1980s
2023 INDUCTEES
John Davis
Gilmer High School Graduate
John Davis was a four-year football letterman at Gilmer High and the 1982 AJC Class AA Lineman of the Year. In 1987, the AJC named Davis to its 20-year all-state football team (1966-86), and Georgia High School Football Daily in 2017 named Davis the best player in Gilmer history. Davis also was an outstanding basketball player at Gilmer who scored more than 1,000 points in his high school hardwood career. Davis played college football at Georgia Tech, where he was a four-year starter and first-team All-American in 1985 by The Sporting News. Davis’ most memorable game came in 1984 in a 28-21 victory over Clemson. Davis, playing center that game, was named Sports Illustrated’s offensive player of the week and earned the nickname “The Refrigerator Mover” for his ability to negate Clemson star noseguard William “The Refrigerator” Perry. The Houston Oilers drafted Davis in the 11th round of the 1987 NFL Draft. Davis was best known for his time with the Buffalo Bills from 1989 to 1994. He was a member of four straight Super Bowl teams, starting on two. In 1993, Davis was given the Ed Block Courage Award, voted on by teammates and awarded to the player on each NFL team who “exemplified a commitment to sportsmanship and courage.”
Keith Henderson
Cartersville High School Graduate
Keith Henderson was a rare three-time first-team all-state running back (1982-84) at Cartersville and was a Parade All-American and the AJC’s all-classification player of the year in 1984. As a senior, he rushed for 2,046 yards and 20 touchdowns on 191 carries in only 10 games for a team that ironically didn’t make the playoffs in an era when only region champions qualified for state. He rushed for 5,872 yards and scored 60 touchdowns in his career and compiled 6,937 all-purpose yards when including receiving, passing and return yards. Henderson rushed for a single-game state record 432 yards against Cass in 1984. Henderson led the University of Georgia in rushing as a true freshman (731 yards) and finished with 1,648 yards despite missing his junior season with a knee injury. The San Francisco 49ers drafted Henderson in the third round. He was the team’s leading rusher (531 yards) in 1991 on a team that featured Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Henderson played four NFL seasons.
Ken Swilling
Stephens County High School Graduate
Ken Swilling made first-team AJC all-state as a defensive back and first-team GACA all-state as a running back as a senior in a wishbone offense in 1987. In his most memorable moment, Swilling caught a 40-yard Hail Mary pass, out-jumping four defenders as time expired, to secure a 13-10 victory over Villa Rica in the Class 3A quarterfinals to put his team in a semifinal for the first time in 28 years. Swilling went on to become a four-year starter, two-time All-ACC pick and 1990 All-American at Georgia Tech, which he helped lead to a 1990 national title. Swilling was a seventh-round NFL Draft pick and played one NFL season. He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2003. Swilling was honored as an ACC Legend at the ACC Championship Game in 2012.
Pat Swilling
Stephens County High School Graduate
Pat Swilling grew up playing basketball and baseball and was blessed with height at a young age, standing 6 feet, 3 inches by the time he was a freshman. He was inspired to play football for when he was watching the Dallas Cowboys’ towering defensive end Ed “Too Tall” Jones sack the quarterback in a televised game and believed he could use his gifts to become a pass rusher. Swilling decided to focus on football and never looked back and became one of the most dominant pass rushers in Georgia by his senior year. After committing to Auburn, Swilling flipped to downtrodden Georgia Tech, where coach Bill Curry called him a “game changer.” He was a four-year starter, helping turn the program around, and was a key piece of the defense that adopted the nickname “Black Watch,” a moniker shared by Scottish military forces in the 1700s. Swilling set an NCAA single-game record with seven sacks against N.C. State in 1985 and graduated as Tech’s all-time sacks leader (23). The New Orleans Saints selected Swilling in the third round of the 1986 NFL Draft. He was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1991 and was a two-time All Pro (1991, 1992). Swilling was selected to five Pro Bowls. He has been inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. Ainsworth Sports.com ranks him the 11th-best former Georgia high school player in NFL history.
PREVIOUS INDUCTEES
Andre Hastings
Morrow High School Graduate
Few players left a Georgia high school with more football accolades than Andre Hastings, who was a star wide receiver as a sophomore on a 1987 state championship team and was the USA Today National Offensive Player of the Year as a senior in 1989. Hastings also was Gatorade’s Georgia all-classification Player of the Year, AJC Class 4A Offensive Player of the Year and a USA Today and Parade All-American during his senior season, when he caught 59 passes for 1,038 yards and 15 touchdowns in a time when outstanding passing offenses were rare. Hastings ended his high school career with 184 receptions for 3,132 yards and 41 touchdowns. After spending his college career at Georgia, where he racked up 1,876 yards and 13 touchdowns on 124 receptions, he was picked in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Steelers. He caught 10 passes for 98 yards and returned two punts for 18 yards in Super Bowl XXX against the Dallas Cowboys. Hastings spent eight NFL seasons with the Steelers, Saints and Buccaneers and caught 266 balls for 3,307 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 2007, the AJC ranked Hastings as the No. 12 Georgia high school football player of all time.
Garrison Hearst
Lincoln County High School Graduate
Garrison Hearst rose to the top of the game at every level he played. At Lincoln County, Hearst was the 1989 AJC and GSWA all-classification player of the year after rushing for 2,097 yards and 36 touchdowns as a senior. He led Lincoln County to a 15-0 record and the Class A championship. In 2007, the AJC ranked him the No. 6 Georgia high school football player of all time. Hearst went on to play at Georgia, where he set school and SEC records with a national-best 21 touchdowns in 1992. He finished in third place in the Heisman Trophy voting and was named the SEC Player of the Year. The Phoenix (later called Arizona) Cardinals drafted Hearst with the third overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft. Hearst blossomed with the San Francisco 49ers, totaling 2,105 yards and nine touchdowns in 1998 and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He was the cover athlete for EA Sports’ Madden NFL 99. After missing two years due to injury, Hearst was named the 2001 NFL Comeback Player of the Year and earned his second Pro Bowl selection after totaling 1,553 yards and five touchdowns.
Tracy Rocker
Fulton High School Graduate
Tracy Rocker was the AJC’s Lineman of the Year and a USA Today All-American in 1983, when he was a prized high school recruit as a defensive lineman at Atlanta’s Fulton High. Rocker redshirted his freshman year at Auburn, and his next three seasons would leave him in Auburn lore. He was a three-time first-team All-SEC player and a consensus All-American on Auburn’s 1987 and 1988 SEC championship teams. In his final season with the Tigers, Rocker became the first player in SEC history to win the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy (nation’s best lineman) in the same year alongside the 1988 SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award. Rocker’s Tigers held opponents to only 7.6 points per game that season. He would be selected in the third round of the 1989 NFL draft by the Redskins. He was an All-Rookie in 1989 but would play only one more year in the NFL and would finish his playing career in the World Football League. He then returned to Auburn in 1992 to coach. He has since coached 11 teams over 30 years and is currently the defensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Charlie Ward
Thomas County Central High School Graduate
Charlie Ward, the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner while at Florida State, was the 1987 AJC Class 3A Offensive Player of the Year after passing for 1,891 yards and 16 touchdowns while picking up 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns rushing as a senior at Thomas County Central, then known as Central Thomasville High. Ward led Central to region titles and semifinal appearances in 1986 and 1987. Ward led Florida State to its first national title while winning the Heisman, the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien Award. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Ward rejoined the Florida State basketball team just 15 days after winning the football national championship and averaged a career high in points per game. He also holds the Florida State basketball record in steals and ranks sixth in assists. Despite his success on the gridiron, he went the basketball route and was selected in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft by the Knicks. He played 11 seasons in the NBA as a point guard with the Knicks, Spurs and Rockets.