GHSA State Championship Previews: Class 6A

As I write this late preview of Tuesday's finak state championship matchup, I sit in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

While the contest between the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets (14-0) and the Woodward Academy War Eagles (12-2) may be one of the best on paper, it will be nearly impossible to live up to what transpired in the first matchup of the day. Three overtimes in a state championship is nearly unheard of.

On the recruiting front, it is an absolute dream to cover. More than 30 combined athletes hold a college offer and there will be Division I talent all over the field.

Below is a list of all players with college offers, along with a hyperlink to their recruiting profile if available.

Thomas County Central

• 2024 three-star offensive tackle Garrett Landing (Kennesaw State commit)

• 2024 three-star cornerback Devin Ross (Northern Illinois commit)

• 2024 tight end Malachi Thomas (11 Division I offers)

• 2024 offensive lineman Ty Brown (five Division I offers)

• 2024 athlete Tywon Christopher (three Division I offers)

• 2024 running back Trey Benton (two Division I offers)

• 2024 defensive end Walter Reddick (one Division I offer)

• 2024 defensive tackle Ezekiel Bogan (one Division II and one Division III offer)

• 2024 athlete Jimmy Dawson (two Division II, one Division III and two NAIA offers)

• 2024 fullback/tight end Rylan McDowell (one Division III offer)

• 2024 athlete Caleb Anderson (three NAIA offers)

• 2024 athlete Haden Korovbeynikov (one NAIA offer)

• 2026 four-star edge rusher Cam Brooks (18 Division I offers)

Woodward Academy

• 2024 four-star safety CJ Heard (52 Division I offers)

• 2024 three-star linebacker Andrew Hines (Wake Forest commit)

• 2024 three-star wide receiver Ben Grice (Wake Forest commit)

• 2024 three-star interior offensive lineman Bradley Smith (Duke commit)

• 2024 wide receiver Roman Stamps (two Division II and three Division III offers)

• 2024 cornerback Jay Hood (one Division II and three Division III offers)

• 2024 quarterback Griffin Marshall (one Division II and one Division III offer)

• 2024 defensive/offensive lineman Aidan Hughes (six Division III offers)

• 2024 safety Kingsley Royal (four Division III offers)

• 2024 athlete Caden Morris (two Division III offers)

• 2024 defensive tackle Jacob Lemene (two Division III offers)

• 2024 punter Jonah Blum (two Division III offers)

• 2024 defensive end Myles Hakeem (one Division III and one NAIA offer)

• 2025 four-star edge rusher London Merritt (39 Division I offers)

• 2025 three-star wide receiver Josiah Abdullah (50 Division I offers)

• 2025 three-star wide receiver Jerome Bettis Jr. (12 Division I offers)

• 2025 running back Lucas Farrington (18 Division I offers)

• 2025 quarterback Landon Walker (two Division I offers)

• 2025 cornerback RJ Harrison (one Division I offer)

• 2026 wide receiver Blake Stewart (one Division I offer)

• 2027 running back/linebacker Amarri Irvin (15 Division I offers)

Analysis and Pick

At the time of writing, Prep Ballers currently boasts a perfect prediction record in terms of picking winners, but this game may be where it ends.

They seem to be extremely evenly matched in all aspects, but I'm riding with the War Eagles in this one.

Both teams bost extremely high-powered offenses, but neither has a truly elite signal caller throwing the ball. I've had analysis to feed into all my other picks, but I'm going off vibes on this one, I can't lie. Give me Woodward Academy, but both teams clear 30 points.