Third-annual Georgia High School Football Media Day returns this week

The third-annual Georgia High School Football Media Day is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at two locations to allow unprecedented access to some of the best tackle and flag football programs in the state.

On Wednesday, teams will convene in Atlanta at the Mechanical Trades Institute building, a state-of-the-art facility which helps teach multiple trades and will include displays focused on welding, plumbing, and heating and air for players to learn through a hands-on experience about several career opportunities after they graduate high school. On Thursday, teams will meet at the Score Atlanta Studio in Roswell to be interviewed in the state-of-the-art television production studio for interviews that will be aired live.

The events will be streamed live on the Atlanta News First app. From your home, download the free ANF+ app anywhere you stream — FireTV, AppleTV, Roku and YouTubeTV — simply by searching for “Atlanta News First” on those platforms. If you are on the go, you can download Atlanta News First for free in the app store on your Apple or Android device. You can also watch live here on the WANF – Special Events channel.

Some of the top teams on Wednesday are Grayson, the Class 6A champions, Toombs County, the Class A Division I champions, and Class 4A runner up Marist. Also attending is Class A-Division II semifinalist Manchester and Class A-Division I runner-up Northeast-Macon. Creekside, the Class 4A semifinalist which fell to Marist, is scheduled for the 2:30 p.m. spot. 

Wednesday will mark the first opportunity to see three new head coaches: Dunwoody’s Matt Schmitz, Langston Hughes’ Andrico Hines, and Roswell’s Jonathan Thompson. 

Schmitz takes over at Dunwoody, replacing longtime coach Mike Nash. Hines returns to Langston Hughes, where he previously served as the offensive coordinator for the record-breaking 2022 Panthers offense. Thompson steps into his first head coaching role at Roswell after coordinating a Lee County offense that averaged over 53 points per game last season.

On Thursday, four more new head coaches will be featured during the event. Cedar Grove introduces Rich Freeman, who looks to get the Saints back on track following a disappointing 3-7 season. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Kenny Dallas joins defending A-3A Private champions Hebron Christian after eight successful seasons,  including a state title, at Trinity Christian-Sharpsburg. Jones County will debut new head coach Justin Montgomery following the late offseason firing of Mike Chastain. Finally, Jon Richt, son of former Georgia head coach Mark Richt, takes the reins at Prince Avenue Christian after the departure of three-time state champion coach Greg Vandagriff.

Eight flag football teams will attend Wednesday including Blessed Trinity, Newton, Woodstock, Milton, Turner County, Pace Academy, Therrell and Heard County. On Thursday, Irwin County and Salem’s flag teams will be featured on the air in the Score Atlanta Studio.

See the full schedule for both days of the event below!

‍JULY 23

‍10:00 AM

‍Greenville

Marist

Blessed Trinity (Flag)

Newton (Flag)

‍

‍10:45 AM

‍Stephenson

Northeast

North Cobb

Manchester

Newton

‍

‍11:30 AM

‍Hillgrove

Woodstock (Flag)

‍

‍12:15 PM

‍Campbell

South Paulding

Woodward

Jonesboro

Douglas County

‍

‍1:00 PM

‍Woodstock

McIntosh

Toombs County

Langston Hughes

Collins Hill

‍

‍1:45 PM

‍Dunwoody

South Atlanta

North Paulding

Pace Academy (Flag)

‍

‍2:30 PM‍

Creekside

Southwest DeKalb

Roswell

Milton (Flag)

Turner County (Flag)

‍

‍3:15 PM

‍Pike County

Trion

Grayson

‍

‍4:00 PM

‍Sandy Creek

Gainesville

Heard County (Flag)

Therrell (Flag)

Coffee

‍

JULY 24

10:00 AM

‍Houston County

Kell

Therrell

Hebron Christian

‍

‍10:45 AM

‍Cass

Prince Avenue

South Paulding

‍

11:30 AM

Irwin County (Flag)

Salem (Flag)

Jones County

Lowndes

‍

‍12:15 PM

‍Jasper County

Heard County

Brooks County

‍

‍1:00 PM

‍LaGrange

Callaway

Creekside

‍

‍1:45 PM

‍Cedar Grove

Douglass-Atlanta

North Atlanta

Rome

‍