Who are the top football players from each Savannah-area high school in the 21st century?

Savannah has always had the reputation as a basketball town, but in recent years the Hostess City has become a hotbed for football talent.

With that in mind, we decided to take a look at who we think are the best players to come out of the high school programs in the Greater Savannah area since 2000. Most of the selections are players who went on to star in college, and even in the NFL, although there are a number of players from the last few years who are poised to make their mark at the next level.

Here's our list, let us know on social media which players you think should be mentioned when it comes to the best in the Savannah area since the year 2000.

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Richmond Hill -- Nick Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald earned region Player of the Year honors as a senior at Richmond Hill and went on to become a star quarterback at Mississippi State. He finished his college career as the all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks in SEC history with 3,607 yards rushing.

South Effingham -- Josh Mercer

Mercer was named the Savannah Morning News Offensive Player of the Year in 2012 when he rushed for 1,479 yards and scored 29 touchdowns as he helped the Mustangs to their deepest playoff run in school history to the state quarterfinals. He signed to play at North Carolina State and finished his playing career at Missouri Southern.

Effingham County -- Paul Carrington

The 6-foot-8, 225-pound defensive lineman graduated from Effingham County in 2001 and signed to play at UCF, where he was a star for the Knights. He signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent and played in 15 games in 2006.

Bradwell Institute -- Kevin Harris

The standout running back was named the Region 2-6A Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018 and rushed for 4,100 yards and 44 scores in his career. He went on to star at South Carolina where he led the SEC in rushing as a junior and was a first-team all-conference pick. Harris was a sixth round pick in the NFL Draft by New England in 2022 and has a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Patriots in the last two seasons.

Jenkins -- Ben Patrick

The standout Warrior tight end was named the winner of the Ashley Dearing Award as the most versatile male high school athlete in Savannah in his senior year of 2002, when he signed with Duke. He played with the Blue Devils for three seasons and finished his college career at Delaware. A seventh-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, Patrick played four seasons with Arizona and had 45 catches for 446 yards and four touchdowns in his career. He caught a touchdown pass for Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 when Pittsburgh beat the Cardinals 27-24.

Liberty County -- Raekwon McMillan

McMillan was the All-Greater Savannah Defensive Player of the Year in his senior season of 2013, when he was named the High School Butkus Award as the nation's top prep linebacker. He went on to star at Ohio State, where he was a second-team All-American selection. He was selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He played at Miami from 2017-2019, and then with the Raiders in 2020, before joining the Patriots in 2021. He has 233 tackles in his NFL career and scored his first career touchdown in a Monday Night Football game on a fumble return against the Cardinals last season.

Islands -- Kalen DeLoach

DeLoach was named the All-Greater Savannah Defensive Player of the Year in his senior season of 2018. He signed with Florida State and became a star linebacker for the Seminoles, earning Defensive MVP honors for the team in his senior season this year, when he was an All-ACC pick for an FSU squad that finished the season with a 13-1 record. He has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Benedictine -- Brad Stewart

Stewart was a star on both sides of the ball for Benedictine as a receiver and defensive back as he helped lead the Cadets to their first state championship with a win over Greater Atlanta Christian in the Class 2A finals in 2014. Stewart had 68 catches for 1,394 yards and 20 total touchdowns, with eight interceptions as a senior. He earned a scholarship to Georgia Tech and played in every game during his college career. He was an All-ACC Academic selection three times.

New Hampstead -- Calvin Turner Jr.

Turner was a standout dual-threat quarterback at New Hampstead who threw for 1,450 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 1,763 yards and 15 scores as a senior. He signed to play at Jacksonville University and was an All-Pioneer Football League first-team pick, before transferring to the University of Hawaii, where he was an All-Mountain West first-team selection and an honorable mention All-American pick by Phil Steele.

Beach -- James Steadman

Steadman was a standout quarterback for the Bulldogs and led his team to 7-3 records three years in a row in his time as a starter from 2001-2003. He earned a scholarship to play at Morehouse College, where he was an All-SIAC selection as a wide receiver.

Savannah High -- Frank Kearse

Kearse was an All-Greater Savannah first-team pick as an offensive lineman, and starred on both sides of the line in his prep days at Savannah High. He went on to star as a defensive lineman at Alabama A&M and was selected in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He played with the Panthers, Cowboys and Washington in an NFL career that ended with a stint at New England in 2016.

Groves -- Jonathan Armstrong

A four-year starter at Groves, Armstrong ran for more than 3,800 yards and 38 touchdowns in his prep career with the Rebels. The winner of the 2004 Finocchiaro Award as the top high school football player in Savannah, Armstrong went on to play at Albany State.

Johnson -- Jonathan Roberts

The standout linebacker helped lead Johnson to its only GHSA state playoff win in 2012 with a victory over Chapel Hill. He was named the Region 1-3A Defensive Player of the Year after recording 90 tackles on the season. He signed to play at University of Charleston West Virginia.

Windsor Forest -- Eron Riley

The former Knight football and basketball star was named the Savannah Morning News Offensive Player of the Year in 2004. The standout wide receiver went on to play at Duke, where he was a two-time All-ACC selection. He joined the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent and had stints with the Panthers and Broncos, playing one game with the Jets.

Calvary Day -- Demarcus Dobbs

Dobbs was named the winner of the 2005 Finocchiaro Award as the top high school football player in Savannah. The standout defensive lineman went on to star at Georgia. He signed with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and played in San Francisco until 2014, when he joined Seattle — playing with the Seahawks through the 2015 season.

Savannah Country Day -- Barry Kleinpeter

Kleinpeter was a star quarterback at SCD and put his name in the Savannah Country Day record books with 6,927 career yards passing and 93 total touchdowns. He signed to play at New Hampshire, where he will be a redshirt sophomore next season.

Savannah Christian -- Jalen Myrick

Myrick was a junior standout on both sides of the ball for the SCPS squad that won the 2011 GHSA Class A championship. The speedster also starred on the SCPS track and field team. He played college ball at Minnesota, where he earned All-Big 10 honors. He was picked in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft by Jacksonville and played with the Jaguars that season. He later had stints on the rosters of the Vikings and Falcons. He is now coaching at Winona State in Minnesota.

Bryan County -- Austin Clemons

Clemons was named the Region 3A Division I Player of the Year this season as he helped lead Bryan County to the best season in school history as the team won the first playoff game in school history and reached the state seminals. He rushed for for 1,803 yards and 22 touchdowns and had 107 tackles, including 22.5 for losses, with 6.5 sacks and a pair of interceptions. Clemons signed with Middle Tennessee State.

Bethesda Academy -- Jaden Wright

As a senior, Wright set a school record by rushing for 2,198 yards and scoring 35 total touchdowns, leading the Blazers to the SCISA state championship game. He had 52 career touchdowns and rushed for 3,795 yards in four seasons. He signed to play at Presbyterian, and recently entered the Transfer Portal with two years of eligibility left.

Memorial Day -- Winston Wright

Wright won the Ashley Dearing Award as the most versatile male high school athlete in Savannah in his senior year of 2019, when he was also named the All-Greater Male Athlete of the Year. Wright signed to play at West Virginia and earned All-Big 12 second team honors as a wide receiver. He transfered to Florida State, entered the Transfer Portal and has signed to play at East Carolina. Wright has 133 career receptions in college for 1,374 yards and seven scores.

St. Andrew's -- Tate Dixon

Dixon was a star on both sides of the line during an excellent career with the Lions. He was a GISA All-State selection his senior year and earned a scholarship to play at Jacksonville University.

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: NFL players headline top Savannah are football players since 2000