Carrollton’s Lewis named Gatorade state player of the year

Carrollton quarterback Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis is the Gatorade state football player of the year in Georgia, the company announced Wednesday.

Lewis, the consensus No. 1 sophomore football prospect nationally, passed for 3,094 yards and 48 touchdowns with only two interceptions for an 11-2 team that reached the Class 7A quarterfinals.

This is the fourth major Georgia state player-of-the-year award and the fourth different winner.

The AJC named Jefferson senior running back/linebacker Sammy Brown as its Georgia all-classification player of the year Dec. 28. Brown, a five-star linebacker prospect who signed with Clemson, rushed for more than 2,000 yards and had more than 100 tackles for a Class 5A semifinal team.

The Atlanta Touchdown Club on Dec. 20 gave its Mr. Georgia Award to Prince Avenue Christian quarterback Aaron Philo, who led the state in passing yards with 4,598 and broke Trevor Lawrence’s career passing yards record. Philo, who has signed with Georgia Tech, led Prince Avenue Christian to the Class A Division I championship.

MaxPreps, a national company that picked winners in each state, last month named Walton quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski as its Georgia player of the year. Hecklinski passed for 3,835 yards and 50 touchdowns for the Class 7A runner-up. Hecklinski has signed with Wake Forest.