ĪATLANTA — Joe Burns and Jessie Tuggle, two names well familiar to area football fans, will be inducted into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame Saturday as members of its third class of inductees.

A Griffin native and Valdosta State legend, Tuggle played with the Blazers from 1983-86, racking up multiple Gulf South Conference honors. Tuggle went undrafted out of college, signing with the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent.

All Tuggle did in Atlanta was become one of the team’s most beloved players, leading the league in tackles four times over a 14-year career and make five Pro Bowls. Atlanta finally made the Super Bowl in 1999 near the end of Tuggle’s career.

Tuggle’s number has been retired by Valdosta State. The Falcons inducted him into their Ring of Honor inaugural class in 2004, two years after Atlanta honored him with Jessie Tuggle Day.

Burns played his high school ball at Thomas County Central.

A four-time Player of the Year on Associated Press and Atlanta Journal-Constitution All-State lists, Burns’ Yellow Jackets teams went 29-1 and won two titles for head coach Ed Pilcher

Burns’ junior and senior seasons.

Burns turned in 5,006 rushing yards for his high school days and an average yards per carry of 9.3. Dynamic all over the field, he returned four kicks for touchdowns and had 68 total touchdowns.

At Georgia Tech, Burns was named first team All-

ACC in 2001 and had 2,634 career rushing yards. Though undrafted, Burns played four NFL seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

The Hall of Fame broadcast will be shown live on NFHS Network beginning at 6:45 p.m. The ceremony takes place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

There are fewer players with southern Georgia connections in the third Hall of Fame class, but those from the area made a big impact in college, or in the pros.

Lauren Hargrove played at Fitzgerald before moving on to the University of Georgia. His 1948 Fitzgerald team was the only Purple Hurricane squad to win the big title until 2021. Hargrove had more than 60 touchdowns in his high school career and for more than 20 years had UGA’s single-game record of 167 yards, which came against Auburn in 1951. Hargrove was the No. 92 overall pick in the 1953 NFL Draft, but did not play professionally.

Thomas Davis (Randolph-Clay), Len Hauss (Wayne County), Demaryius Thomas (West Laurens), Leonard Pope (Americus) and Kent Hill (Americus) are among other names who played high school football in southern Georgia.

Pope was a two-time state champion at Americus playing for Erik Solliday, now Tiftarea Academy’s head coach.

Four players from the segregated Georgia Interscholastic Association are being inducted: Silas Jamison, George Atkinson, Tommy Hart and Jack Pitts.

Pitts, a quarterback from Decatur’s Trinity High School, was considered one of the nation’s top prospects during his senior season of 1965. Playing at a time before either Georgia or Georgia Tech integrated its teams, Pitts instead signed with Michigan State. Injuries cut short his college playing career.

Before Pitts played collegiately, he had a bit of a local connection. Trinity defeated Tifton’s Wilson High in the 1965 Class A state championship, played at the stadium now known as Brodie Field.

Atkinson played for Sol C. Johnson, Hart for Ballard-Hudson and Jamison for Atlanta’s Washington High.

Others in the Class of 2024 for the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame are Tray Blackmon (LaGrange), Jeff Bower (Roswell), Frank Broyles (Decatur), Edgar Chandler (Cedartown), Jonathan Dwyer (Kell), David Greene (South Gwinnett), Terry Harvey (Dacula), Alfred Jenkins (Hogansville), Homer Jordan (Cedar Shoals), Robert Lavette (Cartersville), Hutson Mason (Lassiter), Bill Mayo (Dalton), Jerry Mays (Thomson), Alec Ogletree (Newnan), David Rocker (Fulton), Andy Spiva (Chamblee), Everett Strupper (Riverside Military) and Ben Zambiasi (Mount de Sales).

Becky Taylor is on the committee of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame.