Football Class of 2014: Where Are They Now?
It seems like just yesterday that Norcross hoisted their second consecutive state championship trophy. The 2013-2014 high school football season in Georgia provided both exciting play and players who lit up the gridiron every Friday night. But how have they fared since then? Let’s revisit the 10 highest-rated Class of 2014 football recruits.
10. Cortez McDowell (Locust Grove, S) – A Tennessee commit, McDowell promised excellent talent but never lived up to expectations. In four years, he only managed to intercept one pass and total 60 tackles.
9. Kalvaraz Bessent (Camden County, CB) – Bessent redshirted his first season at Auburn, primarily due to serving a probationary period following an arrest. He left the Tigers in 2015 and eventually played for a short time at Eastern Arizona College.
8. Dante Sawyer (North Gwinnett, DE) – After a prolific high school career, Sawyer struggled at South Carolina. Despite forcing 5 fumbles in his junior season, he barely amounted 70 tackles and 6 sacks in three seasons with the Gamecocks. He went undrafted and only played in the NFL preseason with the then Washington Redskins.
7. Bryson Allen-Williams (Cedar Grove, LB) – Following Sawyer, Bryson attended South Carolina for 5 years. After 176 tackles and 6.5 sacks in his college career, he went undrafted and signed with the then-Oakland Raiders before being cut. Allen-Williams now is a grad assistant on Georgia State Panthers’ football coaching staff.
6. Deshaun Watson (Gainesville, QB) – By far the most successful of these ten players, Watson won Clemson a national championship over Alabama in 2016. The Texans drafted him with the 12th overall pick and he continues to impress, leading the NFL in passing yards for 2020.
5. Malkom Parrish (Brooks County, CB) – Parrish stayed close to home at UGA but only intercepted 5 passes in his four years. In 2019, he was arrested on gun-related charges, effectively ending his football career.
4. Nick Ruffin (St. Pius X Catholic, CB) – Like Bessent, Ruffin played defensively at Auburn. Disappointingly, he intercepted one pass in four years and made 95 total tackles.
3. Raekwon McMillan (Liberty County, LB) – McMillan had an impactful career at Ohio State, racking up 275 tackles in just 3 seasons. He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Miami Dolphins and played relatively well for 2 years before being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020.
2. Lorenzo Carter (Norcross, DE) – Carter was a force for Georgia, forcing 7 fumbles and sacking opposing QBs 14 times in his Bulldogs career. The New York Giants selected him in the 3rd round of the 2018 NFL Draft and he has remained with the team since.
1. Nick Chubb (Cedartown, RB) – Chubb and De’Andre Swift formed a great duo at UGA. Chubb surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in 3 of his 4 seasons and averaged 6.3 yards per carry. The Browns stole him in the 2nd round of the 2018 draft, and he has been excellent for them, racking up at least 996 yards in each of his first three years in the NFL.
Written by: Dhruv Mohan
