By WESLEY HALLMAN / Sports Editor

Chelsea High School senior Jake Ganus is being recruited to play defense next fall at UAB.

After seeing Ganus’ offensive numbers in his senior season, the Blazers’ coaching staff may want to give him a shot on the other side of the ball before making a final decision.

Ganus talent on offense, defense and special teams led to his selection as the Shelby County Reporter Player of the Year.

Ganus, who committed to play for the Blazers in July, started at quarterback for the Hornets and finished 83-of-156 passing with 1,016 yards and nine touchdowns.

Ganus also rushed for 1,473 yards and 22 touchdowns as the feature back on the Chelsea offense.

Ganus, who averaged more than seven yards per carry, had his Player of the Year moment in the Hornets’ first win against rival Shelby County in Columbiana in 13 years back in September.

Ganus rushed for 264 yards and two touchdowns in the win, including a 70-yard scoring run around right end. Ganus stiff armed one defender and didn’t give any of the other 10 defenders on the field a chance to touch him on the play.

As impressive as Ganus was offensively, he was also a pretty good defender when asked to play both ways. Ganus finished with 25 solo tackles, including two tackles for a loss, one interception and one blocked kick in limited playing time.

Ganus also returned 13 kickoffs for 192 yards and finished with an average of 14.77 yards per kickoff attempt.

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2011 All-County football team

Offense

QB — Ben Craft, Briarwood Christian, 6-1, 200, Sr.

UAB  pledge passed for 2,671 yards and 35 touchdowns in his final season

RB — ShaCorry Lilly, Vincent, 5-11, 185, Sr.

Rushed for 1,566 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior

RB — Garrius Chappell, Montevallo, 5-11, 180, Sr.

Finished with 1,240 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Bulldogs

WR — Daniel Robert, Briarwood Christian, 6-3, 200, Jr.

Caught 50 passes for 767 yards and 13 touchdowns this year

WR — Jeremy Hyde, Calera, 6-3, 210, Sr.

Reeled in 49 receptions for 540 yards and four touchdowns

TE — Mike Pate, Shelby County, 6-3, 250, Sr.

Two-way starter proved value as both blocker and receiver

OL — Jacob Forehand, Pelham, 6-6, 265, Sr.

UAB commit paved way for Panthers’ ground attack

OL — Nick Maxey, Briarwood Christian, 5-10, 260, Sr.

Senior played integral role on outstanding offensive line

OL — Kevin Ramay, Thompson, 5-11, 220, Sr.

Undersized lineman played big part up front for Warriors

OL — Tim Crenshaw, Briarwood Christian, 6-5, 285, Sr.

Blocked for 1,000-yard rusher and protected quarterback for Lions

OL — Ben Tamburello, Spain Park, 6-3, 285, Sr.

Samford verbal commitment proved versatility for the Jaguars

ATH — Jake Ganus, Chelsea, 6-3, 190, Sr.

Accounted for 2,489 total yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior

Defense

DL — Patrick Lawley, Montevallo, 5-11, 230, Sr.

Finished with 54 tackles after playing several positions for the Bulldogs

DL — Jay Chisholm, Chelsea, 6-1, 280, Sr.

Played role as a leader an outstanding defensive line for the Hornets

DL — Jackson Thomas, Briarwood Christian, 6-1, 240, Sr.

Recorded 75 tackles, including 11 for a loss, for the Lions

DL — Jeniah Jackson, Spain Park, 5-11, 210, Jr.

Led stacked Spain Park defense with 94 total stops

LB — Chris Jones, Oak Mountain, 5-11, 225, Sr.

Versatile athlete one of few bright spots for the Eagles this year

LB — Roy Gilbert, Briarwood Christian, 5-10, 190, Sr.

Led Lions with 119 total tackles as quarterback of the defense

LB — Damauntey Johnson, Vincent, 6-1, 210, Sr.

Racked up 86 tackles and scored four times on defense

DB — Devin Bowman, Briarwood Christian, 5-9, 175, Sr.

Led Lions with four interceptions while recording 48 tackles

DB — Destin Challenger, Spain Park, 5-11, 205, Sr.

Punishing hitter headed to UAB registered 71 tackles as a senior

DB — Chad Davis, Briarwood Christian, 5-11, 205, Sr.

Lions’ secondary leader finished with 55 stops and two picks

DB — Chris Humes, Spain Park, 6-0, 190, Sr.

Top prospect forced offenses to look for other receiving options

SPC — Denzel Williams, Shelby County, 5-9, 185, Sr.

Triple-threat did everything from kickoffs to kick returns for Wildcats

Honorable mentions:

OAK MOUNTAIN: Bradley Bostick, Cameron Bice and Justin Woodall; PELHAM: J.T. Ross, Tanner Adams and Eli Beall; SPAIN PARK: Nick Mullens, Reid Reinagel and Devon Brown; THOMPSON: Avery Hale, Terry Carter and Tyler Gamble; BRIARWOOD CHRISTIAN: Matthew Furuto, Kalan Reed and Patrick Morton; CHELSEA: Julius McCall, Neal Gray and Jonathan Rush; SHELBY COUNTY: Evan McNeal, Marterious McGregor and Brent Wooley; CALERA: Ronnie Clark, Sheldon Nixon and Zack Reneau; MONTEVALLO: R.J. Scaife, Eugene Rodgers and Brett Gray; VINCENT: Anterio Rogers, Dontravious Moon and Ryan Kelow; KINGWOOD CHRISTIAN: Terrance Peeples, Montez Haynes and Charles Robinson;  CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN: Clayton Halbert, Ronezz Stevens and Adrian Young; COOSA VALLEY: Cody Wood, Hunter Winslett and Myles Varner; EVANGEL CHRISTIAN: Hayden Brown, Josh Flanders and Nathan Scott; HOPE CHRISTIAN: Eric Spence, Andrew Whitson and Ben Nafe