December 16, 2025 — For five straight years, the Cobb County School District (CCSD) has celebrated a national champion in college football. Every year since 2020, the winner of the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship Game has included at least one former Cobb Schools player on its roster. This year has the potential to add a sixth to that string of excitement. 

Out of the 12 teams selected for the CFP this year, four of them—Georgia, Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Tulane—have players who starred on Friday nights for a CCSD team. 

• Daniel Calhoun (Walton HS) - Georgia - redshirt freshman offensive lineman
• Danny Curran (Lassiter HS) - Georgia - redshirt Junior walk-on wide receiver
• Daniel Okonkwo (Hillgrove HS) - Georgia - freshman safety
• Dwight Phillips, Jr. (Pebblebrook HS) - Georgia - sophomore running back
• Bennett Christian (Allatoona HS) - Ohio State - senior tight end
• Cayden Lee (Kennesaw Mountain HS) - Ole Miss - junior wide receiver
• KC Eziomume (North Cobb HS) - Tulane - senior defensive back

When asked about his opportunity to play on the biggest college football stage, KC Eziomume was quick to credit his upbringing on the football fields of Cobb County.

“High school football there is different,” he said. “You’re going against the best competition all the time. Every player on the other side of the ball that you’re playing against is good, too. The atmosphere is big, and they take football seriously there.”

Eziomume’s Tulane team will face Ole Miss in the first round of the playoff. As a defensive back in that game, he could end up guarding Cayden Lee, who is a receiver for the Rebels. Lee has 33 receptions for 537 yards and three touchdowns this season. Lee’s high school coach is not surprised to see him in this position.

“Cayden was a very special player for us throughout his entire career,” Kennesaw Mountain Head Coach Caleb Carmean said proudly. “We are so excited to watch him. For him to accomplish these goals really means a lot to us here, because it shows current and future Mustangs that their goals can be reached. Cayden is truly ‘Mountain Made.’”

The winner of the Tulane and Ole Miss matchup will advance to the quarterfinals and get an opportunity to face Georgia with their stable of young Cobb talent. Dwight Phillips, Jr. and Daniel Calhoun are the most likely Bulldogs to see action in the CFP. Phillips has been handed the ball 35 times this season and churned out 210 yards with one touchdown. Some of those yards were likely run behind Calhoun, who has seen offensive line duty in eight of Georgia’s games. 

“I’m super pumped for Daniel,” Walton Head Coach Daniel Brunner admitted. “Not many get the opportunity that he has in front of him. It is outstanding to see our young men succeed at the next level. We've had two—Dom Blaylock and Austin Kirksey—that were fortunate enough to be on national championship teams. Watching our young men make it through the grind that is University of Georgia football and end up on top is super special.”

Freshman safety Okonkwo is in the middle of that grind. He has enjoyed playing time late in the season, even registering his first career interception. Seeing him on the field has Hillgrove fans excited about his future.

“I am elated that he is getting this experience,” Hillgrove Head Coach Justin DeShon said excitedly. “This is why we do it as coaches. It's so fulfilling to see kids get these types of opportunities.”

If Okonkwo were to earn a championship ring, he would become the second national champion to have come out of Hillgrove. Former Hawks running back Kenyan Drake won two titles (2012 and 2015) during his time at Alabama.

Tight end Bennett Christian is hoping his Ohio State team can secure his second championship with a run through the playoffs. If that happens, it would be back-to-back titles for Christian and the Buckeyes. 

When Christian’s Ohio State team won it all last year, that ended a run of two straight years where former North Cobb Warriors had won the national championship. Tulane’s Eziomume is hoping to become the third North Cobb alumnus to win in the last four years, but he knows his Green Wave team is an underdog in this playoff bracket. Despite that, he is full of confidence.

“We’re ready,” he said. “We’re ready to shock the world and make history.”

Whether it happens for Eziomume or not, based on recent history, it wouldn’t be shocking for one of the products of Cobb Schools football to win a national championship. Here’s hoping that trend continues.

RECENT NATIONAL CHAMPIONS FROM COBB SCHOOLS

• 2020 - Javon Baker (McEachern HS) - Alabama wide receiver
• 2020 - Jamil Burroughs (McEachern HS) - Alabama defensive lineman
• 2020 - Kyle Mann (McEachern HS) - Alabama defensive lineman
• 2020 - Christian Swann (Pebblebrook HS) - Alabama defensive back
• 2021 - Austin Kirksey (Walton HS) - Georgia walk-on quarterback
• 2021 - Steven Peterson (Harrison HS) - Georgia walk-on wide receiver
• 2021 - Julian Rochester (McEachern HS) - Georgia defensive lineman
• 2021 & 2022 - Dominick Blaylock (Walton HS) - Georgia wide receiver
• 2021 & 2022 - Ryland Goede (Kennesaw Mountain HS) - Georgia tight end
• 2022 - De'Nylon Morrissette (North Cobb HS) - Georgia wide receiver
• 2023 - Benjamin Hall (North Cobb HS) - Michigan running back
• 2024 - Bennett Christian (Allatoona HS) - Ohio State tight end

h/t Eziomume photo courtesy Tulane University Athletics