The Tennessee Sports Writers Association has released its first wave of all-state selections from the 2025 football season, beginning with the TSSAA's three private-school classifications in Division II, and 21 players from Chattanooga schools made the list.
Baylor, the DII-AAA state champion, had a city-best eight selections on the D-II all-state teams released late Wednesday night, and also included were six players from McCallie — the Red Raiders' top rival who lost to them in the state semifinals this past fall — as well as four from Boyd Buchanan, two from Notre Dame and one from Silverdale Baptist Academy, with all three of those schools having qualified for the playoffs in DII-AA.
The Baylor contingent, which helped the program finish a season unbeaten (12-0) for the first time since 1973 and win its second state championship in four years — under the direction of Erik Kimrey, who took over ahead of the 2022 season, the Red Raiders have yet to miss the BlueCross Bowl title game at Finley Stadium — included four players selected on each side of the ball.
On offense were senior quarterback Briggs Cherry, junior running back David Gabriel Georges and senior linemen Charlie Edgeworth and Gabe Osenda. On the other side of the ball, Baylor's four selections were lineman Jayden Arenas-Michel and linebacker Khori Faulker, plus Kolby Barrett and Jamyan Theodore in the secondary; Faulkner is the only junior among those defenders, with the other three seniors.
Cherry, who signed with Louisville, was also a Tennessee Titans Mr. Football finalist for the 2025 season after completing 75% of his passes for 2,958 yards and 33 touchdowns. He did not throw an interception through his first 204 attempts.
(READ MORE: Baylor's David Gabriel Georges named national player of the year)
Gabriel Georges, rated the nation's No. 2 running back in the class of 2027, ran for 1,756 yards and 27 touchdowns, he earned his second straight Mr. Football award for DII-AAA after being named MVP of Baylor's BlueCross Bowl victory against Brentwood Academy last month.
Osenda, a five-star University of Tennessee signee, and Edgeworth, a Louisville signee, were the Red Raiders' massive tackles with each close to 6-foot-8 and 330 pounds. They helped pave the way for an offense that amassed 6,256 total yards — including 121 explosive plays of 20-plus yards — and scored 63 touchdowns in 2025.
Arenas-Michel signed with Middle Tennessee State University after finishing with 26.5 solo tackles, seven for loss, six sacks, seven quarterback hurries and six pass breakups. Barrett, a Mississippi State signee, finished with 68 tackles and five interceptions, including one in the BlueCross Bowl.
In his first season with the Red Raiders, Faulkner finished with 107 tackles, including 16 for loss and 11 sacks, plus seven quarterback hurries. Theodore, a Tennessee signee who will play cornerback in college, finished with 33.5 tackles, six pass breakups and two interceptions. The speedster also led Baylor's offense with 1,026 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.
TSWA's D-II all-state football team includes 21 Chattanooga stars | Chattanooga Times Free Press
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