Kenneth Harrison
Clemson Tigers: A Declining Program
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college football season has officially kicked off. I want to discuss Clemson’s head coach, Dabo Swinney. He’s had a lot of success at Clemson but the current era of college football seems to have passed him by.
Clemson traveled to Baton Rouge to face #11 LSU recently. After that performance, LSU looks like the best team in the country. They beat up on the other Tigers, 51-10. This was Clemson’s worst loss since falling 41-0 to Syracuse in the 1996 Gator Bowl
“The best thing about that game is it’s over,” Dabo Swinney said. “Just really poor performance, not what we worked for or expected.”
They played in front of a sellout crowd of 102,000 at Tiger Stadium. The game was delayed almost two hours due to a weather delay.
Clemson did tie the game 3-3 in the first quarter. They briefly looked like they had a chance. LSU finished with 644 yards of offense. Clemson finished with 145 yards.
That led to LSU head coach Lane Kiffin taking shots at Clemson. “I didn’t expect their offense to be that dysfunctional,” Kiffin said after the game. “Our [scout] team scored more than they did against us.”
“We got our asses kicked,” Swinney said. “We gotta go win next week. It’s an embarrassing performance, coaching and playing. We’re going to have to own that. We can’t let that lead to another loss.”
LSU rushed for 309 yards. RB Dilin Jones, who transferred from Wisconsin, rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona State transfer QB, Sam Leavitt, rushed for 113 yards and two scores. He also passed for 230 yards and a TD.
“You’re not going to win if you can’t stop the run,” Swinney added. “We just did a really poor job of setting the edge, especially versus the quarterback run, which really killed us.”
The Tigers (Clemson) struggled so much on offense they pulled starting QB Christopher Vizzina out of the game for freshman Tait Reynolds late in the second quarter.
“The start of the game was great for us, but we couldn’t truly capitalize on it,” Vizzina said, referring to his offense’s stumbles. “We’re not helping our defense at all.”
I have to start with the good things Swinney has done. He took over as the interim head coach in 2008. Since then, he’s gone 187-55, which includes two national championships in 2016 and 2018. He turned the Tigers into an elite program.
He’s competing against what he’s previously done. In the new era of college football, which includes NIL and the transfer portal, he’s been slow to adapt. He went several years without having a player transfer to Clemson.
He’s been adamant that he only wants to build his team through high school recruiting. That blueprint worked about 8-10 years ago.
They have been on a steady decline. After 12 consecutive seasons with double digit wins, they were 9-4 in 2023. They did bounce back in 2024, going 10-4 and making the College Football Playoff.
That season started with a 34-3 loss to #1 Georgia. That showed the talent gap between the Tigers and an elite program. #5 Texas beat them in the CFP 38-24 and the final score makes the game seem closer than what it was.
Last season the Tigers started the season ranked #4 in the AP poll. They returned senior QB Cade Klubnik and several starters from the previous year. They went 7-6, with one of the losses in the Pinstripe Bowl to Penn State.
The next game is against Georgia Southern. I think this will be another long season.
Mercer Bears 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There is one overlooked FCS football program in the state of Georgia.
Mercer reinstated their football program in 2013 after a 72-year hiatus. The Bears have been pretty successful since returning.
They won the Southern Conference championship the last two seasons.
In 2024 they finished 10-2, with one of those losses at #10 Alabama. The Bears were ranked #8 and they won their first-round playoff game against #10 Rhode Island.
The following week they were beaten by powerhouse, #3 North Dakota State. Of course, NDSU went on to win another FCS national championship that season.
Last season they finished 9-3. One of the losses was at Auburn, which is expected. They were ranked #7 and hosted a playoff game against #11 South Dakota. They were beaten 47-0.
They are looking to build on that momentum and win the SoCon again.
This season they are led by 6’4, 210 lbs. senior QB, Jaylen King. He’s from Folkston, GA and he attended Charlton County High. He’s attended a different college every season. He started at Gardner-Webb, then transferred to East Tennessee State and Florida State.
He redshirted last year at FSU and played in one game. As a sophomore at ETSU in 2024, he started 10 games. King threw for 1,536 yards and 9 touchdowns on 116-for-221 (.525) passing with 11 interceptions. He also carried the ball 105 times for 422 yards and five additional scores. As you can see, he’s a dual threat quarterback.
Senior WR Brayden Smith is a Macon native. He’s attended Mercer all four years, which is rare in the transfer portal era of college football.
He’s been named the Southern Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. He’s also one of 30 players named to the Walter Payton Award watch list.
In 2025, Smith accounted for 1,267 all-purpose yards, leading the team in return yards and finishing second in receiving yards (712 yards). He had seven games where he accounted for more than 100 yards.
The coaches also picked the Bears to win the SoCon. They received six first place votes from the ten head coaches.
They also have a few more players that were named to the 2026 Preseason All-Southern Conference First Team. They are OL Brody Balliew, OL Tyler Murray, DL Kobe McInnis and LB Jyarius Carter.
Mercer started the season ranked #21. Week 0 for FBS is the opening weekend for FCS. The Bears played East Texas A&M on ESPN. They won the game, 23-15. They had a 23-0 lead going into halftime and held on to win.
King threw a 12-yard touchdown to TE Jackson Kostmayer. Senior CB Cameron Goggins returned an interception 38 yards for a pick-6. Sophomore K Simon Zeidan made 3-of-4 field goal attempts. After the win Mercer has moved up to #19.
King passed for 177 yards and a touchdown, completing 53.6% of his passes. Smith had 9 receptions for 131 yards. RB Zahmari Palode-Gary had 8 carries for 87 yards.
The remaining schedule is:
9/5 vs Presbyterian*
9/12 vs Furman
9/19 @ Georgia Tech*
9/26 @ #20 Abilene Christian*
10/3 @ VMI
10/10 vs # 24 Western Carolina
10/17 @ Samford
10/31 vs The Citadel
11/7 @ Chattanooga
11/14 @ #12 Tennessee Tech
11/21 vs East Tennessee State
Non-conference games are indicated with an asterisk.
I think the best-case scenario for Mercer is finishing 10-2. One of those losses will be against Georgia Tech since they are a power conference FBS team. The schedule is pretty tough in addition to that, with three ranked opponents.
I think the more likely outcome is eight, maybe nine wins.
Pack Of Wolves
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This is my favorite time of year, the beginning of football season. Let’s take a look at the top program in 7A and see how they started the season.
#1 Buford: The Wolves were undefeated in 2025 and won the national championship. They won the 6A state championship against Carrolton, 28-21.
Georgia has reintroduced the 7A classification this season and Buford is starting ranked at the top.
They did lose a lot of talent from that team. Some of the key players that graduated were starting quarterback Dayton Raiola, four-star safety and running back Tyriq “Ty Boogie” Green and leading rusher and three-star RB Dylan McCoy
“The biggest goal is being able to reset from last year with us being national champions,” said DJ Hunter, Buford’s starting quarterback and James Madison commit. “We want to create our own team instead of living off of the success from last year.”
There are some players with limited playing time that are expected to step up this season. Seniors Jameer Cantrell and Silas Nuckles bring some experience in the ground game. Cantrell, an Arkansas commit, had 43 carries for 303 yards and three touchdowns, while he also had 41 tackles as a defensive back in 2025.
Junior WR Braylon Williams is expected to be a top target for Hunter. He had 199 yards and four receiving touchdowns in seven games last year before missing the rest of the season due to injury.
Some additional highly ranked recruits on the roster are: LB Brayden Watson (Michigan), LB Ethan Hauser (Vanderbilt), S Jameer Cantrell (Arkansas), DE Luke Nabors (Offers from Auburn, Florida State, Miami (FL), Penn State and Georgia), DL Krystian Walcott (Boston College) and OL Noah Nixon (Pitt).
“They’re doing a good job of not making it all about what we did last year, because last year is not going to help us right now,” said head coach Bryant Appling. “So, I’m excited for the fact that they’re trying to be their own entity within the realm of beautiful football and start this campaign off the right way.”
They opened the season last week against the #3 team in 6A, Gainesville with a nationally televised game on ESPN. The Red Elephants advanced to the 5A state championship game last season.
Gainesville also added former Grayson head coach, Santavious Bryant. He coached the Rams from 2023-25 and led them to the 6A state championship in 2024. They were the top team in the state for most of 2025 until they lost to Carrolton in the playoffs and finished the season 12-1.
Buford won the game, 39-19. The Wolves pulled away in the second half. Gainesville turned the ball over five times and Buford scored 29 unanswered points.
Gainesville allowed two special teams touchdowns because of bad snaps that its punter could not catch, and both times Buford recovered in the end zone. They also had a third special teams’ turnover when their kick returner, Legend Wilmont fumbled during a punt return.
This was a big win and a great start to the season. Somehow, things got even better for them after that.
The nation’s No. 1 defensive lineman and No.4 overall recruit for the class of 2027, Jalen Brewster announced he’s transferring to Buford over the weekend. The 6’3, 300 lbs. Texas Tech commit is transferring from Cedar Hill (TX).
The only other tough game on the schedule appeared to be the September 18th matchup at #2 Grayson before the season started. The Rams are 0-2 so now that looks like a cakewalk.
I expect Buford to repeat as national champs.
Alabama Crimson Tide 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Alabama has been a perennial power in college football for decades. Any season where they don’t win a national championship seems like a disappointment.
Nick Saban coached the Crimson Tide from 2007-23 and was arguably the greatest coach of all time. He led them to six national championships and 9 SEC titles. As you can see, he’s a tough act to follow.
Kalen DeBoer stepped in as his replacement in 2024. He led Washington to the national championship game the year before that and had a record of 25-3 with the Huskies. So far, he has not met the expectations of Alabama fans.
They were 9-4 in 2024. In 2025, they were 11-4 and won a road College Football Playoff game against Oklahoma. They were obliterated in the Rose Bowl by Indiana, 38-3.
The Crimson Tide finished 125th in the nation in rushing in 2025, averaging 104.1 yards per game. Bama has been known for their physicality so that is surprising. The question is will that change in 2026?
They enter this season ranked #13. The offensive line has improved in Fall camp. Adrian Klemm is the new position coach and they are starting an entirely different o-line from last season.
“You can just see there’s more and more confidence,” DeBoer said. “I would just say, generally speaking, this week you are not having busts like we would have week one. You are seeing a gel. Now you are seeing holes open up for the running backs to run through, and we broke down what an explosive run play is and what it take sat the beginning of fall camp. And that’s the yards you get before contact. That’s making a missed tackle, you know? There is a formula to that when you play the percentages. And I think you are seeing more and more of that happen, but it starts all up front with the offensive line.”
The QB competition is between Keelon Russell and Austin Mack. We should find out who the starter will be in about one week.
The team is hoping talented junior WR Ryan Coleman-Williams can be more consistent in 2026. As a freshman he had 48 catches, 865 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also had 2 rushing scores. Last season, he had 49 receptions, 689 yards and 4 scores. He also had a lot of drops.
Bama lost over 20 players in the transfer portal and brought in 19 players. Some of the key players are OT Jayvin James (Miss State), Edge Desmond Umeozulu (South Carolina), IOL Nick Brooks (Texas), DL Terrance Green (Oregon), WR Noah Rogers (NC State), LB Caleb Woodson (VA Tech), TE Josh Ford (Oklahoma State), OL Kaden Strayhorn (Michigan) and DL Devan Thompkins (USC).
They also signed the top running back in the class of 2026, EJ Crowell.
Here is the schedule:
9/5 vs East Carolina
9/12 @ Kentucky
9/19 vs Florida State
9/26 vs South Carolina
10/3 @ Miss State
10/10 vs #3 Georgia
10/17 @ #20 Tennessee
10/24 vs #8 Texas A&M
11/7 @ #11 LSU
11/14 @ Vanderbilt
11/21 vs Chattanooga
11/28 vs Auburn
Alabama should start the season strong. They should get revenge against FSU after losing the season opener to them. After the first five games, the schedule gets tough.
The four game stretch against UGA, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU could make or break the season. I think they have to win at least two of those games to make the playoffs.
I predict Alabama to win nine regular season games.
Georgia State Panthers 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2026 college football season will start in less than a month. We will take a look at Georgia State University to see what we should expect from the Panthers.
GSU was founded in 1913 and it is also the largest in-person institution of higher education by enrollment based in Georgia, with a student enrollment of 53,144 across all of their campuses.
The football program was founded in 2010 and they are in the Sun Belt Conference. Former Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee was hired as its fourth head coach for the football program in February 2024.
In 2024, they were 3-9 and 1-7 in conference play. One of those wins was against Vanderbilt, 36-32. It was Georgia State’s first time hosting an SEC opponent, and their first victory against an SEC team since beating Tennessee in 2019.
Last season, the Panthers were 1-11 and 0-8 in the Sun Belt. The lone win was against FCS Murray State, who was also 1-11. Only two of their losses were by single digits. They were one of the worst FBS teams in the nation in 2025.
UMass was 0-12 so that’s the one program they were better than. Charlotte and Oklahoma State were also 1-11.
The team recently started preseason camp. The first day of practice was closed to the public but we were told it went well.
“Guys had great energy, great enthusiasm,” said coach McGee, who is starting his third season. “We’ve still got a long way to go but definitely encouraged by how we started today. The kids were very dialed in in their meetings and they carried those meetings onto the field.”
They brought in 34 players via the transfer portal and signed 16 freshmen.
Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson returns and the Panthers have a new look on defense, where Cam Clark and John Haneline take over as co-coordinators.
They have several players that are coming from major programs. Some of the incoming players are: DL Kelze Howard (Oregon State), LB Jaydon Hood (Michigan), S Keenan Nelson Jr. (Ohio State), OT Jordan Brown (Arizona), IOL Kelton Smith Jr. (Georgia), WR Isiah Stone (LSU), IOL Deylin Hasert (Iowa State), IOL Marcus Mascoll (Florida), IOL Gage Stanaland (Oklahoma State) and RB Keith Adams Jr. (Clemson).
Fifth year senior QB Cameran Brown is the best returning player on the team. He played at Texas Tech in 2024 and appeared in eight games.
Last season he passed for 1,296 yards, 13 touchdowns and 1 interception. He also rushed for 284 yards and 4 TDs. He missed two of the final three games last fall. Brown was named to the Pro Football Network Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team.
OL Deandre Duffus is on the PFN First Team Preseason All-Sun Belt Team and RB Savion Hart is on the Second Team.
Here is the schedule:
9/4 vs North Carolina A&T
9/12 @ Kennesaw State
9/19 @ UCF
9/26 vs Northern Illinois
10/3 vs Old Dominion (Homecoming)
10/17 @ James Madison
10/24 @ Arkansas State
10/31 vs Coastal Carolina
11/7 @ Appalachian State
11/14 vs Georgia Southern (Rivalry)
11/21 @ Marshall
11/28 vs Louisiana
I think they’ll start the year with a win over North Carolina A&T because that’s an FCS opponent.
Conference play begins Week 5 against ODU. Only three SBC opponents had losing conference records last season; which were App State, Marshall and Louisiana.
On paper I think they have a chance to win 3-4 games. If that happens, they will be looking for a new coach.
Kennesaw State Owls 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Kennesaw State kicks off the 2026 football season Thursday, September 3rd at home (Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium) against West Georgia. We are going to take a look at how the Owls will do this season.
Jerry Mack took over as the head coach on December 1, 2024. KSU went 2-10 the previous season after Brian Bohanon stepped down in November after a 1-8 start. Bohanon was the head coach for the Owls since the inception of the program in 2013.
He led the team from the FCS level until they moved up to FBS and joined Conference USA in 2024. His overall record was 72-38.
Coach Mack was the head coach at North Carolina Central from 2014-17, with a record of 31-15. He was the offensive coordinator/assistant head coach at Rice (2018-20) then he became the running backs coach at Tennessee (2021-23). He was hired as the RB coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the 2024 season.
The Owls shocked everyone and went 10-4 last season. They started the season on the road against Wake Forest and Indiana, who won the national championship last year. KSU almost pulled the upset against Wake Forest, losing 10-9.
They went 7-1 in C-USA, with their only loss on the road against Jacksonville State, 35-26. They met them again in the C-USA Championship Game, which was also on the Gamecocks home field. They beat them, 19-15 and went to the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
With the success of last season, the expectations are high coming into 2026. They have 6 Owls selected to the Pro Football Network Preseason All C-USA team. The First team selections are RB Latrelle Murrell, DL Marcus Patterson and LB Baron Hopson.
WR/KR Davis Bryson was selected to the Second team. DB Isaac Paul and WR/PR Zion Booker were selected for the Third team.
In 2025, Murrell rushed for 894 yards and 3 touchdowns, while averaging 5.1 ypc. He also had 22 receptions for 246 yards and 4 TD’s.
Last season’s starting QB, Amari Odom transferred to Syracuse. Ironically, QB Rickie Collins transferred to KSU from Syracuse. He was at LSU from 2023-24.
KSU added a total of 28 players from the transfer portal. Some of the marquee players are LB Josh Anglin (Tulsa), OL Luke Duska (Elon), DB Perry Fisher (UAB), DB Kaleb Gray (West Virginia), OLB Corey Kelly (Baylor), P Matt McKenzie (Arizona State), DB Tony Williams (UCF) and DB Maliki Wright (Duke).
“This is an excellent group of young men and we’re excited to have them join the Kennesaw State family,” coach Mack said. “Our coaches worked extremely hard this offseason to add both experience and depth, and I can’t wait to see them out on the field this spring.”
West Georgia moved up to FCS from Division II in 2024. That will be an easy win to start the season.
The rest of the non-conference schedule is against Georgia State, at #18 Tennessee and at Arkansas State.
Conference play begins October 7th against Jax State.
The rest of the CUSA schedule is at Missouri State, Liberty, at Middle Tennessee, Delaware, at Sam Houston, FIU and at Western Kentucky. The first four CUSA games are played on Wednesday or Thursday.
With the transfer portal, rosters change drastically each season. I believe KSU can continue the momentum from last season but they also have a lot of new players on the team.
I expect them to contend for the C-USA championship again and make a bowl game. I believe they will win seven or eight regular season games.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college football season is almost here. We’re going to take a look at Georgia Tech and see how the season will go.
I’ll get a big coaching move out of the way first. Five-time NFL All-Pro WR DeAndre Hopkins has joined the coaching staff as assistant wide receivers coach.
“DeAndre is one of the greatest receivers of all-time, but his value to our program goes far beyond the that,” Key said. “He has an exceptional knowledge of what we’re doing on offense due his long relationship with (offensive coordinator) George Godsey and strong familiarity with the ACC, but most importantly, he’s a leader of men that I’m very excited for our players to be around, on and off the field.”
The Yellow Jackets went 9-4 last season, starting 8-0. They were ranked as high as #7 before they finished the season 1-4. They ended the season ranked #22.
They lost a lot of starters from that team like Haynes King, Jamal Haynes, Malik Rutherford, Keylan Rutledge, Omar Daniels, Clayton Powell-Lee, Ahmari Harvey and Rodney Shelley.
King was one of the best quarterbacks to play for Tech. His backup, Aaron Philo hit the transfer portal to follow offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to Florida. He’s being replaced by Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza.
Mendoza was the backup to his brother, Heisman Trophy winner and top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Fernando Mendoza. He played sparingly last season, so we really don’t know much about him. He was a part of a national championship program so he does know what it takes to win.
They have lost almost all of the receivers from 2025. Eric Rivers, Malik Rutherford, Dean Patterson, Isiah Canion, Bailey Stockton and Zion Taylor are all gone. Jordan Allen is the only returning receiver from last season’s team to have caught a pass.
The Yellow Jackets brought in Elon transfer Isiah Fuhrmann and Cal transfer Jaiven Plummer from the portal but Georgia Tech is going to need internal improvement from guys like Debron Gatling, Evan Haynes, Rahkeem Smith, Dalen Penson and the four true freshmen.
Fuhrmann caught 46 passes for 907 yards and 9 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2025. That was at the FCS level, so we will see if he can do the same in the FBS.
Starting safeties Omar Daniels and Clayton Powell-Lee played the majority of snaps last season but they have graduated. Tae Harris, who played more than 200 snaps last season and Fenix Felton, who played more than 80 snaps over the course of the last two games are back. Colorado transfer Savion Riley played in four games last season before missing the rest of the season due to injuries.
Here is the schedule:
9/3 vs Colorado
9/12 vs #17 Tennessee
9/19 vs Mercer
9/26 @ Stanford
10/10 vs Duke
10/17 @ Virginia Tech
10/24 vs Boston College
10/31 @ Pitt
11/7 vs Louisville
11/14 @ #25 Clemson
11/21 vs Wake Forest
11/28 @ #5 Georgia
They only have games against three ranked opponents. I believe they’ll lose to Tennessee and UGA. Clemson has not been an elite program in a few years so they definitely have a chance to beat them.
The games I think they should win against Colorado, Mercer, Stanford, Duke, Boston College and Wake Forest.
I’m picking Tech to win seven games. This is based on many of the key positions being unknowns since they have transferred in from other programs. We don’t know how the team chemistry will be or if they will play to their potential.
All-Time ACC Greats
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We’re going to make a second part to the best ACC football players of all time.
We left off at Lamar Jackson (Louisville).
Maryland: The Terps were a founding member of the ACC in 1953. They joined the Big Ten in 2014.
Randy White (1972-74), the defensive tackle won the Outland Trophy (1974), Lombardi Award (1974), ACC Player of the Year (1974), First-team All-American (1973), Unanimous All-American (1974) and 2x First-team All-ACC (1973-74). He was also named the Liberty Bowl MVP in 1974 even though they lost to Tennessee.
Miami: They have so many great players like Michael Irvin, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Jim Kelly, Edgerrin James, Vinny Testaverde and Clinton Portis.
These legends played when UM was an independent (1942-1990) or in the Big East (1991-2003).
Warren Sapp (1991-94) is the best Hurricane of all time. He won the Lombardi Award (1994), Bill Willis Trophy (1994), Bronko Nagurski Trophy (1994), Big East Defensive Player of the Year (1994) and Unanimous All-American (1994).
As a junior in 1994, he had 84 tackles and led the Hurricanes in sacks with 10.5. He also finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting that year.
North Carolina: Julius Peppers (1998-2001) is currently ranked second all-time in UNC history with 30.5 sacks. He has 53 tackles for loss, 167 tackles, five interceptions, two fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles, 13 passes deflected, and 42 quarterback pressures (hurries) and returned two interceptions and one fumble recovery for touchdowns.
He won the Lombardi Trophy (2001), Chuck Bednarik Award (2001), Bill Willis Trophy (2001), Unanimous All-American (2001), Second-team All-American (2000) and 2x First-team All-ACC (2000-01).
NC State: Philip Rivers (2000-03) broke almost every NC State and ACC passing record.
Rivers completed a conference record 1,147 passes on 1,710 attempts, with 95 touchdowns.
He finished his Wolfpack career with 13,484 passing yards, 13th all-time among Division I quarterbacks (he finished in second place at the end of his collegiate career).
He was the NCAA passer rating leader and completion percentage leader (2003), ACC Athlete of the Year (2004), ACC Player of the Year (2003), ACC Rookie of the Year (2000) and First-team All-ACC (2003).
Pitt: Tony Dorsett (1973-76) led the Panthers to win the national championship as a senior. He won the Heisman Trophy (1976), Maxwell Award (1976), Walter Camp Award (1976), Unanimous All-American (1973-76) and 3x First-team All-American.
Dorsett finished his college career with 6,082 total rushing yards, then the NCAA rushing record. That would stand as the record until it was surpassed by Ricky Williams in 1998.
Stanford: Christian McCaffrey (2013-16) has the most career all-purpose yards (6,987) and the most all-purpose yards in a season (3,864) in 2015.
He won the Paul Hornung Award (2015), Jet Award (2015), AP College Football Player of the Year (2015), Consensus All-American (2015) and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year (2015).
SMU: Eric Dickerson (1979-1982) was a Unanimous All-American (1982), Second-team all-American (1981) and 2x Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year (1981-82).
Syracuse: Donovan McNabb (1994-98) was 3x Big East Offensive Player of the Year (1996-98), 4x First-team All-Big East (1995-98) and Big East Rookie of the Year (1995).
Virginia: Chris Long (2004-07) won the Ted Hendricks Award (207), Dudley Award (2007), ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2007) and Unanimous All-American (2007).
Virginia Tech: Bruce Smith (1981-84) won the Outland Trophy (1984), Consensus All-American (1984) and First-team All-American (1983).
Wake Forest: Brian Piccolo (1961-64) was the ACC Player of the Year (1964) and Second-team All-American (1964).
He led the nation in rushing and scoring in 1964. He’s most known for the movie about his life, Brian’s Song (1971).
Gainesville Red Elephants 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Gainesville made national news last season when they had 35 players suspended for an on-field brawl in November.
This occurred in the 5A second round win against Brunswick, 42-0. They filed and won an injunction in court to overturn the player suspensions.
The Red Elephants advanced to the 5A state championship, where they lost to Thomas County Central 62-21. The GHSA stripped Gainesville of the 5A runner-up finish after determining they used an ineligible player during the state semifinals.
Gainesville has moved up to 6A this season.
Head coach Josh Niblett left to become the tight ends coach at Colorado in January. He coached the Red Elephants for four years and had a 45-9 record with two state championship game appearances.
This caused Grayson head coach Santavious Bryant to leave and take over in Gainesville.
“We are thrilled to welcome coach Bryant back to Gainesville,” Gainesville High School Athletic Director Adam Lindsey said in a statement. “During his previous time here, he made an immediate impact on our student-athletes and our culture. Watching his growth and the incredible success he achieved at Grayson only solidified our belief that he is the right person to lead this program.”
During Bryant’s three seasons at Grayson, the Rams were 37-5. They also made the state quarterfinals three times, the state semifinals twice and won the state championship in 2024.
Gainesville has won one GHSA state title and that was in 2012 when they had Deshaun Watson.
They have several talented players on the team. Senior LB Jeremiah Proctor (6’4, 210 lbs.) is a four-star recruit and he’s committed to Pitt. He spent most of last season at safety playing up top in Cover 2.
Senior RB Nigel Newkirk (5’11, 200 lbs.) is a three-star player and an Alabama commit. He finished his junior season (14 games) with 1,496 yards and 19 TDs on 184 rushes (8.1 ypc) and added 12 receptions for 128 yards and 1 TD. He also runs track.
QB Kharim Hughley (5’11, 205 lbs.) is also a three-star recruit and he’s committed to Clemson. Last year he completed 172 of 286 passes (60.1%) for 2,596 yards with 34 TD and 10 INT. Also carried the ball 61 times for 394 yards and 9 TD.
OT Tyler Ford (6’6, 307 lbs.) is committed to Miami. IOL Bryson Hurt (6’4, 300 lbs.) is committed to NC State.
Here is the 2026 schedule:
8/22 @ Buford
9/5 @ East St. Louis (Illinois)
9/11 vs. McEachern
9/18 vs. OCA (South Carolina)
9/25 vs. Alpharetta
10/2 @ Roswell
10/9 @ Johns Creek
10/16 vs. Riverwood
10/23 vs. Milton
10/30 @ Lanier
Week 1 against Buford will be tough. They’re the top team in 7A. They were undefeated last season and won the state and national championship but they have lost over twenty players from that team. This is a nationally televised game.
East St. Louis typically plays a tough national schedule against teams like Bishop Gorman (Nevada), IMG Academy (Florida) and American Heritage (Florida). I expect this to be a tough game.
McEachern is another 7A team that should be ranked in the top 10. They were 10-1 last season.
Region 7-AAAAAA play begins week 4 against Alpharetta. The only non-region game the rest of the season is against Riverwood.
Roswell was 12-2 last season and beat Gainesville, 37-35. I think they’ll be the toughest competition in the region. Milton is also a very good team.
I expect Gainesville to compete for the 6A state championship in 2026.
Buford Wolves 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Buford is one of the most elite football programs in the state of Georgia and possibly the nation. They have won 15 state championships, with only one coming before the year 2001.
They also have multiple state championships in baseball, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, gymnastics, softball, volleyball, wrestling and girls’ track.
Last season they opened Philip Beard Stadium. It has a seating capacity of 10,000 at a cost of $62 million.
The Wolves finished last season going 15-0 and winning the state championship. They were also the consensus national champions.
They have a lot of talent on the team. Junior Edge Luke Nabors (6’4, 210 lbs.) is a four-star recruit. He has over thirty offers from teams like Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Florida State, Penn State, Texas, Clemson, Oregon, Indiana and Tennessee.
Junior WR Seven Rashad (6’5, 175 lbs.) is a three-star recruit.
Senior LB Ethan Hauser (6’3, 200 lbs.) is a three-star recruit that’s committed to Vanderbilt. They have another three-star LB, Brayden Watson who’s committed to Michigan.
Senior QB DJ Hunter (6’1, 190 lbs.) is taking over as the starter in 2026. He was the backup to Dayton Raiola (Oregon). Hunter is a dual-threat so he should be a new weapon for the offense. He’s a three-star player and he’s committed to James Madison.
Seniors CB Silas Nuckles (6’0, 175 lbs.) and S Jameer Cantrell (5’10, 175 lbs.) are also three-star recruits. Cantrell is committed to Arkansas.
Bryant Appling has been the head coach at Buford since 2019. He has a record of 90-8 and he’s the first coach in GHSA history to win state titles in his first three seasons (2019-21).
Buford graduated 21 players from last seasons national championship team. They are expected to reload the talent but I think that will be tougher than expected. They are the #1 team in the 7A preseason poll.
Their schedule is listed below:
8/22: vs. Gainesville
9/4: @ Mallard Creek (North Carolina)
9/11: vs. Miami Central (Miami, FL)
9/18: @ #3 Grayson
9/25: @ Seckinger
10/9: @ Dacula
10/16: vs. Collins Hill
10/23: @ Mill Creek
10/30: vs. Discovery
11/6: vs. Central Gwinnett
They have a few tough non-region games to start the season.
Week 1 is a nationally televised game on ESPN against Gainesville. The Red Elephants advanced to the 5A state championship last season. They have moved up to 6A this season.
Former Grayson head coach Santavious Bryant has taken over the same position in Gainesville. He was 37-5 in three seasons at Grayson and he won a state championship in 2024. They have one of the most talented rosters in the state.
Miami Central in Week 2 will also be a tough game. The Rockets were 10-2 in 2025. South Florida is known for speed and they have very good players.
Week 4 at #3 Grayson will be the toughest test of the regular season. The Rams expected to repeat as state champions last year but lost in the state quarterfinals.
After this game, the rest of the schedule is easy. Seckinger (Buford, GA) is the newest school in Gwinnett County. They opened in August 2022 and they made their first playoff appearance last season.
Region 8-AAAAAAA play begins October 9th at Dacula. Mill Creek is the second-best team in the region but I don’t think they can challenge Buford.
I expect Buford to lose two regular season games. At worst they will be 7-3 if they lose to Gainesville, Miami Central and Grayson. I think they’ll be tough to beat in the playoffs.
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