Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Charles Henderson junior defensive end Zion Grady has been named to the Preseason MaxPreps Junior All-American Team.

This is Grady’s second straight Preseason All-American honor after MaxPreps named him to the Preseason Sophomore All-America team last season. The Junior All-American Team compiles the top 11th grade high school football players in the country, according to MaxPreps.

Grady is rated as one of the top 20 players in the entire country for the Class of 2025, according to 247Sports. He’s rated as the No. 1 edge rusher in the country and the No. 4-ranked player in the State of Alabama. Last season, Grady earned Class 5A Lineman of the Year and The Messenger’s Defensive Player of the Year, while also being named All-State and All-Messenger. He finished the season with a staggering 108 tackles, 37 tackles-for-loss, 22 sacks, three forced fumbles and three blocked field goals as the Trojans finished the season as 5A Runner-Up.

Grady holds scholarship offers from all over the country and this summer narrowed down his Top 10 college destinations to Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Michigan, Louisville, Georgia, Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and USC.

Grady is one of just six players from Alabama to earn First-Team Junior All-American honors, while a total of nine players from the state made the first or second-team. Also joining Grady as a Junior All-American from the Wiregrass is Elba running back Alvin Henderson, who landed as a Second-Team Junior All-American. Also earning Junior All-American honors from the state are former Pike Road running Anthony Rogers, Saraland receiver Ryan Williams, Vigor lineman Micah DeBose, Thompson defensive back Anquon Fegans, Birmingham defensive back Na’eem Offord, Spain Park defensive lineman Jared Smith and Southside-Selma athlete Derick Smith.