Georgia Bulldogs claim 22 spots in state High School Hall of Fame
The 2023 Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame inductees were announced on Friday morning, and 22 Bulldogs made the cut. Of course the hall of fame recognizes what they did in at the high school level, but many will recognize several of these names from the playing days between the hedges too.
Georgia Bulldogs to make the cut include the likes of three-sport athlete Vernon “Catfish” Smith who was an All-American in 1931 and scored all 15 of Georgia’s points in a 1929 upset of Yale, quarterback and coach Ray Goff, who was named SEC Player of the Year in 1976 before roaming the sidelines for the Bulldogs from 1989 to 1995, Scott Woerner who had a a crucial interception in Georgia’s 1981 Sugar Bowl victory over Notre Dame to clinch the National Championship, and Georgia’s current offensive coordinator Mike Bobo who played quarterback for the Bulldogs from 1993 to 1997 and set various passing records over the course of his career.
More recent Bulldogs include three-time Pro Bowler and 2001 first round pick Marcus Stroud, 2002 first rounder Charles Grant, D.J. Shockley who helped Georgia claim the 2005 SEC Championship and now serves as a sideline reporter for the Bulldogs and two-time consensus All-American Jarvis Jones.
This year’s class is the second in the Hall of Fame’s history. Last year’s class included 15 former Georgia players including Buck Belue, Pat Dye, Terrence Edwards, Andre Hastings, Garrison Hearst, Andy Johnson, Bob McWhorter, David Pollack, Bill Stanfill, Matt Stinchcomb, Herschel Walker, Hines Ward and Eric Zeier. They joined Fran Tarkenton and Champ Bailey, previously selected due to their status as Pro Football Hall of Famers.
This year’s induction ceremony is expected to take place in October once again at the College Football Hall of Fame. The full list of 2023 Hall of Fame inductees is listed below with Bulldogs italicized.
Pre-1948
Vernon “Catfish” Smith, Lanier-Macon (1927)
Bill Hartman, Georgia Military Prep (1933)
Billy Henderson, Lanier-Macon (1945)
1948-1959
Pepper Rodgers, Brown (1949)
Billy Lothridge, Gainesville (159)
GIA
Ernie Green, Spencer (1957)
Julius Adams, Ballard-Hudson (1965)
1960s
Dan Reeves, Americus (1960)
Bruce Bennett, Valdosta (1961)
Buzy Rosenberg, Northside-Atlanta (1968)
1970s
Ray Goff, Moultrie (1972)
Anthony Flanagan, Southwest Atlanta (1973)
Lucius Sanford, West Fulton (1973)
Eddie Lee Ivery, Thomason (1974)
Ray Donaldson, East Rome (1975)
Mackel Harris, Americus (1975)
Scott Woerner, Jonesboro (1976)
Guy McIntyre, Thomasville (1978)
1980s
Pat Swilling, Stephens County (1981)
John Davis, Gilmer (1982)
Keith Henderson, Cartersville (1984)
Ken Swilling, Stephens County (1987)
1990s
Al Pickins, Mitchell-Baker (1990)
Randall Godfrey, Lowndes (1991)
Adam Meadows, McEachern (1991)
Jeff Saturday, Shamrock (1992)
Mike Bobo, Thomasville (1992)
Marcus Stroud, Brooks County (1994)
Quincy Carter, Southwest DeKalb (1995)
Jeff Backus, Norcross (1995)
Deon Grant, Josey (1995)
Jamal Lewis, Douglass (1996)
Jon Stinchcomb, Parkview (1997)
Charles Grant, Miller County (1997)
Reggie Brown, Carrollton (1998)
Ronnie Brown, Cartersville (1999)
2000s
D.J. Shockley, North Clayton (2000)
Charles Johnson, Hawkinsville (2003)
Rennie Curran, Brookwood (2006)
Jarvis Jones, Carver-Columbus (2008)
