Loganville hired former Jefferson football coach Gene Cathcart this week, ending a recent slow news cycle of offseason changes that have reached 92 but with only nine still open. Cathcart led Jefferson and Habersham Central to two region titles each and won a state championship at South Carolina’s Greenwood in 2012.

GHSA executive director Robin Hines will discuss name, image and likeness deals for high school athletes at next Monday’s executive committee meeting in Macon, but the GHSA won’t propose changing its bylaws until fall at the earliest, he said Monday.

The Georgia High School Association is ready to make it harder for high schools to use sports camps to recruit middle-school athletes and for parents and athletes to use camps to shop for high schools. A proposed bylaw, which could be voted on April 17 at the GHSA’s executive committee meeting, would make middle-school students ineligible until the 11th grade if they attend a high school skills camp and then transfer to the hosting high school.

Darius Smiley began last week as Class 3A champion Sandy Creek’s new football coach, filling one of 89 reported offseason hires. Thirteen jobs remain open. Smiley was coach at Central of Carrollton the past six seasons and got the Lions to the playoffs the past two.

The Georgia High School Association has established tentative video review protocols to be used for this year’s football championship games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The replay rules - shared with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday and almost certain to be approved at the GHSA’s executive committee meeting next month - call for three video review officials, two in a restricted area of the press box and one on the sideline.

The Corky Kell Classic, the August football games that have signaled the start of the Georgia high school season for more than 30 years, is updating its name to honor co-founder Dave Hunter, and this year’s event will serve as a trial run for the GHSA’s new video-replay protocols, event organizer Score Atlanta announced Tuesday morning at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Joe Sturdivant, a star player during Parkview’s glory days two decades ago, is the Panthers’ new football coach, the Gwinnett County school announced Thursday evening. Sturdivant will replace Eric Godfree, who took the North Gwinnett job last month. Parkview was 70-37 with two region titles in Godfree’s nine seasons.

Michael Woolridge, who led South Atlanta to two region titles and a 22-3 record in two seasons, was announced Thursday as Pebblebrook’s head coach. South Atlanta, a Class 2A city school, had won its first region title in history the season before Woolridge was hired, but he took the program to the next step, which was quarterfinal finishes in 2021 and 2022 with two-time 2,000-yard rusher Keyjuan Brown, who signed with Louisville.

Allatoona on Tuesday announced the hiring of Brad Smith as football coach to replace the retiring Gary Varner. Smith has been Loganville’s coach the past three seasons and led the Red Devils to a 9-2 finish last season, their best record since 2016.

Villa Rica coach Tim Barron, best known for his seven region championships and 2018 Class 2A title at Heard County, is retiring, joining a list of about a dozen coaches to hang up their whistles this offseason. Barron’s announcement last week brought to 84 the number of GHSA coaching openings overall since the 2022 season closed. Barron will be replaced by his son, Austin Barron, one of 64 new hires.

An all-state Valdosta High football player is charged with three felonies in connection with the shooting of three men last month, the Valdosta Daily Times reported Monday. Omar White, a junior committed to the University of Colorado, is charged with felony aggravated assault, felony aggravated battery and felony possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, the newspaper reported.

Thirty-five former Georgia high school players got invites to the NFL Combine, which will be held Tuesday through Monday in Indianapolis. Grayson has the most representatives among Georgia schools with three – linebacker Owen Pappoe and linemen Wanya Morris and Isaiah Land.

William “Buck” Godfrey will enter his third Hall of Fame in the state when he is inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 24 in Macon after 30 years heading the Southwest DeKalb High School football program. Godfrey is one of eight to be inducted, a group that includes Atlanta Braves great Andruw Jones and former Georgia football coach Mark Richt.

McEachern named Florida quality-control assistant Kareem Reid as its football coach Tuesday afternoon. Reid will replace Franklin Stephens, who took the Burke County job last month. Reid was head coach at Griffin (2019-20) and Westlake (2016-18)) before taking college jobs at Central Florida in 2021 and Florida last season.

Warner Robins named Rome offensive coordinator Shane Sams as football coach Tuesday, bringing to 45 the number of GHSA offseason hires. There have been 75 openings. Sams is a former Warner Robins quarterback who was the Demons’ offensive coordinator during state runner-up appearances in 2017 and 2018.

Brett Garvin, who led Sandy Creek to the Class 3A football championship last season, retired officially Monday after 31 seasons on high school sidelines, the past 22 at one of metro Atlanta’s best programs. “It’s been on my mind,” Garvin said. “It’s been a long time at the same school, and I feel like maybe the kids at Sandy Creek deserve some new blood. Obviously, going out on top is the way to go.”

Eight former Georgia high school players, including two from Sprayberry High, are on rosters for Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Eagles in Glendale, Arizona. The Sprayberry pair – Jerick McKinnon of the Chiefs and Trey Sermon of the Eagles – are running backs. “How cool is that, man?” said Billy Shackelford, the high school coach of both. “I’m like a proud papa.”

St. Frances Academy, a consensus top-10 national program from Baltimore, will be playing at Georgia state power Buford in a season opener Aug. 18, Prep Gridiron Logistics announced Thursday morning. That likely will stand as the top interstate game for a Georgia team in 2023, but several others are lining up top out-of-state opponents.

Eric Godfree was announced as North Gwinnett’s football coach Tuesday morning in a move expected since Godfree’s resignation at Parkview last month. Godfree replaces Bill Stewart, who took a job as a Georgia Tech analyst.