2024 Georgia High School Football Award Winners

Milton's Luke Nickel and Grayson's Tyler Atkinson headline the list of Georgia's brightest high school football stars in 2024
Milton quarterback Luke Nickel completed a brilliant high school career by leading the Eagles to a second consecutive Georgia football state championship, earning our recognition as Georgia Offensive Player of the Year.
Milton quarterback Luke Nickel completed a brilliant high school career by leading the Eagles to a second consecutive Georgia football state championship, earning our recognition as Georgia Offensive Player of the Year. / Photo by Matt Christopher (2024)

Year in and year out, Georgia is home to some of the very best high school football in the country and 2024 was no exception. With the state champions crowned and the state's programs now focused on 2025, it is time to take a quick look back to recognize our 2024 Georgia High School Football Award Winners.

Leading the way are the Offensive Player of the Year, Milton quarterback Luke Nickel, and the Defensive Player of the Year, Grayson linebacker Tyler Atkinson.

Offensive Player of the Year - Luke Nickel, Milton 

Milton’s Luke Nickel put together a tremendous senior season for the Eagles. He accounted for more than 4,000 yards of total offense - 3,744 yards passing and 300 yards rushing - and combined for 50 touchdowns. His 44 passing touchdowns was tied for second in the state, and he helped guide the eagles to the Class 5A state championship. 

All-State QBs 

Luke Nickel, Milton, Sr. 

3,744 passing yards, 44 TDs, 300 rushing yards, 6 TDs 

Julian Lewis, Carrollton, Sr. 

3,798 passing yards, 48 TDs, 86 rushing yards, 2 TDs 

Antwaan Hill, Houston County, Sr. 

3,626 passing yards, 44 TDs, -14 rushing yards, 3 TDs 

Weston Bryan, Lee County, Sr. 

2,407 passing yards, 29 TDs, 1,528 rushing yards, 34 TDs 

Honorable Mention

Weston Taylor, Cambridge; Christian Langford, Langston Hughes

All-State RBs 

Zayden Cook, Chattooga, Sr. 

2,939 rushing yards, 33 TDs, 8.99 avg,, 92 receiving yards, 0 TDs 

Nick Woodford, Northeast, Sr. 

2,603 rushing yards, 37 TDs, 10.2 avg., 227 receiving yards, 5 TDs 

Tyrese Woodgett, Coffee, Sr. 

2,340 rushing yards, 27 TDs, 7.4 avg., 186 receiving yards, 2 TDs 

Brayden Tyson, Brookwood, Soph. 

2,244 rushing yards, 26 TDs, 10.2 avg., 326 receiving yards, 3 TDs 

Honorable Mention

Zion Johnson, Newton; Ousmane Kromah, Lee County; Malachi Render-Fannin, Lagrange

All-State WRs 

Jaylen Elder, Morgan County, Sr. 

1,713 receiving yards, 22 TDs 

Isaiah Mitchell, Houston County, Sr.

1,661 receiving yards, 19 TDs 

Jaivon Soloman, Jones County, Sr. 

1,509 receiving yards, 14 TDs 

Craig Dandridge, Cambridge, Jr. 

1,443 receiving yards, 14 TDs 

Landon Roldan, North Oconee, Sr. 

1,369 receiving yards, 20 TDs

Honorable Mention

Kamari Maxwell, New Hampstead; George Lamons, Brooks County; CJ Wiley, Milton

All-State TEs 

Ethan Barbour, Milton, Sr. 

989 receiving yards, 12 TDs 

Grant Hollier, River Ridge, Sr. 

975 receiving yards, 16 TDs 

Haze Kent, Brunswick, Jr. 

983 receiving yards, 8 TDs 

Elyiss Williams, Camden County, Sr. 

789 receiving yards, 11 TDs

All-State OL 

Josh Petty, Fellowship Chrisitan, Sr. 

Brayden Jacobs, Milton, Sr. 

Juan Gaston, Westlake, Sr. 

Alex Payne, Gainesville, Sr. 

Dontrell Glover, Hughes, Sr. 

Nick Brooks, Grayson, Sr. 

Tavaris Dice, Hughes, Sr. 

Dennis Uzochukwu, Peachtree Ridge, Sr. 


Defensive Player of the Year LB Tyler Atkinson, Grayson, Jr. 

The Grayson defense was loaded with talent this past season, but there was no bigger piece to the puzzle than star junior linebacker Tyler Atkinson, who capped off his season with a Class 6A state title. He finished with 168 tackles, 13 sacks, 32 tackles for a loss, one interception and one forced fumble and helped anchor a Rams defense from start to finish.

Tyler Atkinson - Grayson football
One of the nation's top linebackers, Grayson's Tyler Atkinson was an easy choice the Georgia Defensive Player of the Year, after a season in which he recorded 168 tackles, including 32 for loss, 13 sacks, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble. / Tyler Atkinson Instagram/OT7

All-State Defense 

DE Marquis Williams, Brooks County, Sr. 

98 tackles, 19 sacks, 46.5 TFL, 1 FF 

DT Nicholas Mathious, Hillgrove, Sr. 

91 tackles, 14.5 sacks, 50 TFL, 6 FF 

DE Herbert Scroggins III, Benedictine, Sr. 

86 tackles, 21 sacks, 17 TFL 

DE Jaden Wuerth, Aquinas, Soph. 

147 tackles, 13 sacks, 38 TFL 

DE Quay Hood, Decatur, Sr. 

76 tackles, 14 sacks, 28 TFL, 3 INT, 2 FF 

LB Tyler Atkinson, Grayson, Jr. 

168 tackles, 13 sacks, 32 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FF 

LB Christopher Starr, Spencer, Soph. 

192 tackles, 10 sacks, 26 TFL, 1 FF

LB Rett Hemphill, Jefferson, Sr. 

140 tackles, 7 interceptions, 5 sacks, 12 TFL, 4 PD 

LB Michael Hastie, Douglas County, Sr. 

172 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 TFL, 1 FF 

LB David Parson, Union Grove, Soph.

112 tackles, 17 sacks, 38 TFL, 3 FF 

DB Macklin Sanders, Ola, Sr. 

164 tackles, 20 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 INT, 1 FF 

DB Kortnei Williams, Northeast, Soph. 

25 tackles, 10 interceptions, 4 PD, 2 FF 

DB Dy’Lon Womack, North Cobb, Sr. 

69 tackles, 8 interceptions, 8 PD, 1 sack

DB Braylon Miller, Union Grove, Soph. 

68 tackles, 7 interceptions, 15 PD, 1 FF 

DB Dylan Haley, Cherokee Bluff, Soph. 

20 tackles, 10 interceptions, 5 PD 


Published
Colin Hubbard
COLIN HUBBARD

Colin Hubbard is a skilled sports media professional as both a writer and a photographer. He served for more than two years as the sports editor of the Rockdale/Newton Citizen in Atlanta and as the Georgia Tech beat writer for Greater Atlanta. Colin is an expert in the coverage of prep sports, having served as a freelancer with the Gwinnett Daily Post and The Paper of Baselton. He has been covering Georgia high school sports for SBLive Sports Georgia since 2022.