Preseason All-State Honors Include Seven Locals


Georgia High School Football Daily has been releasing their Preseason All-State members for each classification. Here are the locals that made the cut.

Habersham Central’s Joshua Pickett picked up All-State recognition for Class 6A, although at the DB position. He’ll likely not see much, if any, action there this season as he is moving to the QB spot. He is a Duke commit.

In Class 4A, Malaki Starks (Jefferson) grabs the honors, and also was named “Best Player in Class 4A” along with All-State listing as Athlete. Like Pickett, the junior Starks, a 5-star recruit, will move to QB for the Dragons and it’s unclear if he’ll play much on the defensive side of the ball. He holds numerous top-tier DI offers.
In Class 3A, J Ben Haynes (White County) earned the All-State spot at QB. Haynes has many offers on the table, and is primed for a stellar senior season.
No surprise for Class 2A, as Gunner Stockton (Rabun County), a 5-star junior QB who just committed to South Carolina, was named All-State at QB, and was named “Best Player in Class 2A.”
Class 1A produced a pair of local talents, and that is Commerce’s Payton Freeman, a senior OL, and teammate, placekicker Eryck Diaz, also a senior.

