One thing grabbed my attention. It says that Buford has 11 seniors committed to Power 4 Conference teams (four SEC, two ACC, two Big 10, one Big 12). It says that assuming they sign where they are committed, that will be a record for a Georgia senior class.

That said... y'all reckon Buford's going to be any count this year?

Isn't Buford pretty good every year? What do they do that makes them so good, recruit?

(08-05-2024, 08:30 AM)Replying to JC-DAWG83 Isn't Buford pretty good every year?  What do they do that makes them so good, recruit?

Yes to both..

(08-05-2024, 08:39 AM)Replying to McDonoughDawg

(08-05-2024, 08:30 AM)Replying to JC-DAWG83 Isn't Buford pretty good every year?  What do they do that makes them so good, recruit?

Yes to both..

They must have a strong NIL program.

(08-05-2024, 08:17 AM)Replying to RockmartDawg One thing grabbed my attention. It says that Buford has 11 seniors committed to Power 4 Conference teams (four SEC, two ACC, two Big 10, one Big 12). It says that assuming they sign where they are committed, that will be a record for a Georgia senior class.

That said... y'all reckon Buford's going to be any count this year?

Buford HS…city schools are the answer.  No need to spread that tax rev around the county…

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(08-05-2024, 09:18 AM)Replying to GriffWoody

(08-05-2024, 08:17 AM)Replying to RockmartDawg One thing grabbed my attention. It says that Buford has 11 seniors committed to Power 4 Conference teams (four SEC, two ACC, two Big 10, one Big 12). It says that assuming they sign where they are committed, that will be a record for a Georgia senior class.

That said... y'all reckon Buford's going to be any count this year?

Buford HS…city schools are the answer.  No need to spread that tax rev around the county…

Gwinnett County all star team is what it used to be. Their recruiting scope has expanded outside of Gwinnett, no doubt.

damn, that place is crazy

(08-05-2024, 08:30 AM)Replying to JC-DAWG83 Isn't Buford pretty good every year?  What do they do that makes them so good, recruit?

Buford's current level of success sort of goes back into the 1990s. Dexter Wood was at Marietta High School when Eric Zeier played there, and he put some fantastic teams on the field. He was hired by Buford and his first season there was 1995. They were in Class A back then. He didn't take over a "bad" program, per se. It just wasn't anywhere near the level where he would take it.

In Woods' first five seasons they made it as far as:

1995 - Semifinals
1996 - Quarterfinals
1997 - 1st round
1999 - 2nd round
2000 - Championship game (lost to Commerce)

After that it was on. They won state championships:

2001 - Class A
2002 - Class AA
2003 - Class AA

In Woods' last year, 2004, they lost to Charlton County in the state championship.

Dexter Woods stepped down as head coach and became the Athletic Director in 2005. Jess Simpson became head coach 2005-2016, winning 7 state championships (Class AA, AAA, and AAAA), playing in 3 other championship games where Buford lost.

Bryant Appling took over in 2019 and has won 3 state championships of his 5 years as head coach.

Buford is a city school and has definitely pulled in players from outside of their district for a very long time. That has only gotten easier with rules changes over the past few years. But they do have a stellar program in place, and even though they do load up with athletes, those athletes get top-notch coaching and conditioning. Buford is going to be around for a very long time.

my daughter went up there to play in the soccer playoffs when she was a freshman. kid was a forward at the time. the girl guarding her most of the time was on the Chilean national team. it is another world.