Georgia High School Football Leads to the NFL
For a young child who is just starting to play football, their initial goal might not be to play in the NFL. Some kids play because their parents what them to, some kids play just for fun, but some kids do play because they have found a love for the game. For the kids that love the game, their ultimate goal is always to play in the NFL, but as we all know, the road is far from easy. However, if you can get a chance to play high school football in Georgia, your chances to make it to the NFL actually aren’t too bad.
The journey to the NFL starts with little league Pop Warner football, then most likely middle school football, but the turning point for most kids is high school football. High school football weeds out most of the kids who aren’t really serious about the game, so you only get players who want to make it to the college level and ultimately move on to the NFL.
High school football is when it gets serious. Not only is it about the player and them giving everything they have every day to get better, but it’s also about the high school the player attends. I’m sure we’ve all heard and seen stories about a really good high school player getting his address changed and moving in with a different relative just to be able to go to a certain high school because that’s the best football high school in the state. Going to that school will get this player greater exposure, experience, and coaching for the next level. If this state just so happens to be the state of Georgia, there are a couple of options that will not only get players to the next level, but also have a great track record of getting players to the NFL as well.
Currently, there are more than 130 active NFL players who played high school football in Georgia. This past year’s NFL draft saw 21 Georgia high school products get drafted. That was the highest total since 2017 and the third highest total in the past decade. The Peach State saw the most players drafted in 2015 with 30 and led all states in players drafted with 29 in 2017. Even though the draft numbers dipped some in 2018 and 2019 with only 12 drafted in 2018 and 14 in 2019, Georgia high school football is still where the best opportunity is for kids who dream of playing in the NFL.
Big names in the NFL today such as Darius Slay, Nick Chubb, Tyreek Hill, Leonard Floyd, Mecole Hardman, Bradley Chubb, Evan Ingram, Grady Jarrett, Mike Hilton, Cam Newton, Deshaun Watson, and so many more all played high school football in Georgia. When it comes to top-tier high school football, people are quick to bring up Texas and Florida, but the list speaks for itself: Over the past decade, Georgia has become the mecca for high school football.
Written by: Dylan Mathews
