The Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 represents the fifth group of inductees since the hall’s inaugural 2022 class and welcomes in an exceptional collection of trailblazers, state champions and homegrown heroes that spans across the decades and throughout Georgia’s gridiron landscape. The GHSFHOF Board of Directors worked from a 101-player ballot to select this year’s inductees.
Board members of the Hall of Fame began submitting nominees for the Hall’s fifth class in early spring and then held committee votes before the final ballot was narrowed down to the finalists in early April. Once the ballot was set, each board member was required to vote for 33 players that spanned across eight eras (Pre-1948, 1948-59, 1960’s, GIA, 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s). The top two vote getters from each era were guaranteed spots and no limit was set to how many inductees could come from a single era. As a result, the eight players selected from the 1970’s and seven that came from the 1980’s combined to represent nearly half of the Class of 2026 with 45.4 percent.
Headlining this year’s class is 1987 Clarke Central graduate and former Atlanta Falcon Chuck Smith, who was on a leading 82 percent of the ballots that were cast. Smith’s teammate on the Falcons’ 1998 NFC Championship team Terance Mathis was also among the top vote getters. Before becoming the Atlanta Falcons’ all-time leading receiver, Mathis played quarterback, tailback, cornerback and special teams at Redan and will represent the Raiders in the Hall of Fame. Behind Smith, the next leading vote recipient was Tucker High School grad Patrick Pass—who successfully got into the hall after first debuting on the ballot in 2023. Pass went on to become a member of three Super Bowl championship teams with the New England Patriots and played four seasons at the University of Georgia after wrapping up his varsity career at Tucker with a DeKalb County career-record 5,004 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns.
Former Georgia Tech and Newnan star wide receiver Drew Hill and Georgia alum and Murphy High School standout Mo Lewis were also voted in by a wide margin. Both inductees spent more than a decade in the NFL and played in multiple Pro Bowls. Offensive linemen are well represented in this year’s class with names like Stacy Searels (Trion), Cosey Coleman (Southwest DeKalb), Harold Olson (Southwest DeKalb), but the running backs are the most abundant with a dozen spanning across the decades. This includes Washington-Wilkes’ Daccus Turman, who rushed for a single-season record 3,172 yards in 2000, Waycross’ Doyle Orange, who was the state’s first 2,000-yard rusher, Commerce’s Runt Moon, who set a state record in 1973 with his 2,501-yard season and Carver-Columbus’ Jasper Sanks, who finished his varsity career with 5,043 rushing yards.
Former LaGrange High School quarterback Rodney Hudson was voted in this year and his accolades include leading the Grangers to a perfect 15-0 season in 1991 that included a AAAA state title and USA Today national championship to go with AJC All-Classification Player of the Year honors.
The 2026 Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony will take place Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. in the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta, and is also going to induct West Rome’s 1982-85 teams, as the Chieftans made West Rome the first school in GHSA history to win four-straight championships.
Class of 2026 Inductees
2000’s (2)
RB Daccus Turman, Washington-Wilkes (2000)
DL Kedric Golston, Sandy Creek (2001)
1990’s (5)
QB Rodney Hudson, LaGrange (1991)
DL Travis Stroud, Dunwoody (1993)
RB Patrick Pass, Tucker (1995)
OL Cosey Coleman, Southwest DeKalb (1995)
RB Jasper Sanks, Carver-Columbus (1996)
1980’s (7)
OL Stacy Searels, Trion (1982)
RB David McCluskey, West Rome (1982)
QB Vince Sutton, LaGrange (1983)
QB Terance Mathis, Redan (1984)
LB/DL Mo Lewis, Murphy (1986)
DL Chuck Smith, Clarke Central (1987)
DL Eric Curry, Thomasville (1987)
1970’s (8)
QB Phil Baker, Pepperell (1970)
WR/RB Jimmy Robinson, Ridgeview (1970)
RB Runt Moon, Commerce (1973)
WR Drew Hill, Newnan (1976)
RB Stump Mitchell, Camden County (1976)
QB Jim Bob Harris, Clarke Central (1977)
LB/TE Joey Browner, Southwest Atlanta (1978)
RB Ricky Williams, Griffin (1978)
1960’s (5)
L Randall Edmunds, Lincolnton (1963)
TE/DE Billy Brice, Avondale (1966)
QB/RB Dennis Chadwick, Decatur (1967)
RB/DB Brent Cunningham, Putnam County (1967)
RB Doyle Orange, Waycross (1969)
GIA (2)
B Milton Byard, Risley (1950)
QB John Henry Jackson, Spencer (1957)
1948-59 (2)
QB/S Wade Mitchell, North Fulton (1952)
OL Harold Olson, Southwest DeKalb (1955)
Pre-1948 (2)
B Jack “William” Peek, Tech (1944)
B Bobby North, Tech (1946)