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The end of the regular season is quickly closing in. That means not only are the playoffs right around the corner, but Mr. Football discussions are about to heat up.
I’ve made my thoughts on how the Mr. Football awards in Tennessee are awarded crystal clear in the past saying it should be a full season award instead of just the regular season. Alas, that’s not how it’s done now or how it’ll be done anytime soon.
With that in mind, I decided to take a look around not just our coverage area, but the state as a whole to see who has stood out.
After combing through the state’s best, I’ve narrowed in on who I have winning each of this year’s 10 awards.
WAY-TOO-EARLY: Preseason Mr. Football picks
SPEARS: State title matchups, predictions seven weeks into the season
Class 6A: Samuel Iroh, Collierville, Sr.
Picking a winner out of Class 6A was by far the hardest. Daune Morris was my pick going into the season but an ankle injury kept him out of Oakland’s first few games.
I’ll head west out to Collierville and pick one of the state’s best defensive players to take home the award this time around.
On a 7-0 Dragons squad, Iroh’s terrorized opposing offenses. He’s racked up 38 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 15 sacks for a defense that’s only allowing just over eight points per game.
Class 5A: Kelvin Perkins, Southwind, Jr.
Admittedly, I think Page’s Brenden Anes, Eric Hazzard or William Wiebush would all have a great shot at winning this award with what that Patriots defense has done so far this season. However, I just don’t see a world where Perkins doesn’t repeat.
Southwind has a loss on its record but that was in a mud bowl. Playing against a favorable schedule. the Jaguars are going to roll from here on out because of Perkins.
Through seven games, Perkins has completed 53% of his passes for 957 yards and 14 touchdowns with no interceptions. He’s also rushed for a team-high 448 yards and eight touchdowns.
Class 4A: Javion Kinnard, Pearl-Cohn, Sr.
Pearl-Cohn’s seen Barion Brown and Keshawn Tarleton bring home this award in recent memory. Class 4A is a loaded field again but I think Kinnard joins his fellow Firebirds in bringing it home.
Kinnard’s been a human highlight reel since he first broke onto the scene as a sophomore. Now leading the Firebirds offense, he’s putting up the numbers we expected him to put up going into the season.
He’s accounted for 1,461 all-purpose yards and 15 total touchdowns. On the ground he’s rushed for 710 yards and 11 touchdowns to go along with 387 receiving yards and three more touchdowns.
Class 3A: Skylan Smith, Covington, Sr.
Tennessee commitment Radarious Jackson may be the reigning Class 3A Mr. Football winner but I think someone else gets the crown this year.
Choosing between Smith and Westview freshman quarterback Graham Smith, I’d lean slightly towards Smith. However, the Week 11 matchup between the two will be the ultimate decider
Smith was a Mr. Football finalist last year and has played even better this season for an unbeaten Chargers group primed to make a run back to the Class 3A championship game. Entering Thursday’s game against Haywood, he had rushed for 1,124 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns on 97 carries.
Class 2A: Jaydon Peete, Milan, Jr.
There’s no doubt in my mind that a healthy Isaiah Groves repeats as this year’s Class 2A winner. That’s not the case though meaning someone else will get the crown.
I’m headed back out west and going with Milan do-it-all weapon Jaydon Peete.
Offensively, Peete’s rushed 1,190 yards and 18 touchdowns to go along with a pair of receiving touchdowns. He’s just as good on defense racking up 55 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Class 1A: Tate Surber, McKenzie, Sr.
Surber was my pick going into the year to win Mr. Football and McKenzie was my pick to win the Class 1A title. I’m sticking with both of those picks.
A UT-Martin commitment, he’s led the Rebels to a comfortable 8-0 record. Through those games he’s completed 69% of his passes for 1,790 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Surber also gets the job done on the ground. He’s rushed for 570 yards and a team-high 15 touchdowns.
Division II-AAA: Ethan Utley, Ensworth, Sr.
My pick going into the year for this was Baylor’s Shekai Mills-Knight. While I do think he still has a legit chance to win it, Knight’s had to split carries with David Gabriel-Georges meaning his numbers aren’t quite what I thought they’d be.
I’ll take another local kid winning the award and another defensive standout with Utley.
While he may only have 15.5 tackles this season, the Tennessee commitment does have five and a half sacks, five tackles for loss, two passes broken up, a forced fumble and recovery. Ensworth’s defense is easily one of the best in the state as the Tigers have only given up 33 points through eight games.
Division II-AA: Hutson Chance, CPA, Sr.
I think this award will ultimately come down to Chance and BGA’s Kaedyn Marable. I’ll take the guy who threw for four touchdowns when those teams played back in September.
Chance is one of the best stories around this season. His junior season was cut short in 2023 thanks to a knee injury. Back and healthy, he’s playing the best ball of his career this season.
Leading CPA to an 8-0 start, he’s completed 63% of his passes for 1,397 yards and 18 touchdowns. WIth him under center, the Lions are averaging 39.3 points per game.
Division II-A: Jared Curtis, Nashville Christian, Jr.
Jackson Christian’s Jay’len Mosley may be the reigning DII-A Mr. Football but his numbers this season aren’t quite as outlandish this year as they were last season.
The same can’t be said of Curtis.
On the best team in DII-A, Curtis has completed 68% of his passes for 1,624 yards and 18 touchdowns. He’s also been a force on the ground rushing for 385 yards and 11 more touchdowns.
Kicker of the Year: Elliott Arnold, McCallie, Sr.
Arnold’s about as efficient as a high school kicker can be an projects to be pretty good college kicker once his high school career has come to an end.
On the year he’s 10-of-12 on field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards. He’s made all but two PATS, one was blocked, and has touchdowns on 29 of his 35 kickoffs.
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