Trion High School graduate and longtime college football coach Stacy Searels has received one of Georgia high school football’s highest honors.

Searels was inducted into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 24, during ceremonies at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

A 1982 graduate of Trion High School, Searels was an All-State offensive lineman for the Bulldogs before continuing his football career at Auburn University.

At Auburn, Searels became one of the Southeastern Conference’s top offensive linemen. He was a three-year starter, earned first-team All-SEC honors in both 1986 and 1987, and was named a first-team All-American in 1987.

During his college career, Searels helped block for legendary Auburn running back Bo Jackson, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1985.

Searels was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 1988 NFL Draft. He played professionally with the Chargers and Miami Dolphins before beginning a successful college coaching career.

His coaching career has included stops at Auburn, Appalachian State, Cincinnati, LSU, Georgia, Texas, Miami and North Carolina.

Searels returned to the University of Georgia in 2022 as offensive line coach under head coach Kirby Smart.

The Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 includes 33 former players recognized for their contributions to high school football across the state.

For the Trion community, Searels’ induction adds another chapter to the Bulldogs’ long football tradition, recognizing a hometown athlete whose career took him from the high school football field in Trion to college football’s biggest stages.