Preseason all-state: Noland, Hill top strong quarterback class in 6A

*Best player: Prentis “Air” Noland, Hughes. Few have produced a better season passing than Noland’s 2022. He was 236-of-323 (73%) for 4,095 yards and 55 touchdowns for a 15-0 team that averaged 52.8 points per game.

*Best position: Quarterback. Noland and Houston County’s A.J. Hill are top-five prospects at their position nationally. Other top returning quarterbacks to 6A are Gainesville’s Baxter Wright, Roswell’s K.J. Smith, Rome’s Reece Fountain and Etowah’s Xavier Mahoney.

*Most highly recruited: Noland is the consensus No. 33 player nationally among seniors. He’s committed to Ohio State.

*That’s interesting: Gainesville has three preseason all-state picks, all transfers. Champ Thompson came from Meadowcreek, Gavin Hall from Hebron Christian and Zion Ferguson from Grayson.

*Snubbed: Hughes wide receiver Joseph Stone didn’t have the production last season at Grayson to unseat incumbent all-state receivers in 6A, but he should have a big season in Hughes’ offense. He’s committed to LSU.

*Underrated: Roswell defensive end Chase Morrison has committed to Virginia, where former Pace Academy coach Chris Slade recruited him, but his recruiting ranking puts him outside the Georgia top 100. That doesn’t add up to a region defensive player of the year who had 19 tackles for losses and 11 sacks for a 12-2 team.

*What else is news: Woodward Academy leads the class with five all-state picks, and those don’t include War Eagles wide receivers Ben Grice, who is committed to Wake Forest, or Josiah Abdullah, a junior with 50 offers.

Offense

QB - Prentiss "Air" Noland, Hughes, Sr.

QB - Antwann "A.J." Hill, Houston County, Jr.

RB - Nykahi Davenport, Roswell, Sr.

RB - Ousmane Kromah, Lee County, Jr.

WR - Kale Woodburn, Houston County, Jr.

WR - Terry Mitchell, Brunswick, Jr.

TE - Ethan Barbour, Alpharetta, Jr.

OL - Dontrell Glover, Hughes, Jr.

OL - Kahlil House, Houston County, Sr.

OL - Anthonie Knapp, Roswell, Sr.

OL - Andrew Rosinski, Creekview, Sr.

OL - Bradley Smith, Woodward Academy, Sr.

ATH - Gavin Hall, Gainesville, Sr.

PK - Hudson Hanges, Woodward Academy, Sr.

Defense

DL - Luke Harpring, Marist, Sr.

DL - London Merritt, Woodward Academy, Jr.

DL - Chase Morrison, Roswell, Sr.

DL - Champ Thompson, Gainesville, Sr.

LB - Andrew Hines III, Woodward Academy, Sr.

LB - Joshua Ofor, Mundy’s Mill, Sr.

LB - Devin Smith, Brunswick, Sr.

LB - Jordan Thompson, Hughes, Sr.

DB - Zion Ferguson, Gainesville, Sr.

DB - C.J. Heard, Woodward Academy, Sr.

DB - Ricardo Jones, Northside-Warner Robins, Sr.

DB - Kendarius “Dee” Reddick, Thomas County Central, Jr.

P - Zechariah Valdez, Douglas County, Sr.