prep football preview
gwinnettdailypost.com
SECTION E ♦ Wednesday, August 14, 2024
SUPER SIX FOOTBALL
CENTER
Dale Zanine
Parkview senior Cortez Smith, a Georgia Bulldogs recruit, poses for a preseason photo at Hammersmith Sports in Suwanee.
of attention UGA-bound Smith anchors Parkview line
By Will Hammock will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com
A vocal crowd for an all-Gwinnett County matchup in the 2021 Corky Kell Classic, inside massive Mercedes-Benz Stadium, set up as a tough atmosphere for a first-time varsity player like Cortez Smith. At the time, he was a Parkview freshman. And just 13 years old, starting at center against Mill Creek. Smith began to show potential that afternoon in his first varsity football game, despite an inauspicious snap to quarterback Colin Houck. “His very first snap went over Colin’s head,” said then-Parkview head
coach Eric Godfree, now at North Gwinnett. “But he settled in and played well after that. … We felt comfortable (with him starting as a freshman). He was a big kid and the way he worked. We knew he was strong. You never want to put a young man in harm’s way that can’t physically handle it. And he was physically and mentally capable at the time.” Three seasons later, Smith is more than capable. The senior is a dominant Georgia Bulldogs recruit, something Godfree has enjoyed watching develop from across the county. “I’m very excited for him,” Godfree said. “He has the opportunity to go to Georgia and play ball for
them. He’s continued to get bigger and knowing him and his family and the amount of hard work and time they’ve put into it makes me happy.” Smith, now 6-foot-3, 320 pounds, can play any position on the line, but he is expected to play center, the position he stepped into as a freshman, once again this season. “(The coaches) kind of just put me at center (as a freshman),” Smith said. “I came in to play tackle as a freshman, but we had two big tackles. They’re at Georgia Tech and Morehouse now. They put me at center because I was smaller than them, but they wanted See SMITH, E9
Unique talent Rangy Perlotte a
versatile playmaker for the Wolves By Will Hammock will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com
SUPER SIX FOOTBALL Dale Zanine
Buford senior Jadon Perlotte is one of the nation’s top linebacker recruits.
INSIDE
TEAM-BY-TEAM SEASON PREVIEWS, PAGES E2-13
From the moment he first stepped on the football field to his upcoming senior season at Buford, Jadon Perlotte has worn the Kelly Green and Vegas Gold. “My dad coached me and my squad and most of the boys since we were 6 to eighth grade,” he said. “I’ve been rocking with the Wolves since I was 6.” Through those years, Perlotte watched plenty of Buford football at the youth level — his father Kenny, a former running back at Elbert County, is a longtime Gwinnett Football League coach for the Wolves — and at the high school level. From the start, he gained an appreciation of the standards within the program. That included a direct connection with his older brother Jordan, a 2015 Buford grad. A defensive end and fullback, Jordan Perlotte played on state championship football teams his final three seasons, the end of a run when the Wolves See PERLOTTE, E13
TEAM SCHEDULES, PAGE E12
WEEK-BY-WEEK SCHEDULES, PAGE E12