One of the state’s better football players will not be able to play in his team’s opening game tonight because the GHSA has not recognized his eligibility.

Bo Walker, a running back who has committed to Georgia, transferred to Stockbridge from Cedar Grove in February. Stockbridge’s new coach, Kendrick Callier, was Cedar Grove’s offensive coordinator last season when Walker rushed for 1,579 yards and 29 touchdowns for the Saints’ Class 3A championship team.

GHSA rules do not allow athletes who follow a coach to a new school to participate in athletics for a year, so Walker will not play for Class 4A’s No. 2 seed Stockbridge in today’s game at Dutchtown. His final call-up is next week.

Walker had already enrolled at Stockbridge before the school announced Callier as coach in late March, Callier said, but Walker’s appeal was unsuccessful.

GHSA Bylaw 1.72 states in part: “A transferring student-athlete … shall be ineligible for one year if … the player who played for a coach at one school … followed that coach when he/she transferred to a GHSA school.”

The GHSA is investigating allegations of undue influence by a coach to persuade an athlete to change.

Stockbridge lost a hardship petition for Walker on Aug. 8. Stockbridge can appeal again Tuesday. Callier said this is Walker’s last chance to assert his eligibility. Final appeals will be presented to the GHSA Board of Trustees.

“Everyone thinks he moved because of me, but that’s not true,” Callier said. “It’s a real family issue. He came to help his great-grandfather. His great-grandfather is sick and his great-grandmother is too old to help, and that’s why.”

The GHSA does not comment on pending appeals.

Walker is a senior. He practiced with the team over the summer but hasn’t practiced in protective gear since this month, Callier said.

If Walker is not granted eligibility, he would be the second Georgia player in recent years that the GHSA has deemed ineligible for his final season.

In August 2021, sophomore linebacker Gabe Harris was no longer allowed to play for Valdosta after transferring from Thomas County Central, even though his situation was different than Walker’s. The GHSA ruled that Harris had not legally moved to the Valdosta school district, which is a requirement for immediate eligibility. Harris then played his final season at IMG Academy in Florida.

GHSA rules also do not allow students found ineligible at one GHSA school to be declared eligible at another school unless they apply to another one. Callier said Walker has no immediate plans to transfer again.

“He’s so positive that it seems like he doesn’t want to think about these things,” Callier said. “He doesn’t like it when I bring up Plan B. He thinks everything will go his way.”