From undrafted free agents to first-round picks, Hillgrove High School has established a reputation for producing NFL talent. Reuben Lowery, a former standout at the school, became the latest Hillgrove alumnus to secure a spot on an NFL roster after making the Baltimore Ravens’ final 53-man squad.
Lowery, who played college football at Chattanooga and earned an electrical engineering degree, joined the Ravens as an undrafted free agent. He made an impression during rookie camp and preseason by adapting quickly to the team’s playbook and contributing in multiple roles. On final cut-down day, Lowery learned from general manager Eric DeCosta that he had made the team.
“I haven’t actually digested the moment yet, but I think that’s also a good thing, not to stay complacent in this moment, but to continue to work,” Lowery said in a story on the Ravens’ website. “One day or one moment, I’m going to definitely look back on it and be like, ‘Wow, this is insane.'”
With his place secured on the roster ahead of Baltimore’s season opener against Buffalo next Sunday, Lowery joins six other former Hillgrove players currently with NFL teams. These include Evan Engram (Denver Broncos), Bradley Chubb (Miami Dolphins), Chig Okonkwo (Tennessee Titans), Myles Murphy (Cincinnati Bengals), Jaylen McCollough (Los Angeles Rams), and Jalen Royals (Kansas City Chiefs). Together they represent nearly half of all Cobb County players starting the 2025 season in the league.
Several of these athletes were teammates on Hillgrove’s 2018 squad that posted a 12-1 record before falling narrowly in state playoffs. The group credits much of their development to former coach Phil Ironside and his staff.
“The standards coach set for us carried over to college and we continue to live by it in the NFL,” Engram said during Murphy’s football camp at Hillgrove earlier this summer. “(Ironside) instilled discipline. It was the art of being coached. As a player, you don’t realize it until you move away.”
Engram has become a two-time Pro Bowler with stints at both New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars before joining Denver as a key target for quarterback Bo Nix.
Chubb was named 2018 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year after being drafted by Denver and later recorded an 11-sack season with Miami prior to missing last year due to injury.
Murphy enters his third year with Cincinnati as another first-round pick expected to make significant contributions this season. Okonkwo is projected as an important part of Tennessee’s offense under new quarterback Cam Ward while Royals aims for big plays alongside Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
McCollough joined Los Angeles as an undrafted free agent after setting records for starts at Tennessee; last season he tallied four interceptions including one returned for a touchdown.
“(Ironside) did a great job implementing the standard,” McCollough said. “He did even a better job of allowing us to rise to that level.”
During Ironside’s tenure from 2006 through 2018, Hillgrove won four region titles with multiple players advancing into professional football—including Synjyn Days and Brandon Chubb—and Kenyan Drake spending several years in the league.
“All the players handled adversity, but, more importantly, all of them let you coach them,” Ironside said. “They all came from great families, had a good home life and they stayed humble.”
Current coach Justin DeShon has continued building on that foundation while alumni regularly return for youth camps aimed at inspiring future prospects like Georgia Tech commit Chris Carbin.
Reflecting on his experience with past coaches and teammates during those events this summer, Murphy summarized: “As a unit, they were phenomenal,” he said. “They taught us lessons in life and they helped us understand the game.”
