National Signing Day: DeKalb County expecting 47 senior football players to commit

By Mark Brock

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) kicked off National Signing Day on Jan. 29 with 36 senior football players committing to extend their football and educational careers. 

Eleven more are expected next week as Redan High with five seniors signing on Feb. 11 and Stephenson High with 6 seniors on Feb. 12 hold their ceremonies to wrap of the signing season to bring the total to 47.

Lithonia High School’s Head Coach Kevin Barnes’ 2025 senior class led the county with nine signees on Wednesday capitalizing on a 6-4 campaign after winning just one game over the previous two seasons under the prior head coach.

The Lithonia Bulldog group includes linebackers Jalen Berry (Morehouse) and Zechariah Ramsey (Missouri Valley), free safety Kaydne Miller (Kennesaw State), offensive linemen Jalen Renau-Wilkes (Delaware State) and Robert Washington (East Mississippi CC), strong safety Musiq Oldum (Alabama A&M), athlete Brent Johnson (Wheeling University), defensive end Tyler Cook (LaGrange College) and cornerback Tyler Johnson (Culver Stockton).

Cedar Grove, Columbia, Martin Luther King Jr. and McNair all boasted four signees, while Miller Grove and Southwest DeKalb had three sign on with colleges. Druid Hills (2), Tucker (2) and Lakeside (1) rounded out the 13 DeKalb schools with signees this year.

Some of the notable players include Lakeside defensive lineman Makhi Williams-Lee (Clemson), Druid Hills running back Zach Manning (Norfolk State), ML King running back Amari Session (Jackson State), McNair quarterback Jeremy Victory (Defiance College OH), Southwest DeKalb receiver Samuel Turner (Auburn) and Tucker defensive back Elijah Ffrench (Georgia Southern).

Fifteen states are represented amongst the current 36 signees and the 11 expected next week. Fifteen players stayed within the state of Georgia and seven are heading to Missouri. Other states represented include Alabama (4), Mississippi (2), North Carolina (2), Kansas (1), Virginia (1), South Carolina (1), Delaware (1), West Virginia (1), Ohio (1), Minnesota (1), New York (1), Pennsylvania (1) and Kentucky (1).

Twenty-six football programs dipped into DeKalb County to help build their football teams this year.

Mark Brock is the DeKalb County School District’s Athletics Specialist.