High school girls ran agility drills, position work and one-on-one flag-pulling reps on the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this week as the Atlanta Falcons hosted their NFL FLAG College Showcase, giving Georgia athletes a shot to be seen by college coaches. Participants competed on the field and completed drills designed to test their speed and technique, then spoke directly with coaches about recruitment and potential scholarship opportunities.
As reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, the event drew players onto the same field where the Falcons play, part of a showcase built specifically to connect standout high schoolers with NAIA and NJCAA programs. According to the event's own registration materials on register.ryzer.com, the showcase ran Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and was billed as a one-day, pro-style workout in front of college coaches. It was open to girls with high school graduation years between 2025 and 2029, and organizers capped registration at 200 participants on a first-come, first-served basis, with walk-ups welcomed but not guaranteed a spot, per the event listing on femalesinflag.com.
A Pilot Program That Grew Into a Statewide Sport
The showcase is the latest step in a Falcons initiative that dates back nearly a decade. The team launched a girls flag football pilot program in 19 high schools in Gwinnett County in 2018, a project that helped set the stage for Georgia becoming the fourth state in the country to sanction girls flag football as an official high school sport in 2020, according to the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons' program describes the college showcase as a way to give athletes exposure to collegiate play with the potential for scholarship opportunities down the line.
Georgia's growth has been steep since that initial pilot. The team's page notes more than 300 Georgia high schools have offered girls flag football as an official sport, and the Georgia High School Association reported the state saw almost 5,000 participants the year before its own report was published, per the Georgia High School Association. Nationally, the GHSA notes nine states have now sanctioned the sport for girls, with 17 more in various stages of pilot programs, and about 500,000 girls ages 6 to 17 played flag football in 2023 — a 63 percent jump since 2019. That surge comes as flag football has been announced as an Olympic sport for both men and women at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Other States, Other Teams Running Similar Plays
Georgia isn't alone in watching the sport take off. Alabama has sanctioned girls flag football, while Montana has 28 schools offering it, according to the Falcons' program page. Arizona expected an additional 40 to 50 schools to join the sport in 2024, on top of the 54 schools that competed in the state's first girls flag football championship in November 2024, according to reporting from BSN Sports. Florida, described as home to the longest-standing girls flag football program, has grown to more than 360 schools and nearly 10,000 participants, per the same report.
Other NFL franchises have also been associated with girls flag football. The New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals are among them. Pittsburgh and Canton have likewise been mentioned in connection with NFL flag-football events; VisitPITTSBURGH and the Pro Football Hall of Fame are among the organizations referenced.
For the Georgia girls who took the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this week, the showcase offered a rare chance to be seen up close by NAIA and NJCAA coaches on the same turf where the Falcons play on Sundays — a tangible marker of how far the sport has come since those first 19 pilot schools in Gwinnett County.
