Who 615 Preps voted for as TSSAA Mr. Football finalists

Mr. Football ballots were sent out last week and the regular season has officially come to an end. So who did the 615 Preps crew put on its collective ballot?

Later today we’ll have something more on who each of our guys believes will win this year’s awards. For now, though, take a look at who we thought should at least be in the finalist discussion. Our selections were mostly from teams in our coverage area, with a couple of exceptions.

*Note: The TSSAA Mr. Football award is a regular-season award and nominations were due on Oct. 28. The banquet where each winner will be announced is held the week after the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Class 6A

1. Braden Graham, Riverdale, Sr.: Is there a quarterback regardless of class who’s had a better year than Graham? This year he completed 73% of his passes for 2,713 yards with 35 touchdowns and only two picks leading the Warriors to the Region 3-6A title.

2. Daune Morris, Oakland, Jr.: Morris has been a spark plug for the Patriots’ high-powered ground attack with 1,800 all-purpose yards and 23 total touchdowns. Only a junior, the best is yet to come.

3. Atticus Fiorita, Mt. Juliet, Jr.: Fiorita’s been a force up front racking up 65 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and leads the area in sacks with 14.5.

Class 5A

1. Dominic Reed, Centennial, Sr.: Reed is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball racking up 1,201 all-purpose yards and 23 touchdowns. He’s somehow even better on defense recording 97 tackles, 26 tackles for loss eight pass breakups, seven sacks, and three forced fumbles.

2. Eric Hazzard, Page, Jr.: Grown man. That’s how we’ve described Hazzard all year and there’s a good reason for that. The Patriots defensive leader seems to be in the backfield every play blowing up any play that is unfortunate enough to come his way.

3. Kaiki Baker, Hillsboro, Sr.: Baker is a two-way beast for the Burros and we just love his overall game. On offense, he can score at any time, while on defense the UAB commitment has developed into a reliable shutdown safety.

Class 4A

1. Zeion Simpson-Smith, Pearl-Cohn, Sr.: Simpson-Smith is a defensive beast for the Firebirds racking up 78 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, six sacks, and three fumble recoveries. Oh, and he’s a pretty good offensive threat rushing 565 yards and eight touchdowns. Yeah, he’s pretty good.

2. Gabe Borders, Macon County, Sr.: Offense, defense, special teams, is there anything Borders can’t do? His numbers may not be as prolific as they were last year but you can’t deny his weekly impact. 

3. Keshawn Tarleton, Pearl-Cohn, Sr.: Tarleton has continually gotten better since first starting as a sophomore and is now enjoying his best season. In 10 games he complete 63% of his passes for 1,754 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Class 3A

1. Jordan Houston, East Nashville, Sr.: Having a defensive threat that can score touchdowns is always a major plus but when that threat is a linebacker, even better. The Eagles have that in Houston who has numerous defensive scores to go along with a team-high 71 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five interceptions, three fumble recoveries and three sacks.

2. Brian Rager, Liberty Creek, Sr.: The Wolves are hosting their first-ever playoff game this year, and a major reason why is Rager. In 10 games he threw for 1,358 yards and 19 touchdowns to go along with 796 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.

3. Justyce Law, Stratford, Sr.: Another standout from Region 5-3A, Law had some fun this year throwing 1,965 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also had another seven touchdowns and 401 yards on the ground.

Class 2A

1. Isaiah Groves, East Robertson, Jr.: Groves isn’t much of a talker and opts to let his play speak for itself. Well, it’s done a lot of talking this year averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground en route to 2,036 yards and 19 touchdowns.

2. Peyton Hix, Smith County, Sr.: Hix does a little bit of everything for the Owls defense recording 110 total tackles this year. He’s also their top shutdown corner with six interceptions, returning two for scores. Hix has five offensive touchdowns as well and averages 40 yards per punt with a long of 63 yards.

3. Cole Gregory, Trousdale County, Sr.: Is there anything Gregory can’t do? On offense, he rushed for 963 yards and eight touchdowns while throwing for 1,017 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s even better defensively racking up 78 tackles, eight tackles for loss, six sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Class 1A

1. Dawson White, Moore County, Sr.: 1A isn’t exactly loaded in our area when it comes to Mr. Football candidates but a Midstate player we think deserves to be at the top of the 1A list is White. Between passing and rushing the ball, White’s accounted for 2,824 total yards and 37 touchdowns. That’s just absurd. 

2. Aubrey Link, Red Boiling Springs, Sr.: The Bulldogs closed out the regular season with the second-most wins in program history finishing the year at 5-5. That success has come on the heels of Link being a well-respected leader on both sides of the ball at linebacker and quarterback.

3. Dalton Hancock, Gordonsville, Jr.: Hancock has stepped up amidst some injuries to some other key players and established himself as the Tigers’ No. 1 receiver. Entering the final game of the regular season he had 625 yards and eight touchdowns on 35 receptions.

Division II-A

1. Tyson Wolcott, Friendship Christian, Sr.: I mean, do we have to explain this one? Wolcott rushed for 2,233 yards and 38 touchdowns to go along with his 56 tackles and 16 tackles for loss. This kid is the definition of Iron Man.

2. Eli Wilson, MTCS, Sr.: Wolcott may have the best stats of any player in the state but Wilson has the head-to-head win over him this year. Oh, he’s put up some pretty good numbers himself rushing for 1,473 yards and 24 touchdowns.

3. Kyle Davidson, GCA, Sr.: Davidson is another two-way player who put up some eye-popping numbers this year. As a quarterback, he accounted for 2,149 all-purpose yards and 29 touchdowns. Defensively he accounted for 39 tackles, three tackles for loss, and an interception.

Division II-AA

1. Ty Clark III, FRA, Sr.: This is another selection that was pretty easy to make. Arguably one of the most exciting backs in the state, Clark helped lead the Panthers to a 9-1 record rushing for 1,463 yards and 26 touchdowns.

2. John Wayne Oliver, CPA, Sr.: In our eyes, Oliver is the best offensive lineman in the state. With over 40 pancake blocks all but seal that opinion for us. Ole Miss is getting an absolute beast up front.

3. Knox Roberts, Davidson Academy, Sr.: It feels like Roberts has been around forever and that’s because he has. The Bears’ long-time starter his enjoyed his best season this year completing 72% of his passes for 2,375 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Division II-AAA

1. Ethan Utley, Ensworth, Jr.: Utley is a force up front and really saw his game take a massive leap forward in 2023. Already a high-profile name on the recruiting trail entering the year, Utley confirmed that status with his play this season.

2. Edwin Spillman, Lipscomb Academy, Sr.: Spillman may be the hardest-hitting linebacker in the entire state. Record-wise, it wasn’t a great year for the Mustangs, but the future Vol finished his final season with over 80 tackles and close to 15 tackles for loss.

3. George MacIntyre, Brentwood Academy, Jr.: Look, we know that the Eagles went 1-9, but a lot of those troubles came thanks to the offensive line and defensive woes. MacIntyre still completed 68% of his passes for 2,754 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Kickers

1. Roman Mathis, Davidson Academy, Jr.: Mathis is as efficient as they come in the kicking department. He was 9-of-12 on field goal attempts with a long of 47 and 42-of-43 on PATs.

2. Landric Mayeski, Independence, Jr.: Mayeski has an absolute cannon of a leg. He’s 6-of-9 on field goal attempts with a long of 50 yards and is a perfect 29-of-29 on PATs.

3. Isaac Hayes, Brentwood, Sr.: Hayes has a long of 44 yards this season but could hit from well over 50 yards if given the chance. He’s 8-of-12 on field goal attempts this year and 32-of-33 on PATs.