Geno Atkins was a two-sport star for St. Thomas Aquinas in football and track and field, where he won a state championship in the shot put as a senior.
On the football field, Atkins led his school to back-to-back state runner-up finishes in his last two years of high school as a junior and a senior. As a senior in 2005, Atkins had 117 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and was named Class 5A Defensive Player of the Year.
Atkins was a two-time All-SEC selection at the University of Georgia before becoming one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the NFL for a decade, playing his whole career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Atkins was an eight-time Pro Bowler, three-time NFL All-Pro and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
