Preseason all-state: Prince RB Beard leads Class 3A-A Private team

*Best player: Andrew Beard, Prince Avenue Christian. He rushed for 1,937 yards last season. He played hurt in the final against Hebron Christian.

*Best position: Wide receiver. Keyon Standifer, Jack Rhodes and Jarvis Mathurin had 42 receiving touchdowns among themselves last season.

*Most highly recruited: Beard is the consensus No. 13 junior running back on the 247Sports Composite.

*That’s interesting: Khalid Worthy is the all-region basketball player that football coaches wish they could talk into playing for them. He’s 6 feet, 7 inches. He played his first varsity football season last year as a junior and had 27 receptions for 391 yards and five touchdowns. He now has about 10 Division I football offers, including those from Georgia Southern and Georgia State.

*Snubbed: Quarterback was a logjam of worthy candidates that included Calvary Day’s James Mobley, Landmark Christian’s Skylar Hamilton and Fellowship Christian’s Jonathan Granby.

*Underrated: Buck Talley, Athens Academy. He was credited with 43 pancake blocks in 11 games last season. He’s the best center in the class but has no scholarship offers.

*What else is news? Three Class 3A-A Private seniors are committed to Power 4-conference schools. They are Fellowship’s C.J. Givers (Duke), Aquinas’ Jack Rhodes (Virginia) and Wesleyan's Eli Rickell (North Carolina). That’s not bad for only 25 schools in the division, and there's time for more. But what took place last season, in retrospect, was unreal. That’s when 12 players in this division signed with ACC or SEC teams – four with Georgia Tech, two with Georgia. They include five-star linemen Elijah Griffin (Georgia) and Josh Petty (Georgia Tech).

Offense

QB - Ben Musser, Prince Avenue Christian, Jr.

RB - Andrew Beard, Prince Avenue Christian, Jr.

RB - C.J. Givers, Fellowship Christian, Sr.

WR - Jarvis Mathurin, Hebron Christian, Sr.

WR - Jack Rhodes, Aquinas, Sr.

TE - Khalid Worthy, Holy Innocents', Sr.

OL - Jordan Dillon, Savannah Christian, Jr.

OL - J.T. Howell, Savannah Christian, Sr.

OL - Eli Rickell, Wesleyan, Sr.

OL - Buck Tally, Athens Academy, Sr.

OL - Fletcher Turk, Hebron Christian, Sr.

ATH - Keyon Standifer, Athens Academy, Jr.

PK - Max Cuzdey, King’s Ridge Christian, Sr.

Defense

DL - Ren Gilmer, Fellowship Christian, Sr.

DL - Noah Hazard, Fellowship Christian, Sr.

DL - Isaiah Redmond, Savannah Christian, Sr.

DL - Bennett Schawb, Mount Paran Christian, Sr.

LB - Will Forte, Lovett, Sr.

LB - Eli Hutchinson, Aquinas, So.

LB - C.J. Ohuabunwa, Greater Atlanta Christian, Jr.

LB - Brady Robinson, Landmark Christian, Sr.

DB - Zion Allen, Aquinas, Sr.

DB - Brexton Bell, Calvary Day, Jr.

DB - Emerson Lewis, Calvary Day, Jr.

DB - Max Steve, Hebron Christian, Sr.

P - Bryce Johnson, King's Ridge Christian, Sr.