Friday night football in the state of Georgia is something that is truly special. People all around the state love their local teams and do a great job creating atmospheres that make everybody from the starting quarterback to the person taking up tickets know that they are taking part in something they'll never forget. The reason for this fanatical football frenzy on Fridays in the fall is because the state of Georgia has some of the most talented football players anywhere on this planet and an abundance of them I might add. There are physical freaks like 6'1" 235 linebacker Trezman Marshall from single A Clinch County who signed early with Georgia and has already enrolled and begun off season workouts with the Bulldogs. Yes, you heard that right, that stud was playing in single A. I can only imagine some 155 pound pulling guard down in south Georgia having to take Marshall. There are also the highly touted primadonnas like Jadon Haselwood out of Cedar Grove who signed with Oklahoma. These types of players are extremely skilled and recruited by every school in the country from their 8th grade year on. However, amidst all of this talent in state, and also factoring in the rest of the United States, Canada and beyond, each and every year there are extremely talented players that go under the radar. Today, The Sports Vent is going to highlight some of the better players in Georgia who for one "reason" or another didn't become 4 or 5 star recruits, despite being 4 or 5 star ball players.
Knox Kadum out of Rome High School has done nothing but dominate during this career as the signal caller for the Wolves. As a 4 year starter, Kadum threw for exactly 7400 passing yards, connected with his receivers on 64.5% of his 739 attempts for a total of 477 completions, and 76 of those found their way in the painted grass for TDs. Knox had a total QBR of 123.4 and his Junior and Senior year that rating was north of 145 each year. Kadum is not just a distributor of the football either, he did plenty of damage to opposing defenses with his legs as he rushed a minimum of 330 yards and 7 touchdowns in each of his 4 seasons and twice had over 700 yards in a season for a grand total of 2414 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns. This man accounted for well over 100 TDs for a team that won 2 State Championships during his tenure as the starting QB. The question should be, which SEC school is he committed to? Nope. The tall and lanky signal caller stands at 6'3" 185 pounds and but has yet to draw the attention of many of the nation's top college programs. The largest program in the southeast to offer Kadum has been Georgia Southern and the biggest school overall is Rutgers. It will be interesting to see if any ACC or SEC programs looking for QB depth jump in the ring late before signing day to see if they can secure the leadership and play making abilities that Kadum so consistently displayed while at Rome. It's unfortunate that the fact that his numbers aren't as gaudy as a Trevor Lawrence or Deshaun Watson has kept him from getting the big offer. However rest assured, Kadum is a competitor and will make some coach somewhere look like a genius for taking him. I'd say you compare Kadum to some of the other QBs in the state who have secured big offers from schools like Texas A&M , Georgia Tech, or USF and it's obvious that measurables matter more than intangibles.
Justin Fomby out of Central Gwinnett is another interesting case study when it comes to the big time recruiting landscape. Fomby was a backup at Brookwood high school with little to no recruiting interest at all in late 2017. He transferred to Central Gwinnett and had a breakout spring that began to draw interest from Georgia, Ohio State, you name it. In May of 2018 that first big time offer came by way of the Missouri Tigers, but Fomby didn't jump to commit right away, probably assuming more large D1 offers would come during what seemed to be a meteoric rise. However, there is an old adage that you can't teach experience. This was evident once the summer 7 on 7s and the actual season started. The inconsistency showed as Fomby made some incredible plays for the Black Knights this past season, but also struggled some with accuracy only completing 58.7% of his passes. At 6'4" 190lbs., running a 4.8 forty yard dash and possessing a 31 inch vertical leap and very strong arm, it is obvious that Fomby's ceiling is extremely high! However, at this point, the body of work may not be enough to make the elite programs pull the trigger on an offer. Northern Iowa has jumped in late with an offer and it'll be interesting to see where this talented QB ends up. Yet again, Justin Fomby is going to make someone look smart.
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6242110/5ba0793a2aa676071c264100
Sevaughn Clark may be the diamond in the rough when it comes to recruits out of Georgia, especially Northeast Georgia. Clark is out of Dawson County and has been one of the more influential players in the state over the past two seasons. Sevaughn got to be part of a true two headed monster his Junior season with Dawson County legend Coey Watson playing QB. Clark manned the feature running back role and rushed for over 1800 yards in his Junior campaign. Once Watson graduated, there was a void at the QB position for the Dawson County Tigers and Head Coach Syd Maxwell saw fit to ask Clark to move to QB for the good of the team. Clark showed his leadership and his selflessness and became the signal caller his Senior year. Undoubtedly Sevaughn was not as comfortable in this role, but the production wouldn't show it at all. In his senior year, the Tiger's captain put up 936 yards and 9 TDs passing, to go along with a 857 yards and 15 TDs on the ground. Clark has an atletic build at 6'1" 190 pounds and could add some bulk to his frame in college. He can really go once he gets out in the open field and his fastest official forty time is 4.47. The only two scholarship offers that Clark possesses at the moment are from Air Force and Navy. However, this past week Clark took an official visit to the University of Georgia. Coach Dell McGee and Kirby Smart have extended Sevaughn a preferred walk on opportunity and indications are that Clark is leaning toward committing to the G. Clark has family that lives in the Athens area, so that would help UGA feel like home and currently the Bulldogs have seen some of their depth at the running back position reduced recently. Keep an eye out for Clark's decision heading into signing day.
Kobe Johnson out of Discovery High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia is absolutely electric with the ball in his hands. I've talked to few different coaches in Gwinnett County that believe that Kobe may be the best athlete in the athletically rich county. Johnson won region titles in the 100m and 200m dash his Junior year and finished his Senior football season with over 1200 yards of total offense and 8 touchdowns. All of this came against some of the stiffest competition in the country against powerhouses like Dacula, North Gwinnett, Collins Hill and Mountain View. All of these schools produce multiple big time D1 football players each season and Johnson ran past their defenses on multiple occasions like they were standing still. Kobe is on the smaller side at 5'7" 168lbs, but he is strongly built and obviously is a play maker. So far Johnson has received offers from Garner-Webb, Upike, and Concordia, but just recently received an in home visit from perennial FCS Champions North Dakota State and per his twitter account, an official visit is in the works. I could easily see more FCS schools catching wind of the NDSU interest and taking a long look at Kobe themselves. No matter where the Titan speedster ends up, there is no doubt that he'll be exciting to watch.
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6196329/5ade7edd6e81720b44aea7da
Finally, not every stud high school player finds a home at the next level or even utlimately has the desire to continue to play the game. Some players are totally content with the blood, sweat and tears that they put into their high school experience and are ready to move on to the next chapter in life and be able to reminisce on the good ole days when they tore up the gridiron in high school. Daniel Jackson out of North Hall High School is one of these players. Make no mistake about it. Daniel Jackson is a phenomenal athlete and had options to play at the next level. Shorter College and Marist both wanted him badly and the Air Force came in with an offer late. However, Daniel Jackson is going to take his 4.4 game breaking speed and enroll as a student at the University of Georgia. Now, ladies and gentlemen that is a feat in itself, as getting into UGA on academic merit alone is very difficult. Jackson should be proud of what he helped North Hall to accomplish, going to back to back playoff appearances and helping the Trojans to capture the first ever road playoff victory in the history of the program. Daniel rushed for over 1000 yards his senior year and a was a threat to take the ball to the house anytime he touched it, scoring 18 touchdowns on only 96 carries. Jackson isn't the biggest running back in the world, but it goes to show that sometimes big time playmakers just fall through the cracks.
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/5498231/5bbe214864e90914f8983ccc
Each of these players are merely an example of how hard it is to make it at the next level. They're also an example of how high school student athletes should focus on loving the game, being a great teammate, competing their tails off, and having fun. Ultimately there is no guarantee that the big time offer is going to come. There is a place for nearly everybody to play at some level in college if you want it bad enough, but be like these guys and play because you love the game, not because you're hunting a scholarship.
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