For the second time in the last three weeks, we’ve got another big reunion game on GPB Sports Football Fridays in Georgia as the Lowndes Vikings travel north from Valdosta to take on the 10th-ranked Grayson Rams. Join us as we kick off week four of our 2023 schedule from Grayson Community Stadium in Loganville. Coverage starts 7:30 p.m. on GPB-TV.

Just nine months after Coach Adam Carter left Grayson for Lowndes, he’ll be back on the Gwinnett County campus where less than three years ago he led the Rams to the GHSA 7A state championship with one of the most talented teams in state history. On the opposite sideline, the home sideline where for four seasons Carter went 45-9, will be his former defensive backs coach Santavious Bryant.

For many people, Bryant was a surprising choice to succeed Carter, primarily because of his age (he’s now 29) and also because he’d never been a head coach. But that surprise quickly subsides once you sit down and talk to the former Wheeler Wildcat who is so young a Google search of his name will produce his Max Preps high school stats and Hudl page.

Bryant was hired by Carter to be his Rams’ secondary coach in 2019 and he was with him for three seasons before he left in 2022 to join Coach Josh Niblett’s staff at Gainesville, working with a team that reached the GHSA 6A Finals last December.

Bryant has the Rams off to a 3-1 start, rebounding from a 49-27 loss to No. 5 Walton in the Corky Kell / Dave Hunter Classic to win its last three games. Carter takes over a program coming off its first losing season since 1994 but less than four years removed from reaching the 2019 state final. The Vikings are 3-1, getting beat by East Coweta 42-30 last week after winning three straight games against out-of-state opponents to begin the season.

This will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs but just the second in the regular season following the Vikings 24-14-win last year in Valdosta against the Rams and the man who is now their head coach. Three of the six all-time meetings have come in the state quarterfinals.

You’ll remember just two weeks ago we watched as 7th-ranked Parkview knocked off North Gwinnett and their former head coach Eric Godfree 35-32 in a game that wasn’t decided until the final play at the Big Orange Jungle. Could we be headed for another fantastic finish again? We’ll find out tonight.

So, that’s the game story. Let’s take a look at the top prospects to watch.

Grayson Rams

Tyler Atkinson

Tyler Atkinson, Grayson

Credit: 247 Sports

Tyler Atkinson – 6-2, 207, Sophomore – 36 offers including Georgia – Highest Ranking: 247 Sports 4-Star and No. 2 LB in the country 2026 and No. 2 prospect in Georgia. Atkinson was among the many big-time prospects at the Bulldogs win over South Carolina last Saturday. He leads the Rams with 44 TT, 5 TFL and 3 QB Sacks.

Kylan Fox – 6-5, 220, Senior – Committed to UCF July 4th over 59 other offers including Florida State and Georgia Tech to whom he also took official visits – Highest Ranking: 247 Sports 4-Star and No. 8 TE in the country 2024 and No. 18 prospect in Georgia. Stats: 13-177 yards receiving, 3 TD. Coach Bryant says they knew he would be dynamic as a pass catcher but has also been blocking tremendously.

Walt Flynn – 6-2, 301, Senior – Committed to UCF July 1st over 38 other offers including Georgia, LSU, Oregon, and Texas A&M – Highest Ranking: Rivals 4-Star and No. 1 IOL in the country 2024. Bryant calls him one of the best OL in the country regardless of position.

Jaylen Bell – 5-11, 166, Junior – Committed to LSU November 26, 2022, over 30 other offers including South Carolina and Auburn – Highest Ranking: Rivals 4-Star and No. 14 CB in the country in 2025 and No. 15 prospect in Georgia. Bryant says man or zone Bell can do it all.

Nasir Smith – 6-4, 253, Senior – 30 offers including Georgia – Consensus 3-Star – Highest Ranking: Rivals No. 25 DL in the country 2024. Smith did not play football until 9th grade because he’s also big-time basketball player.

John Cineas – 6-2, 196, Senior – 15 Offers including Georgia State, Auburn and Georgia Southern – Highest Ranking: Rivals 3-Star WR 2024. Leading receiver 18-300 yards, 4 TD plus two kick return TD. Bryant describes Cineas as “big, physical kid who can take the top off and is a match-up nightmare.”

Andre Fuller – 6-3, 216, Junior – 9 offers including South Carolina, UAB and Mississippi State – Highest Ranking: Rivals 3-Star DL. Stats: 22 TT, 4 TFL, 2 QB Sacks, team-leading 5 QBH. Bryant calls Fuller “freakish top to bottom.”

Myles Woods – 5-10, 158, Senior – Committed to Coastal Carolina June 7th over 9 other offers including Minnesota – Highest Ranking: Rivals 3-Star Athlete 2024 (No. 1 Field Safety for the Rams). Third-Year Starter.

Anthony Davis – 6-1, 192, Sophomore LB – Eight offers including Auburn.  

Keyon Woods – 6-0, 168, Senior Safety – Eight offers including Marshall, Liberty, and Arkansas State.

Alex Sanchez – 6-3, 188, Junior WR – Offered by Georgia Tech, Louisville, and UCF. Stats: 15-224 yards receiving, 4 TD.

J.D. Davis – 6-2, 194, Senior QB – Five offers including Florida Atlantic and Western Michigan. Stats: 74-101 passing. 74.3% completion. 947 yards. 236.8 YPG. 13 TD and 0 INT. Coach Bryant says J.D. is having a spectacular season with a leadership style that says, “I’m going to be the guy that leads this team to a state championship.”

D’Kyah Banks – 6-5, 168, Senior Safety – Committed to Bowling Green. Incredible size for a safety. Converted OLB.

Dylan Elder – 5-10, 195, Senior Athlete (No.1 RB for Rams) – Five offers including UAB, East Carolina and FAU. Been hurt since opening series of the season. Hoping that he’ll be able to go tonight.

Uriah Points – 5-10, 165, Junior Athlete (Plays CB for the Rams) – Offered by Auburn and Western Kentucky. Coach Bryant feels Points will take off this season.

Chandler Covington – 6-4, 196, Junior Edge (Plays DE for Rams) – Offered by Arizona State and Middle Tennessee.

Amari Alston – 5-7, 185, Junior RB – Offered by Western Kentucky. Rushed for 201 yards on just 19 carries averaging 10.6 yards per carry.

Bryce Hudson – 6-4, 300, Junior OL – Offered by Florida Atlantic. Starting Center.

T.A. Cunningham – 6-6, 275, Senior – Committed to Penn State July 22nd over 59 other offers – Consensus 4-Star – Highest Ranking: ESPN No. 16 DL in the country 2024 – NOTE: He is enrolled at Grayson but not yet listed on the Rams roster. Coach Bryant says he could end up playing this season but did not elaborate more than that. Cunningham is one of the top defensive linemen in the country who played at Johns Creek as a sophomore. Moved to Los Angeles as a junior but did not play a full season because of transfer issues. Now he’s back in Georgia.

Lowndes Vikings

Coleman Lewis – 6-1, 210, Junior – 18 offers including Auburn and UCF – Highest Ranking: On3 Recruits 3-Star LB 2025. Stats: Leads team with 39 TT. Got a chance to be a big-time linebacker in the SEC.

D.J. Jones

D.J. Jones, Lowndes

Credit: 247 Sports

D.J. Jones – 6-5, 260, Senior – Committed to Coastal Carolina June 5th over seven other offers including Georgia Southern and UCF – Highest Ranking: 247 Sports 3-Star Edge 2024. Despite the recruiting rankings listing him as edge rusher, Coach Carter says he’s a college OT no doubt about it.

Grant Laskey – 6-4, 232, Senior – Committed to Charlotte June 12th over six other offers including Liberty and Indiana – Highest Ranking: 247 Sports 3-Star TE 2024.

Jacarre Fleming – 5-7, 190, Senior RB – 13 Offers including Troy. Leading Rusher with 396 yards on the ground and 8 total TD. Only thing that keeps him from having an even bigger recruiting profile is his size. Young man can fly.

Jaylin Carter – 5-11, 175, Junior WR – Six offers including Georgia Southern, UAB and App State. Leading receiver 14-219 yards and 1 TD.

Aalim Brown – 5-10, 165, Junior RB – Five offers including FIU. Will not play tonight.

Marvis Parrish – 5-10, 177, Junior ATH (Plays QB for the Vikings) – Four offers including UMass. Stats: 39-72 passing. 54.2% completion. 461 yards. 5 TD. 3 INT. Likely RB at the next level.

Ben Corhei – 6-4, 280, Sophomore OT – Six offers including Ole Miss and UAB. Plays RG for the Vikings. Will become big-time OL prospect.

Anthony Carter – 5-10, 165, Senior CB (Plays “Pony” position or Safety for Vikings) – Committed to Arkansas State.

O’Shea Brooks – 6-1, 215, Senior DE – Five offers including Valdosta State

Romeo Hampton – 6-5, 296, Senior DL – Offered by Alcorn State, Alabama State and Clark Atlanta

Aidan Sefa – 6-4, 189, Junior WR – Offered by Austin Peay

Keylan Hicks – 5-8, 161, Senior WR – Offered by Clark Atlanta. Unfortunately, out for the rest of the season with broken collarbone.

Marlon “M.J.” Evans – 5-6, 182, Senior CB – Offered by Clark Atlanta.

Jayce Johnson – 6-3, 195, Freshman QB – Offered by Florida A&M.

Weston Edwards – 6-0, 204, Senior – Committed to South Florida over five other offers including Georgia Southern and Middle Tennessee – Rated Kohl’s No. 16 Long Snapper in the country 2024.

Carson Page – 5-7, 165, Senior Punter – Committed to Georgia Tech Baseball – Ranking – Rated Prep Baseball Report No. 11 Shortstop in Georgia 2024.

So, join Wayne Gandy, Jon Nelson, Nick Noto Palmer and me for our Emmy Award-winning Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week as the Grayson Rams host the Lowndes Vikings starting at 7:30 p.m. Remember at halftime Niki will highlight this week’s Make That Kid an Offer nominees.

You can watch Football Fridays in Georgia in so many ways. You have traditional TV (GPB), online at GPB.org, GPB Sports app, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Twitch.

Now if somehow, you miss it live or just want to watch it again, don’t worry, we replay the entire Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week at 11:30 p.m. or you can watch it on demand anytime at GPB.org. 

Enjoy your Football Friday in Georgia!