2000s
2023 INDUCTEES
Rennie Curran
Brookwood High School Graduate
Rennie Curran left Brookwood as the Broncos’ all-time leading tackler. During his senior season, he tallied 150 total tackles with 13 sacks and 23 tackles for losses. He was the GACA Class 5A defensive player of the year in 2006, when he led Brookwood to a state finals appearance. He was a rare three-time first-team GSWA and GACA all-state pick and back-to-back Gwinnett TD Club defensive player of the year. He was named to GHSF Daily’s statewide all-decade team (2000-09). A consensus top-250 national recruit, Curran signed with Georgia and made first-team All-SEC in 2009 and was a Butkus Award finalist. He was a third-round NFL Draft pick in 2010 and played two NFL seasons and three CFL seasons. He was inducted into the Gwinnett County Sports Hall of Fame and the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame in 2019. Now an author and motivational speaker, Curran continues to inspire individuals with Game Changer LLC and makes regular appearances on local and national TV networks, including those covering Georgia and the Atlanta Falcons.
Charles Johnson
Hawkinsville High School Graduate
Charles Johnson was a three-sport athlete at Hawkinsville High, where he starred as a football defensive end, a basketball forward and a track-and-field sprinter on a state-winning 4x100 meters relay team. He was a defensive lineman with exceptional speed (4.6 seconds over 40 yards) for someone 6 feet, 3 inches and 240 pounds. During his senior football season, Johnson led Hawkinsville to a 15-0 finish and the Class A title. He registered 16 sacks. In the championship game, which Hawkinsville won 18-8 over No. 1-ranked Lincoln County, Johnson returned an interception 83 yards for a touchdown. Johnson was the AJC’s Class A Defensive Player of the Year. Georgia High School Football Daily named Johnson one of its four defensive linemen on the 2000-09 All-Decade Team. Johnson was a five-star recruit and the consensus No. 21 prospect when he signed to play at Georgia. He played three seasons for the Bulldogs and made All-SEC as a junior in 2006. The Carolina Panthers selected Johnson in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Johnson played 11 NFL seasons, all with the Panthers, appearing in 143 games with 114 starts. Johnson made an All-Pro team in 2010 and finished with 67.5 career sacks. He was part of the Panthers’ Super Bowl 50 team for the 2015 season. In 2012, Johnson established the Charles Johnson Foundation, which supported underprivileged youth and single African American mothers and awarded scholarships to students in Hawkinsville and Charlotte.
Jarvis Jones
Carver (Columbus) High School Graduate
Jarvis Jones, a fast and rugged 6-foot-3, 245-pound outside linebacker, helped Carver to the program’s first state championship in 2007, when the Tigers defeated Cairo 16-13 for the Class AAA championship in his junior year. Jones was named the AJC, GSWA and GACA Class AAA Defensive Player of the Year that season after making 157 tackles, 26 tackles for losses, four sacks and two interceptions. He was an AJC Super 11 selection entering his senior season in 2008 and finished as first-team all-state again and a USA Today All-American. Jones was the consensus No. 49 prospect nationally as a senior. After playing in the 2009 All-American Bowl, Jones played one season at Southern Cal before transferring to Georgia. After sitting out a year, he became a two-time first-team All-SEC selection. In 2012, Jones was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American after setting a school record with 14.5 sacks for a 12-2 team that finished ranked No. 4 in the final coaches poll. The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Jones in the first round with the No. 17 overall pick in 2013. Jones played four NFL seasons with 50 games played and 35 starts with the Steelers and Arizona Cardinals. Jones completed his degree from Georgia in 2019. He now works for his alma mater on the football support staff as a player connection coordinator.
D.J. Shockley
North Clayton High School Graduate
D.J. Shockley was a two-time first-team AJC and GSWA all-state quarterback (1999, 2000) at North Clayton and a 2000 Parade All-American. As a senior, he passed for 1,861 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 864 yards and another eight touchdowns. His junior season, he passed for 1,352 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 733 yards and nine touchdowns. Shockley was the consensus No. 18 recruit nationally and the No. 1 dual-threat prospect in the class of 2001. He was the No. 3 prospect in the state when he took his talents to Georgia, where he played three seasons as a backup before getting his first time to start as a senior. When his chance came, Shockley made the most of it, passing for 2,588 yards and 24 touchdowns, leading Georgia to the SEC title, and was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year. The Falcons drafted Shockley in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent seasons in the NFL. Since 2017, Shockley has worked as a color commentator and studio analyst for college football broadcasts, Atlanta Falcons coverage and high school football coverage with GPB. Shockley became a sports anchor for WAGA-TV (Fox 5 Atlanta) in 2021.
PREVIOUS INDUCTEES
Eric Berry
Creekside High School Graduate
Eric Berry took home almost every major award as a Creekside senior in 2006, when he totaled 2,552 rushing and passing yards for a 12-1 team as a two-way starter at quarterback and safety. He was named the AJC’s and Gatorade’s Georgia all-classification player of the year and a Parade and MaxPreps All-American. Creekside won two region titles and was a Class 4A quarterfinalist with Berry as its leader. He was the consensus No. 3 overall recruit, the No. 1 cornerback and the No. 1 player in Georgia. Berry committed to Tennessee, where he was a two-time first-team All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. The Chiefs drafted him fifth overall in 2010. Playing in Kansas City for nine seasons, Berry was named to five Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pro teams and made the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. In 2015, Berry overcame cancer and earned the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.
Jeff Francoeur
Parkview High School Graduate
Jeff Francoeur is one of the best known Georgia high school products for what he did during and after his time at Parkview. He was the 2001 AJC all-classification football player of the year after catching 47 passes for 1,033 yards and 14 touchdowns. As a junior, he caught 46 passes for 835 yards and 14 touchdowns and intercepted 15 passes. His performance led Parkview to back-to-back 15-0 seasons and Class 5A titles in 2000 and 2001. The AJC ranked him the No. 21 Georgia high school football player of all time in 2007. Francoeur signed to play football at Clemson but was a first-round draft pick by his hometown Braves and chose baseball. Francoeur had an electrifying start to his major league career, debuting at age 21. In his first three seasons, he had a .280 batting average, 62 home runs and 253 RBIs. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2005 and won a Gold Glove in his third season in 2007. He went on to play 12 MLB seasons and was one of the best defensive right fielders of his time, totaling 53 defensive runs saved. Francoeur is now the lead TV analyst for the Braves.
David Pollack
Shiloh High School Graduate
David Pollack, 40, is one of the youngest members of the inaugural Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame class. Pollack was a member of the last Generals team to win a playoff game, in 2000, his senior season, when he played fullback and linebacker. He’s one of only three Shiloh players in history to make first-team AJC all-state. A three-star recruit, Pollack committed to Georgia, where he would win SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 and 2004 and earn All-America nominations three times. He was the recipient of numerous awards after his senior season in 2004, including the Chuck Bednarik Award (best linebacker), the Lombardi Award, the Lott Trophy (best defensive character and performance) and the Ted Hendricks Award. He finished as Georgia’s career leader in sacks (36) and tackles for losses (58.5). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. Pollack retired from the NFL after two seasons due to injury. He’s now a familiar face on ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
Darius Walker
Buford High School Graduate
No single player had more to do with the rise of Buford football this century than Darius Walker. The Wolves went 58-2 in Walker’s four seasons, winning their final 45 games. It was to be the first three of 13 state titles since 2000. Buford’s winning streak, still the state record, would reach 47 the next season. Walker rushed for 5,676 yards and scored 91 touchdowns in his Buford career. As a senior, he rushed for 2,406 yards and a state-record 46 touchdowns while playing only two full games. The AJC and Gatorade named Walker the all-class player of the year in 2003. In 2007, the AJC ranked Walker as the No. 24 player in state history. At Notre Dame, Walker rushed for 3,249 yards, the fourth-most in school history, twice going for more than 1,000 yards. Walker went undrafted in the NFL and played for two seasons with the Houston Texans.
Monte Williams
Commerce High School Graduate
Monte Williams exists in some circles as a folk legend. The state’s all-time leading rusher, Williams attended Commerce High in Jackson County from 1997 to 2000, when the Tigers won four consecutive region titles and won 48 of 54 games. Williams’ 8,844 yards stand alone at the top in state records, and his 105 rushing touchdowns are tied for the fourth-most in the state’s history. Williams, a 5-foot-7, 168-pound back, was tagged by many in his time as the fastest back to the line of scrimmage. In his final game, the Class A state championship versus Buford, Williams compiled 287 rushing yards and caught a 41-yard pass for a touchdown as an elusive, zigzagging super speedster. Williams was a rare three-time first-team AJC, GSWA All-State pick (1998-2000) while also making honorable mention as a freshman. He was the GSWA’s 1999 all-class player of the year. Because of his size, he was overlooked by most Division I schools and ended up playing one season at Butler Community College, a junior college in Kansas, where he rushed for 565 yards on 125 carries.