THOMASVILLE — The inaugural class for the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame includes three southwest Georgia standouts.

The late Bill Stanfill, a former Cairo High star, former Thomasville star William Andrews and Charlie Ward Jr., the Thomas County Central quarterback who went on to win a Heisman Trophy, were named as part of the first class. 

The first class will be inducted formally on October 22 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. 

Stanfill was named Class AA lineman of the year his senior season at Cairo. He was the Outland Trophy winner as best lineman and an all-American in 1968 at the University of Georgia. 

Stanfill, a first-round pick, played in the NFL for eight seasons, all with the Miami Dolphins. He was named to the Pro Bowl five times and was a star on the Dolphins’ “No Name Defense,” which led Miami to two Super Bowl titles. 

Stanfill passed away in 2016.

Ward was a first-team all-state quarterback in his senior season at Central, and was named state offensive player of the year in Class AAA by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

He played football and basketball at Florida State. He was named the Heisman Trophy winner in 1993, and he also won the Davey O’Brien Award and the Maxwell Award that year as he led the Seminoles to a national championship.

He played in the NBA for 12 years and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. 

Ward is currently the head boys basketball coach at Florida High.

Andrews starred on Thomasville’s national championship team. He was a two-time all-state pick by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

He played at Auburn University, and he was taken in the third round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons in 1979. As a pro, he ran for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons and topped the 1,000-yard mark four times in his first five campaigns. He was chosen to four Pro Bowls and was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.