Yahoo Sports Former Chattahoochee Valley players make Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame 2024
Two former players from the Chattahoochee Valley are among the 30 inductees for the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame class of 2024 announced Wednesday. Another four former high school football stars from Columbus, who were among the 100 nominees for the hall, were not voted in this time around.
The selected players from the Chattahoochee Valley are:
Alfred Jenkins, who played running back and defensive back for Hogansville in the 1960s and became the Atlanta Falcons’ all-time leading receiver.
Tray Blackmon, who was the 2004 Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year and a Parade All-American as a senior linebacker at LaGrange High School, signed with Auburn but had college career plagued by injury and suspension.
The former high school stars from Columbus who were on the ballot but not elected are Isaiah Crowell of Carver, Wallace Davis of Spencer, John Henry Jackson of Spencer and Jasper Sanks of Carver.
Davis became a successful coach at Carver, but nominees for this hall of fame are evaluated based on only playing careers.
Induction will take place Oct. 26 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Score Atlanta, a sports marketing company, administers the high school hall of fame, which inducted a 45-player class in 2022 and a 40-player class in 2023.
Here is more information about Jenkins and Blackmon, supplied by Todd Holcomb, co-founder and primary researcher for the Georgia High School Football Historians Association:
RB/DB – Alfred Jenkins, Hogansville (1968)
First-team all-state quarterback for 9-1 Class B team, later Atlanta Falcons’ all-time leading receiver … As a senior at Hogansville, Jenkins rushed for 721 yards and scored 18 touchdowns (10 rushing, six returning kicks, two unknown) … More than 1,500 all-purpose yards … Intercepted seven passes … Scored 108 points, more than half the total for a team that finished ranked #7 in final poll … MVP of football and basketball teams and finished 4th in GHSA Class B meet in 100-yard dash … According to Falcoholic.com, Jenkins was “recruited heavily by many college programs, but the less rigorous curriculum at Hogansville prevented him from being academically eligible’’ … So, he went to Morris Brown (Georgia and many other Southern schools didn’t offer African Americans scholarships until 1970) … Undrafted in 1974 NFL Draft … Led Birmingham Americans to WFL title with 14 TD, 1,471 receiving yards … Played nine seasons with Falcons (1975-83) … Two-time Pro Bowl (1980, 1981) … First-team All-Pro (1981) … His 6,267 receiving yards was franchise record until 2000 … Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (2005).
LB – Tray Blackmon, LaGrange (2004)
Was 2004 AJC all-classification Player of the Year .. 2004 Gatorade Georgia Player of the year … 2004 GSWA Class AAA Defensive Player of the Year ... 2004 GACA Class AAA South Player of the Year ... 2003 unanimous first-team All State ... Top defender on LaGrange’s back-to-back Class AAA championship teams (2004, 2003); teams went 14-1, 15-0 while allowing 6.4 points per game over the two seasons ... Named to GHSF Daily All-Decade Team for 2000-09 as one of three linebackers ... 115 tackles, eight sacks, seven forced fumbles as a senior ... 116 tackles, 12 sacks, six forced fumbles as a junior ... 101 tackles, five sacks as sophomore ... 2004 Parade All-American ... 2004 USA Today All-American (second team) ... GHSF Daily Georgia All-Decade team for 2000-09 as one of three linebackers ... Consensus No. 11 prospect nationally; No. 1 in Georgia; No. 1 outside LB prospect ... 15th-highest rated prospect in Georgia this century ... Signed with Auburn ... Fewer than 100 career tackles during career marked by injury and suspension ... Played one CFL season.
Georgia High School Football HOF inductees from Columbus
This is the third year the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame has selected an induction class. Players from Columbus have been included in the previous two classes.
(Senior year in parentheses)
Ernie Green of Spencer (1957)
Jarvis Jones of Carver (2008)
Otis Sistrunk of Spencer (1964)
