Most of state’s draftees weren’t elite recruits

Among the 23, one was a 5-star prospect and four were unranked.

The 23 former Georgia high school players taken in the 2024 NFL draft again proved that it’s where one finishes that counts.

While the NFL drafted 257 players this year, only six of Georgia’s 23 draftees were rated in the national top 257 as high school players. The 23 had a median national prospect ranking of No. 669 entering college. In fact, four of the 23 were unranked in the 247Sports Composite, the most commonly sited source for consensus player evaluations.

One unranked player was former Walker offensive lineman Hunter Nourzad, a fifth-round pick of the Chiefs. Nourzad was a first-team all-state player in 2017, but he was what coaches refer to as “an academic kid” at his Marietta private school. Nourzad played four seasons at Cornell, graduated with an engineering degree, then played his final two seasons at Penn State as a center.

The most unlikely NFL draft pick from Georgia was Qwan’tez Stiggers, who played on a 27-player high school team at Atlanta’s BEST Academy. Unrated as a prospect, Stiggers dropped out of Lane College, a Division II school in Jackson, Tennessee, as a 2020 freshman without playing a game. On his mother’s advice, he joined an indoor football league, then became the Canadian Football League’s rookie of the year in 2023 as a cornerback. The Jets drafted him in the fifth round.

Offensive linemen Travis Glover of Dooly County and Tylan Grable of Wilkinson County were overlooked while playing for Class A programs in south Georgia. Each unrated prospect went in the sixth round, Grable to the Bills and Glover to the Packers.

The rest of Georgia’s 23 were three-star recruits or better, but North Murray’s Ladd McConkey, Troup County’s Jamari Thrash and Lovejoy’s Bub Means — all wide receivers — were pegged outside the top 1,000 nationally coming out of high school.

Georgia’s best high school prospect drafted was Bleckley County tackle Amarius Mims, the lone five-star among the 23. The Bengals took Mims No. 18th overall after three seasons at Georgia. Mims was an AJC preseason Super 11 choice in 2020; no other former Super 11 players were drafted.

Two other five-star prospects and Super 11 players who would’ve been eligible — Cedar Grove’s Jadon Haselwood and Marietta’s Arik Gilbert — haven’t been drafted. Each was an AJC all-classification player of the year after leading their high school teams to state championships.

Gilbert’s Marietta teammate, running back Kimani Vidal, was the No. 949 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class and was drafted in the sixth round by the Chargers. Vidal, who measured a bit under 5 feet 8 at the NFL Scouting Combine, was overshadowed on a great Marietta high school team despite rushing for more than 1,500 yards. He rushed for 1,661 yards last season at Troy.

Georgia’s two second-round picks, both safeties, were threestar recruits out of high schools. Baldwin’s Javon Bullard went to the Packers, and Starr’s Mill’s Cole Bishop went to the Bills.

The final Georgia player drafted was Michigan linebacker Michael Barrett of Lowndes. Barrett was a three-star prospect and a decorated high school player — but as a quarterback, with more than 4,500 yards passing and another 2,500 rushing. The Panthers drafted him No. 240 overall.

Georgia’s 23 picks are roughly the average number for the past decade. The record is 30, set in 2022. Georgia ranked third among states this year in total picks, behind Florida (30) and Texas (24), High School Football America reported.

AP 2023 Cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers had one of the most interesting back stories among all draftees this year. He played at Atlanta’s BEST Academy and was an unranked recruit when he signed with Division II Miles College. He never played there and was drafted in the fifth round by the Jets out of the CFL.

Bengals first-round pick Amarius Mims played three seasons at offensive tackle for Georgia after earning five-star recruit status at Bleckley County High in Cochran.

AJC 2020 Kimani Vidal was a star running back at Marietta High who was a three-star recruit barely ranked inside the national top 1,000. He was the Chargers’ sixth-round pick after playing at Troy.