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Heading into Week 8 I put out my list of who I thought would end up winning this year’s Mr. Football awards. Now that ballots have been cast and the regular season has come to an end, here are my final thoughts on who I think should win this year’s awards.
For the most part, a lot my original picks stayed the same.
However, some matchups that happened near the end of the regular season sparked some changes with my original thoughts.
With these picks I take into account head-to-head matchups, team success and where a player’s team would be without them.
Here’s a final look at who I think should win this year’s Mr. Football awards as well as the Kicker of the Year.
Class 6A: Kannon Burroughs, Green Hill, Jr.
A year ago this pick would have seemed crazy. This year Burrough’s has quickly become one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the entire state.
Last year Burroughs would pick apart defenses with his arm but had struggless occasionally. He’s only gotten better as a passer this season and the addition of what he can do on the ground makes him one of the biggest offensive threats around.
Green Hill capped a 10-0 regular season for the first time in school history. Burroughs played a major factor in that passing for over 1,000 yards, rushing for over 1,000 yards and scoring 25 touchdowns.
FInalists: Donovan Starr (Ravenwood), Samuel Iroh (Collierville)
Class 5A: Eric Hazzard, Page, Sr.
Picking between Brenden Anes and Hazzard for this spot was a battle. I think both are deserving as they lead one of the state’s top defensive units.
In the end I’ll roll with the Louisville commitment.
Hazzard was a finalist last year and is on pace to surpass his junior year numbers should the Patriots make it back to Chattanooga. He’s doing that while being doubled most nights.
FInalists: Brenden Anes (Page), Cooper Newman (Sevier County)
Class 4A: Tyler Thompson, Marshall County, Jr.
I’m still heavily on the Javion Kinnard hype train and I would not be shocked at all if he was the 4A Mr. Football winner. However, Thompson and the Tigers came out in the head-t0-head showdown with Thompson playing a key role in that win.
Marshall County enters the postseason 10-0 and as region champs thanks to Thompson’s play throughout the season.
On the year he completed 70% of his passes for 2,231 yards and 31 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Thompson also ran for a team-high nine touchdowns including a fair in that win over Pearl-Cohn.
FInalists: Bronzdon Chaffin (Upperman),Javion Kinnard (Pearl-Cohn)
Class 3A: Graham Simpson, Westview, Fr.
My original pick when I made my picks ahead of Week 8 was Covington’s Skylan Smith. However, I noted that the winner between him and Simpson during their Week 11 showdown would likely take home the award.
Simpson just happened to have a historic evening passing for eight touchdowns and a state-record 624 yards in the Chargers’ 59-54 win.
To do what he’s done as a freshman is unprecedented. In 10 starts Simpson completed 77% of his passes for 2,752 yards and 43 touchdowns with no interceptions.
FInalists: Eli Owens (Alcoa), Skylan Smith (Covington)
Class 2A: Jaydon Peete, Milan, Jr.
Isaiah Groves’ season-ending injury in Week 1 really opened up the field in Class 2A. Peete took that ball and immediately ran with it.
A dual-threat for the Bulldogs, he led their offense rushing 1,675 yards and 23 touchdowns. On defense he’s accounted for a team-high 82 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Class 2A is wide-open this year but if the Bulldogs are going to make a serious run at their first gold ball since 1999, it starts and ends with Peete.
FInalists: Cooper White (Westmoreland), Zach Groves (East Robertson)
Class 1A: Tate Surber, McKenzie, Sr.
Of all the classes, this why by far the easiest to pick.
Surber’s the best player on the best Class 1A team in the state. McKenzie’s the overwhelming favorite to bring home a gold ball this year and it starts with him.
In McKenzie’s 10-0 regular season run, Surber threw for 2,096 yards and 25 touchdowns while also rushing for 808 yards and 21 more touchdowns.
FInalists: Matthew Mcmahan (Cosby), Nate Adams (Clay County)
Division II-A: Jared Curtis, Nashville Christian, Jr.
Jay’len Mosley is the defending Mr. Football for DII-A and he’s had another solid year for the Eagles. However, Jared Curtis has been one of the best quarterbacks in the state regardless of class.
In their wins the Eagles haven’t been tested and a lot of that is because of Curtis. He’s completed 70% of his passes for 2,263 yards and 29 touchdowns with only three interceptions.
Where Curtis has taken his game to the next level is with what he does on the ground. Curtis leads the Eagles in rushing with 444 yards and 12 touchdowns.
FInalists: Jay’len Mosley (Jackson Christian), Montae Baldwin (Columbia Academy)
Division II-AA: Hutson Chance, CPA, Sr.
There may be other quarterbacks in DII-AA with better stats thance Chance but they aren’t that much better. They also aren’t the starting quarterback for the best team in DII-AA and one of the five best teams in the state regardless of class.
Coming off a brutal knee injury that ended his junior season just two games in, Chance is playing the best ball of his career.
The Lions’ senior signal-caller completed 63% of is passes during the regular season for 1,731 yards and 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions. During that stretch the Lions went 10-0 including a pair of impressive region wins over BGA and FRA.
FInalists: Kaedyn Marable (BGA), Noah Spencer (USJ)
Division II-AAA: Ethan Utley, Ensworth, Sr.
Utley is one of those cases where he may not have the best stats out there but his presence alone is enough to disrupt games.
On what could be argued as the best defense in the state, Utley’s recorded 33 total tackles, eight quarterback pressures, four sacks, three pass break ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Last week he also caught a pass for a touchdown
Ensworth’s defense hasn’t let up more than 14 points in a game since Week 2. The Tennessee takes up so much attention that it lets other Tiger defensive stars do their jobs effectively.
FInalists: Cam Blivens (Lipscomb Academy), David Gabriel Georges (Baylor)
Kicker of the Year: Elliott Arnold, McCallie, Sr.
There’s no more consistent kicker in the state than Arnold. When McCallie called his number, he seemed to consistently answer.
On the year he was 13-of-16 on field goal attempts with a long of 51 and was 5-7 on attempts longer than 40 yards. He was also 35-of-37 on extra point attempts and booted touchbacks on 49 of his 57 kickoffs.
Elliott is also one of the state’s best punters. He averaged 49 yards per punt and pinned two inside the 20.
Finalists: London Bironas (Brentwood Academy), Max Kelley (Gallatin)
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