Georgia High School Football Rankings

Second in series: Wins give SEC recruiting edge in football

Any successful coach will tell you talent wins out over coaching virtually every time.

That's a good starting point in explaining how the Southeastern Conference has managed to dominate college football in the past five years -- winning the national title from 2006 through 2010.

Just one of the latest examples came out of Brevard County, when Marcus Maye of Holy Trinity announced he will sign with Florida in February.

"I've always watched the SEC," Maye said. "Being close to family is something that plays a role in everything. My mom being able to come watch me play is something I really want. Gainesville is only a couple of hours away from home. Being in the SEC is something I always wanted. I thought it was the best opportunity to make everything happen."

The South is filled with talent. The lure of the SEC makes recruiting that talent easier. With the league enjoying so much success in recent years, it's only natural that top athletes want to compete in the league.

Maye is classic example. He wasn't even in high school when Florida started the SEC's five-year national title run. He was a sophomore when the Gators won it all again. The past two years he's watched other teams in the conference pile up trophies and attention.

So it's only natural that recruits wanting to join the long line of NFL Draft picks would look closely at the league. In the South, virtually every prime recruit grows up close enough to an SEC campus to realize just how big football is in the conference . . . and how far they can take their careers with hard work.

"There are athletes that come to the SEC," said Arkansas wide receiver Jarius Wright, who hails from Warren, Ark. "That plays a big part in it. As you can see, a lot of the SEC players go to the next level (72 first round draft picks in the past decade). I feel like that plays a big part when it comes down to recruiting. Not only that but the atmosphere, the fans, everything about the stadiums, everything about the SEC is great."

Perhaps the signing that may have sent a message to the rest of the nation came last February when Jadeveon Clowney, USA Today's national high school player of the year in 2010, signed with South Carolina. He was the nation's top recruit according to most rankings.

Clowney follows last year's national freshman of the year, back Marcus Lattimore, and superstar receiver Alshon Jeffery, who caught 88 passes as a sophomore and was an All-American, as huge in-state products who have stayed home in the past three years to play for the local SEC school.

Grayson, Camden County gain preseason recognition | Prep Zone ...

There’s no clear-cut favorite in Class AAAAA this season, but Grayson and Camden County seem to have the early edge in national recognition.

Grayson, which has reached the quarterfinals or better each of the past four seasons, is ranked in all three national polls that have been released – MaxPreps, Rivals High 100 and Prep Nation.

Camden County is ranked No. 30 and No. 31 in a pair of top-100 polls.

PrepNation publish Jamie DeMoney said that questionnaires he got back from Georgia coaches had Grayson and Camden County mentioned most often.

“It was close, but Grayson had the best profile of all the Georgia teams I looked at in the preseason,” DeMoney said. “I think they finished strong in the playoffs last season, and they have their quarterback back along with some other key pieces on offense. Defensively, they will have to improve, but there is talent and good coaching on that side of the ball.”

Brookwood, the defending champion in Class AAAAA, doesn’t show up in any national rankings so far. The Rivals rankings are counted down five teams at a time, and on Sunday, it issued No. 16-20 – and included Georgia teams Sandy Creek (16) and Stephenson (17).

Sandy Creek is the defending AAA champion. Stephenson, a Class AAAAA school, has more than 10 Division I-committed players.

Rivals High 100

16. Sandy Creek

17. Stephenson

27. Buford

31. Camden County

42. Grayson

46. Colquitt County

66. Lowndes

PrepNation

24. Grayson

30. Camden County

63. Colquitt County

NR. Sandy Creek (No. 24 in Southeast)

MaxPreps

25. Grayson

Not out yet: ESPN, USA Today, CalPreps

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Colquitts rank will drop like a rock when the season starts. I went to their scrimmage game saturday, and the offence looked horrible. But get this, the defence is much improved, actually looked real good but unless something changes they are gonna have a hard time scoring points. The hogs will be saying this year, if we’d of had an offence to go with that defence we’d have won it all..