By: Joseph Stuckey

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

A lot of emphasis gets put on Bulloch County’s current collegiate prospects, but over the past few seasons there have been quite a few players who have made the jump and now play on Saturdays.

With college football in full swing, I thought it would be a good time to highlight some of these players. Below is a list of some of Bulloch County’s standouts at the FBS level organized by graduation year.

First, let’s start with the class of 2026, which produced current Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Bear Fretwell. The 6-7 true freshman lineman was rated as a unanimous 3-star and the 47th-ranked player in the state of Georgia for the 2026 class. The Crimson Tide will look to contend for the SEC title as well as a berth in the CFP.

The class of 2024 was one of those once-in-a-generation classes that produced 3 Power 4 (P4) players at the time. To start with, Portal High School produced Amir Jackson, who took his talents to Gainesville, FL.

The 6-5 tight end was a consensus 4-star and was ranked as a top-15 player in the state of Georgia. Jackson has appeared in 15 games for the Gators and scored a touchdown last season against Texas A&M. Under new head coach Jon Sumrall, the Gators will look to make a run at the SEC title and potentially sneak into the CFP.

Also in the class of 2024, Statesboro High School produced Kam Mikell and Amontrae Bradford. They were a part of the Statesboro team that gave coach Matt Dobson his first postseason win as a Blue Devil.

Bradford was a consensus 3-star and the No. 41-ranked edge rusher in the country. He has appeared in 26 games for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and has accounted for 25 total tackles. He will be a big part of the Yellow Jackets’ defense that will look to bring the first ACC title to The Flats since 2009.

For Kam Mikell, his journey has been a little different. He committed out of SHS to Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes. During his time there, he appeared in 8 games and then decided to transfer this season to play for his hometown Georgia Southern Eagles.

Mikell was a consensus 4-star and was the number 31 player in the state of Georgia for the 2024 class. His commitment to GSU really energized the fanbase, as he was their highest-rated transfer this past cycle according to 247Sports.

Under head coach Clay Helton, the Eagles have set their sights on winning their first Sun Belt title since 2014.

The final Bulloch County native is from the class of 2023. Jordan Lovett has spent his entire collegiate career with the Troy Trojans.

Lovett came out of Statesboro High School, and picked Troy over Georgia State, Charlotte, and Georgia Southern, among others.

During his time at Troy, he has appeared in 25 games and has 700+ all-purpose yards. This season, the Trojans will be looking to claim their first Sun Belt title since 2023.

As you can see, Bulloch County has quite a few alumni at the FBS level, and the current group of prospects will only add to its growing reputation as a pipeline to the collegiate level.