Newnan's Ogletree twins stand out with local youth

High school football stars serve as role models to the area's youngest players
Newnan High School football players Alec and Alexander Ogletree are arguably the state's most famous twins. Alec is considered one of the nation's top prospects and has committed to Georgia over more than 50 scholarship offers, while Alexander -nicknamed "Zander" -is still going through the recruiting process.

Newnan Cougars football standouts Zander (left) and Alec Ogletree work as chain holders for area youth games on Saturday mornings.

This season, AJC reporter Michael Carvell and photographer Jason Getz are following the twins as they deal with the pressures of recruiting, new-found stardom and attempting to lead No. 4-ranked Newnan to the Class AAAAA state championship.

Kevin Carlisle, director of Coweta County's Hunter Recreation Complex, reflects on knowing the twins since they played youth sports:

They've always been good kids. Their mom used to work for us part time as a gym supervisor, so I got to know them more on a personal level. She would bring them with her, and those two would play basketball one-on-one a lot.

But the one thing that stuck out is that Alec and Zander would get out on a regular-sized football field and play one-on-one football with each other.

They'd kick off, hike the ball and take sweeps. They had to chase each other down and tackle. They'd be out there for a couple of hours each time, and just watching them was a lot of fun.

Alec had one of the hardest hits I've ever seen in our football league for 9- and 10-year-olds. There was this running back about to cross the goal line and Alec came out of nowhere and leveled him. The whole crowd went 'Ooh.'

Now [the twins] work for us on Saturdays as part of the chain crew for youth football. People approach them all the time, congratulating them on a good game and wishing them well. They seem to take all the attention in stride.

From what I can tell, it's not a big deal for them. You don't see any big egos whatsoever. They probably think it's cool but wondering why people are making such a big deal because they're just doing what they love to do.

This year, we had one of the 8-year-olds [Lanier Wright] ask for No. 39 in honor of his favorite football player, Alec. You don't see that a lot, but the Ogletrees are role models to a lot of the kids. That's pretty cool, to have an 8-year-old want a specific number for a high school athlete. That's when it hit home for me, how much the [twins] have accomplished since playing in the [youth leagues].

They have a very bright future, and it couldn't happen to nicer young men. They are very grounded and have a great family-support system. Their parents have done a wonderful job teaching them about the fundamentals of life in general.

(Edit:Ruby)