By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

We’re one week closer to the start of football season. July 25^th is the earliest date for football conditioning practice. August 19^th is the beginning of the regular season.

This is the first year of class AAAAAAA with 48 teams. Colquitt County won the 6A state championship the past 2 years but they are facing a lot on uncertainty. Head coach Rush Propst is suspended for the season after head-butting a player in the semifinal game against Mill Creek.

My favorite to win the championship is Grayson. Grayson is located in Loganville, GA and they should keep up the tradition of Gwinnett County’s dominance. They last won a state championship in 2011 during Robert Nkemdiche’s junior year, who is now in the NFL.

Last year the Rams had a great season finishing with a 13-1 record. They lost to Roswell 30-26 in the state semifinal. Grayson has the highest ranked player in the state, cornerback Deangelo Gibbs. He’s a four-star recruit with great size at 6’2, 204 pounds. He has offers from Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Florida and Alabama.

They have another great corner that’s the 5^th ranked player in the state, Jamyest Williams. He’s 5’9, 170 lbs. so he has traditional size for a defensive back. He has offers from Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, South Carolina and Tennessee. Teams will struggle to pass against the Rams.

Offensive tackle Tony Gray is another four-star player and ranked 11^th in the state. Standing 6’5 and 290 lbs. he will protect quarterback Chase Brice. Brice is a pro style QB and he passed for over 2,700 yards, 29 touchdowns and 9 interceptions last season. He has already committed to Clemson.

Grayson is loaded with talent. Inside linebacker Breon Dixon is a three-star player and he committed to Georgia.

They have a very tough schedule. The first game is at home August 27^th against IMG Academy of Bradenton, FL. The Ascenders (9-0) are coming off of their first undefeated regular season in program history.

Week 2 is at McEachern. They finished 2015 with a 10-2 record. The Indians have a four-star quarterback and the 12^th ranked player in the state, Bailey Hockman. They also have a three-star recruit and UNC commit wide receiver Tyler Smith.

After a bye week the next game is at home against Deerfield Beach, FL. The Bucks finished 10-2 last year and they have a lot of speed.

Ramsay High from Birmingham, AL pays a visit to Loganville September 23^rd. These Rams shouldn’t put up much of a fight. They had their best season in school history in 2014 finishing with their first 10-win season and playoff win. They regressed in 2015 so Grayson should have their first easy game of the season.

They begin region play in the fifth game at Rockdale. The Bulldogs were only 2-8 in 2015. The other teams from Region 8 are Archer, Newton, Shiloh and South Gwinnett. Archer (11-2) and Newton (9-3) were in the playoffs last year.

The Rams play one last out-of-state team October 28^th on the road against Hoover, AL. Rush Propst built them into a powerhouse in the 2000’s and they will be a tough opponent.

Because Grayson has so much talent they are the best team in Georgia. Only time will tell if that will be enough to capture the inaugural 7A title.