The 2025 GHSA Football season is off and running and tonight marks the first Friday night on the schedule. GPB Sports will kick off the campaign with three weeks of streaming games on the GPB Sports app and GPB.org before we launch another season of the Emmy winning GPB Sports Football Fridays in Georgia.

Tonight GPB Sports will stream Lambert at Mill Creek. Football Fridays in Georgia debuts Sept. 5 with defending Class 3A champion and preseason No. 1 Calhoun at Class 4A No. 2 Cartersville.

Even though tonight is the first Friday of the season, we’ve already had a number of big games this week. Most notably 6A No. 2 Buford defeated two-time defending state champion and 5A No.1 Milton 20-13. It was the Wolves’ first game in their brand-new $62 million Phillip Beard Stadium and ended the Eagles 25-game winning streak dating back to September 2023.

That winning streak included a 13-10 win over Buford last August on GPB Sports Football Fridays in Georgia in route to Milton being voted the No.1 public school football program in the nation at season’s end.

Also of great interest, the two teams that played for the GHSA Private Classification State Championship back in December opened their seasons with impressive wins in the annual Corky Kell/Dave Hunter Classic. Defending champion Hebron Christian, under new head coach Kenny Dallas, held on for a thrilling 29-22 win over 6A North Atlanta Thursday.

In the state’s first game of the season, state runner-up Prince Avenue Christian pulled away in the second half to beat 2A No. 4 Callaway 40-17 on Wednesday. That game marked the debut of Jon Richt as the Wolverines new head coach. He is the son of former Georgia Bulldogs Coach Mark Richt.

So with the first Friday night upon us, I thought I would do something we haven’t done before and that’s released the GPB Sports Preseason All-Classification, All-State Team. We’ve done this before at the end of the season but never at the start. So here it goes.

GPB Sports Preseason All Classification All-State

Offense

QB - Harrison Faulkner, North Oconee – 3-Star committed to Georgia Southern – Passed for over 3,000 yards with 37 TD/1 INT and rushed for over 700 yards and 6 TD

QB – Travis Burgess, Grayson – 4-Star rated as high as No. 7 QB 2026 committed to North Carolina – 2024: 154-256, 60.2%, 2,255 yards, 23 TD/4 INT; rushing 596 yards, 4 TD

RB – Brayden Tyson, Brookwood – 4-Star rated as high as No. 12 RB 2027 – 2024: 2,123 yards rushing, 326 yards receiving, 29 Total TD

RB – Jonaz Walton, Central Carrollton – 4-Star rated as high as No. 6 RB 2026 committed to Notre Dame – Career: 4,714 rushing yards, 66-953 yards receiving, 66 Total TD

RB – Carsyn Baker, Hughes – 4-Star rated as high as No. 9 RB 2026 committed to Florida – Career: 2204 yards rushing, 24 TD

WR – Aaron Gregory, Douglas County – 4-Star rated as high as No. 10 WR 2026 committed to Texas A&M – 2024: 53-914 yards receiving, 9 TD

WR – Devin Carter, Douglas County – 4-Star rated as high as No. 16 WR 2026 committed to Florida State – 2024: 41-669 yards receiving, 5 TD

WR – Jaden Upshaw, Lee County – 4-Star rated as high as No. 16 WR 2027 – 2024: 63-842 receiving yards, 11 TD.

WR – Craig Dandridge, Cambridge – 4-Star rated as high as No. 10 WR 2026 committed to Georgia – 2024: 58-1,443 yards, 14 TD

TE – George Lamons, Brooks County – 4-Star rated as high as No. 2 TE in the country 2027. 2024: 63-1320 yards, 20 TD.

TE – Kaiden Prothro, Bowdon – 5-Star rated as high as No. 1 TE in the country 2026 committed to Georgia. Career: 99-2250 receiving yards, 39 TD.

OT - Kelsey Adams, Hughes – 4-Star rated as high as No. 5 OT 2027.

OT – Josh Sam-Epelle, Douglas County – 4-Star rated as high as No. 7 OT 2027.

IOL – Chris Booker, Hapeville Charter – 4-Star committed to Alabama – Rated as high as No. 15 IOL in the country 2026

IOL – Graham Houston, Buford – 4-Star rated as high as No. 9 IOL 2026 committed to Georgia

IOL – Brandon Anderson, North Cobb – 4-Star rated as high as 10 IOL 2026 committed to Missouri

C – Zykie Helton, Carrollton – 4-Star rated as high as No. 1 Center 2026 committed to Georgia

ATH - Heze Kent, Brunswick – 4-Star rated as high as No. 11 OT 2026 and committed to Florida. Kent is projected as OT in college but plays TE for the Pirates with 59-1383 career yards receiving, 11 TD.

Defense

DL – LaDamion Guyton, Benedictine – 5-Star rated as high as No. 1 Edge 2027 committed to Texas Tech – 2024: 52 TT, 13.5 TFL, 6.5 QB Sacks

DL – Bryce Perry-Wright, Buford – 5-Star rated as high as No. 2 Edge 2026 committed to Texas A&M – 2024: 57 TT, 13 TFL. 9 QB Sacks

DL – Tristian Givens, Carver Columbus – 5-Star rated as No. 3 Edge 2026 committed to Texas A&M – over 85 TT, 29 TFL, 12 QBS

DL – Deuce Geralds, Collins Hill – 4-Star rated as high as No. 2 DT 2026 committed to LSU – 2024: 114 TT, 30 TFL, 13 QB Sacks

DL – Jordan Carter, Douglas County – 4-Star rated as high as No. 7 DE 2026 committed to Texas A&M – 2024: 62 TT, 17 TFL, 13 QB Sacks

LB – D.J. Jacobs, Blessed Trinity – 5-Star rated as high as No. 1 Edge 2027 – 2024: 116 TT, 31.0 TFL, 11.0 QB Sacks

LB – Khamari Brooks, North Oconee – 4-Star rated as high as No. 13 Edge 2026 committed to Georgia – 2024: 131 TT, 17.0 TFL, 13.0 QB

LB – Tyler Atkinson, Grayson – 5-Star rated as high as No. 1 LB 2026 committed to Texas – 2024: 166 TT, 32 TFL, 13 QB Sacks

LB – Xavier Griffin, Gainesville – 5-Star rated as high as No. 1 LB 2026 committed to Alabama

LB – Brayden Rouse, Kell – 4-Star rated as high as No. 4 LB 2026 committed to Tennessee – 2024: 111 TT, 15.0 TFL, 3.5 QB Sacks

CB – Lasiah Jackson, Lee County – 4-Star rated as high as No. 14 CB 2026 committed to Stanford – Career: 96 TT, 4 TFL, 2 QB Sacks, 1 INT

CB – Jorden Edmonds, Sprayberry – 5-Star rated as high as No. 1 CB 2026 committed to Alabama – Career: 63 TT, 2 INT

CB – Dorian Barney, Carrollton – 4-Star rated as high as No. 15 CB 2026 committed to Michigan – 2024: 32 TT, 1 INT

SAF – Jordan Smith, Houston County – 4-Star rated as high as No. 6 safety 2026 committed to Georgia – Career: 173 TT, 8 TFL, 5 INT.

SAF – Cortez Redding, Jonesboro – 4-Star rated as high as No. 21 SAF 2026 committed to Miami – 2024: 118 TT, 6 TFL, 3 INT

SAF – Kennedy Green, Douglas County – 4-Star rated as high as No. 16 SAF 2027 – 2024: 75 TT, 3 TFL, 6 INT

ATH – Ty Green, Buford – 4-Star rated as high as No. 6 ATH 2026 committed to Georgia – 2024: 28 TT, 5 INT; 527 yards rushing, 10 Total TD

Special Teams

PK – Balint Vorosmarty, Roswell – Kohl’s 5-Star Kicker rated No. 3 in the country, No. 1 in Georgia committed to Georgia State

P – Jake Snyder, Denmark – Kohl’s Kicking 5-Star Punter rated No. 12 in the country 2026 (Also 4.5-Star Kicker) committed to Memphis – 2024: 45.0 punt average with 8 inside-20 (11-13 FG, L49)

RET - Jarvis Mathurin, Hebron Christian - Committed to Georgia Southern

So there you have it. Let’s see how these guys do in 2025 and if they make the GPB Sports All-State Team at the end of the season.

And if you’re a total High School Football devotee like me, go digging into my timeline on X @MattStewartTV and over the course of the summer I released pre-season All-State teams for every GHSA classification Private through 6A. While you’re at it check out my “Matt Stewart Sports High School Football Podcast” on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and iHeart. That’s how I like to have fun during the summer when it isn’t football season.

But now it is, and I can’t be more excited. See you soon on GPB Sports Football Fridays in Georgia.