as an assistant coach on the staff of his high school alma mater, which inducted him into its first sports hall of fame class in 2020.
Hutson Mason
Lassiter High School Graduate
Hutson Mason was the state’s first quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards or 50 touchdowns in a season and the first to demonstrate the full game-changing impact of the spread offense at the highest levels in the state. His high school, Lassiter, had never won a playoff game and was coming off a 3-7 finish when it hired coach and spread-offensive guru Chip Lindsey, who converted the Trojans to four- and five-receiver sets with Mason as its shotgun trigger man. Mason passed for 3,705 yards, the most ever for a Georgia player in the highest class, and led Lassiter to its first playoff victory. As a senior, Mason buried single-season records in all classifications by passing for 4,532 yards and 54 touchdowns and leading Lassiter to a 12-1 finish. Mason was the GSWA and Gatorade all-classification Player of the Year and the AJC’s Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year. He was also a Parade All-American and the quarterback on Georgia High School Football Daily’s all-decade Georgia team (2000-09). Mason still had few scholarship offers until late in his senior year and ultimately signed with Georgia. He became the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback in 2014 and passed for 2,167 yards and 21 touchdowns. Mason played briefly in the NFL and CFL.
Alec Ogletree
Newnan High School Graduate
Alec Ogletree was the Parade and USA All-American who helped make Newnan a state power in the highest classification during his four years as a starter. Newnan was coming off a losing season in 2006 but would put together records of 7-4, 11-2, 13-1 and 13-1, each ending with region championships in Class AAAAA, then the highest class. Newnan also made the semifinals in 2008 and 2009. Ogletree, a starter at tight end and safety, was the 2009 AJC and GSWA Class AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year. Though recruited at safety, he was a top-notch high school tight end who had 33 receptions for 633 yards and five touchdowns his senior season. He blocked at least 14 punts in his high school career. As a preseason AJC Super 11 pick and the consensus No. 19 prospect nationally, Ogletree signed with Georgia, as did Alec’s twin, Alexander, a fullback. Alec, playing linebacker in college, was an All-SEC player and the leading tackler on Georgia’s 2012 team that finished 12-2 and No. 5 in the final AP poll. Ogletree declared for the NFL Draft after three seasons, and the St. Louis Rams selected him 30th overall in the first round. Ogletree played nine NFL seasons with five teams and started in 110 of his 111 games played.
Leonard Pope
Americus High School Graduate
Leonard Pope was the star tight end and a first-team all-state player on Americus’ 2000 and 2001 Class AA championships teams. Americus, ahead of its time as a passing team in those days, was 29-1 while averaging 39 points per game during this future Georgia and NFL player’s junior and senior seasons. Pope had more than 50 receptions in those championship years. He also played in the secondary and, according to head coach Erik Soliday, “was actually better on defense than offense. He would drop down from safety and hit you, and at 6-6, 230, his high school size, he was a force. People were hesitant to catch a ball around him.” Pope was the tight end on Georgia High School Football Daily’s 24-player all-decade team (2000-09). Pope played at Georgia and was a two-year starter before declaring for the NFL Draft after his junior season, when he was a key figure on the Bulldogs’ SEC championship team. He was the unanimous first-team All-SEC tight end as a junior and senior. The Arizona Cardinals drafted Pope in the third round of the 2006 draft. He played seven NFL seasons and was the Cardinals’ starting tight end on their 2008 Super Bowl team.
Demaryius Thomas
West Laurens High School Graduate
Demaryius Thomas was an underrated all-state high school wide receiver who lifted up a traditionally struggling high school program and went on to become an All-America college player and All-Pro NFL player. Thomas had 56 receptions for 756 yards and seven touchdowns in 2005 as a senior at West Laurens, which finished 6-5, its first winning season in nine years. Georgia High School Football Daily in 2017 named Thomas as West Laurens’ best player in school history. Thomas signed with Georgia Tech as a three-star recruit. Despite playing in an option offense, Thomas made first-team All-ACC and third-team All-America on Georgia Tech’s 2009 ACC championship team under Paul Johnson. Thomas had 46 receptions for 1,154 yards, accounting for 61.1% of Tech’s passing yards. The Denver Broncos drafted Thomas in the first round, 22nd overall, in the 2010 NFL Draft. In his 10-year NFL career, Thomas made five Pro Bowl appearances (2012-16). He started on two Super Bowl teams and one Super Bowl championship team (2015). Thomas retired with 9,763 receiving yards and 63 touchdowns. Thomas died at age 33 in 2021 from what an autopsy determined were complications from a seizure disorder, which had troubled him since a 2019 car crash. Thomas was inducted posthumously into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
PREVIOUS INDUCTEES
Eric Berry
Creekside High School Graduate
(Class of 2022) Eric Berry took home almost every major award as a Creekside senior in 2006, when he totaled 2,552 rushing and passing yards for a 12-1 team as a two-way starter at quarterback and safety. He was named the AJC’s and Gatorade’s Georgia all-classification player of the year and a Parade and MaxPreps All-American. Creekside won two region titles and was a Class 4A quarterfinalist with Berry as its leader. He was the consensus No. 3 overall recruit, the No. 1 cornerback and the No. 1 player in Georgia. Berry committed to Tennessee, where he was a two-time first-team All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. The Chiefs drafted him fifth overall in 2010. Playing in Kansas City for nine seasons, Berry was named to five Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pro teams and made the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. In 2015, Berry overcame cancer and earned the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.
Rennie Curran
Brookwood High School Graduate
(Class of 2023) Rennie Curran left Brookwood as the Broncos’ all-time leading tackler. During his senior season, he tallied 150 total tackles with 13 sacks and 23 tackles for losses. He was the GACA Class 5A defensive player of the year in 2006, when he led Brookwood to a state finals appearance. He was a rare three-time first-team GSWA and GACA all-state pick and back-to-back Gwinnett TD Club defensive player of the year. He was named to GHSF Daily’s statewide all-decade team (2000-09). A consensus top-250 national recruit, Curran signed with Georgia and made first-team All-SEC in 2009 and was a Butkus Award finalist. He was a third-round NFL Draft pick in 2010 and played two NFL seasons and three CFL seasons. He was inducted into the Gwinnett County Sports Hall of Fame and the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame in 2019. Now an author and motivational speaker, Curran continues to inspire individuals with Game Changer LLC and makes regular appearances on local and national TV networks, including those covering Georgia and the Atlanta Falcons.
Jeff Francoeur
Parkview High School Graduate
(Class of 2022) Jeff Francoeur is one of the best known Georgia high school products for what he did during and after his time at Parkview. He was the 2001 AJC all-classification football player of the year after catching 47 passes for 1,033 yards and 14 touchdowns. As a junior, he caught 46 passes for 835 yards and 14 touchdowns and intercepted 15 passes. His performance led Parkview to back-to-back 15-0 seasons and Class 5A titles in 2000 and 2001. The AJC ranked him the No. 21 Georgia high school football player of all time in 2007. Francoeur signed to play football at Clemson but was a first-round draft pick by his hometown Braves and chose baseball. Francoeur had an electrifying start to his major league career, debuting at age 21. In his first three seasons, he had a .280 batting average, 62 home runs and 253 RBIs. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2005 and won a Gold Glove in his third season in 2007. He went on to play 12 MLB seasons and was one of the best defensive right fielders of his time, totaling 53 defensive runs saved. Francoeur is now the lead TV analyst for the Braves.
Charles Johnson
Hawkinsville High School Graduate
(Class of 2023) Charles Johnson was a three-sport athlete at Hawkinsville High, where he starred as a football defensive end, a basketball forward and a track-and-field sprinter on a state-winning 4x100 meters relay team. He was a defensive lineman with exceptional speed (4.6 seconds over 40 yards) for someone 6 feet, 3 inches and 240 pounds. During his senior football season, Johnson led Hawkinsville to a 15-0 finish and the Class A title. He registered 16 sacks. In the championship game, which Hawkinsville won 18-8 over No. 1-ranked Lincoln County, Johnson returned an interception 83 yards for a touchdown. Johnson was the AJC’s Class A Defensive Player of the Year. Georgia High School Football Daily named Johnson one of its four defensive linemen on the 2000-09 All-Decade Team. Johnson was a five-star recruit and the consensus No. 21 prospect when he signed to play at Georgia. He played three seasons for the Bulldogs and made All-SEC as a junior in 2006. The Carolina Panthers selected Johnson in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Johnson played 11 NFL seasons, all with the Panthers, appearing in 143 games with 114 starts. Johnson made an All-Pro team in 2010 and finished with 67.5 career sacks. He was part of the Panthers’ Super Bowl 50 team for the 2015 season. In 2012, Johnson established the Charles Johnson Foundation, which supported underprivileged youth and single African American mothers and awarded scholarships to students in Hawkinsville and Charlotte.
Jarvis Jones
Carver (Columbus) High School Graduate
(Class of 2023) Jarvis Jones, a fast and rugged 6-foot-3, 245-pound outside linebacker, helped Carver to the program’s first state championship in 2007, when the Tigers defeated Cairo 16-13 for the Class AAA championship in his junior year. Jones was named the AJC, GSWA and GACA Class AAA Defensive Player of the Year that season after making 157 tackles, 26 tackles for losses, four sacks and two interceptions. He was an AJC Super 11 selection entering his senior season in 2008 and finished as first-team all-state again and a USA Today All-American. Jones was the consensus No. 49 prospect nationally as a senior. After playing in the 2009 All-American Bowl, Jones played one season at Southern Cal before transferring to Georgia. After sitting out a year, he became a two-time first-team All-SEC selection. In 2012, Jones was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American after setting a school record with 14.5 sacks for a 12-2 team that finished ranked No. 4 in the final coaches poll. The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Jones in the first round with the No. 17 overall pick in 2013. Jones played four NFL seasons with 50 games played and 35 starts with the Steelers and Arizona Cardinals. Jones completed his degree from Georgia in 2019. He now works for his alma mater on the football support staff as a player connection coordinator.
David Pollack
Shiloh High School Graduate
(Class of 2022) David Pollack, 40, is one of the youngest members of the inaugural Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame class. Pollack was a member of the last Generals team to win a playoff game, in 2000, his senior season, when he played fullback and linebacker. He’s one of only three Shiloh players in history to make first-team AJC all-state. A three-star recruit, Pollack committed to Georgia, where he would win SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 and 2004 and earn All-America nominations three times. He was the recipient of numerous awards after his senior season in 2004, including the Chuck Bednarik Award (best linebacker), the Lombardi Award, the Lott Trophy (best defensive character and performance) and the Ted Hendricks Award. He finished as Georgia’s career leader in sacks (36) and tackles for losses (58.5). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. Pollack retired from the NFL after two seasons due to injury. He’s now a familiar face on ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
D.J. Shockley
North Clayton High School Graduate
(Class of 2023) D.J. Shockley was a two-time first-team AJC and GSWA all-state quarterback (1999, 2000) at North Clayton and a 2000 Parade All-American. As a senior, he passed for 1,861 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 864 yards and another eight touchdowns. His junior season, he passed for 1,352 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 733 yards and nine touchdowns. Shockley was the consensus No. 18 recruit nationally and the No. 1 dual-threat prospect in the class of 2001. He was the No. 3 prospect in the state when he took his talents to Georgia, where he played three seasons as a backup before getting his first time to start as a senior. When his chance came, Shockley made the most of it, passing for 2,588 yards and 24 touchdowns, leading Georgia to the SEC title, and was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year. The Falcons drafted Shockley in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent seasons in the NFL. Since 2017, Shockley has worked as a color commentator and studio analyst for college football broadcasts, Atlanta Falcons coverage and high school football coverage with GPB. Shockley became a sports anchor for WAGA-TV (Fox 5 Atlanta) in 2021.
Darius Walker
Buford High School Graduate
(Class of 2022) No single player had more to do with the rise of Buford football this century than Darius Walker. The Wolves went 58-2 in Walker’s four seasons, winning their final 45 games. It was to be the first three of 13 state titles since 2000. Buford’s winning streak, still the state record, would reach 47 the next season. Walker rushed for 5,676 yards and scored 91 touchdowns in his Buford career. As a senior, he rushed for 2,406 yards and a state-record 46 touchdowns while playing only two full games. The AJC and Gatorade named Walker the all-class player of the year in 2003. In 2007, the AJC ranked Walker as the No. 24 player in state history. At Notre Dame, Walker rushed for 3,249 yards, the fourth-most in school history, twice going for more than 1,000 yards. Walker went undrafted in the NFL and played for two seasons with the Houston Texans.
Monte Williams
Commerce High School Graduate
(Class 2022) Monte Williams exists in some circles as a folk legend. The state’s all-time leading rusher, Williams attended Commerce High in Jackson County from 1997 to 2000, when the Tigers won four consecutive region titles and won 48 of 54 games. Williams’ 8,844 yards stand alone at the top in state records, and his 105 rushing touchdowns are tied for the fourth-most in the state’s history. Williams, a 5-foot-7, 168-pound back, was tagged by many in his time as the fastest back to the line of scrimmage. In his final game, the Class A state championship versus Buford, Williams compiled 287 rushing yards and caught a 41-yard pass for a touchdown as an elusive, zigzagging super speedster. Williams was a rare three-time first-team AJC, GSWA All-State pick (1998-2000) while also making honorable mention as a freshman. He was the GSWA’s 1999 all-class player of the year. Because of his size, he was overlooked by most Division I schools and ended up playing one season at Butler Community College, a junior college in Kansas, where he rushed for 565 yards on 125 carries.