ALBANY, Ga. - A big, long, huge upside defensive end. A smart coach’s kid putting up electric numbers at QB. And an explosive alley-oop dunker returned big play wide receiver. Three Division 1 teammates in the same class in south Georgia that are just starting to make their way onto college radars.
Meet Dougherty’s 2029 trio of dudes.
Edge Makaih Redding (6-5, 190), signal caller Micah Joyner (5-11, 175) and wideout Jherel Gibson (6-3, 183) are racking up big numbers already as sophomores.
Gibson, who holds a 3.7 GPA, has 14 catches for 327 yards and five touchdowns.
“He has an amazing upside,” Dougherty coach Uyl Joyner told Auburn Undercover recently at his high school. “Jherel has a freaky upside. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached and I’ve coached some good ones coming from (Carver-Columbus). He’s gotten to where he wants to work hard and he's pushing himself to be the best he can be every day now.”
Gibson, an accomplished hooper who also plans to run track and play baseball this spring, said he’s hoping to visit Auburn this fall for a game.
“I’m trying to win region player of the year and trying to go 15-0,” he added.
The head coach’s son, Micah Joyner, holds a 4.0 GPA and has been lights out this season.
As a sophomore, through six games, Joyner has hit 72-of-107 passes, a 67% completion percentage, for 1,419 yards with 22 touchdowns to four interceptions. He’s also rushed 22 times for 146 yards with two touchdowns.
“The good thing about having him there is he goes home with me every night so he doesn’t have a choice,” coach Joyner said. “He is the reason why we are going to have the big turnaround on our team. He has been the leader I knew he could be and he’s pushing our guys to work hard in the weight room and on the field. And you can see it, the guys are rallying around him and making plays.”
East Carolina has offered. He visited Auburn in January and returned for a spring practice.
“I love the atmosphere,” Micah Joyner said. “They practice physical and fast at all times. I think their new style of offense fits me very well with a lot of RPOs and tempo.”
Redding, who may have the highest ceiling of them all, can redirect and really run. He has the goods to be a 245-pound SEC edge down the road given his athleticism, frame and gigantic hands.
“Makaiah just knows hard work,” coach Joyner said. “He’s late to the game. He just started playing in the 7th grade. You can see his speed. He can run from the other side of the field and run down a jet sweep and knock the crap out of the kid. His upside is so great. We just have to get him stronger and he’s been working very hard in the weight room.”
As a sophomore, Redding has 25 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five hurries and five sacks.
Redding, who holds a 2.7 GPA, visited Florida State and said trips to Auburn and Albany State are ones he’d like to take next.
Doughty (5-1) returns to action October 16 hosting Cario.
“My goal is to be All-Region and for my team we have to go win state,” Redding said.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
