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Thompson’s All-American safety Anquon Fegans rounded out his trophy case with the 2024 Class 7A Back of the Year award as the now-Auburn Tiger won the award in his third time as a finalist. (Reporter Photos/Andrew Simonson)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTGOMERY — After winning just about every award available to him, Thompson’s Anquon Fegans had to wait three years to win Class 7A Back of the Year.

It turns out the third time is the charm.

Fegans earned the 2024 Class 7A Back of the Year award from the Alabama Sports Writers Association at its annual Mr. Football and Players of the Year Banquet on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel.

“It meant a lot,” Fegans said. “To win an award that I’ve been waiting to win for some time, it meant a lot.”

Fegans won the award after earning a finalist nomination for the third-straight year. This year, he had to beat out his teammate, Thompson sophomore quarterback Trent Seaborn, along with the man he defended in the Class 7A state championship game, Central-Phenix City senior receiver and Miami signee Daylyn Upshaw.

Fegans finished his senior season with six interceptions, 80 tackles, seven pass deflections, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as well as three defensive touchdowns from the safety position.

As a result, Fegans earned MaxPreps All-American First Team honors for the third-straight season. He also won Shelby County Player of the Year and received selections to the Class 7A All-State First Team and All-County First Team.

He also represented the Warriors at the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic and at the 2025 Under Armour All-American Game.

Fegans’ success helped the Warriors walk away with the Class 7A state championship, their fifth state championship in the last six seasons after missing out in 2023.

This is the seventh-straight season that the Warriors have had at least one finalist for Class 7A Back of the Year. Thompson players won the award for five straight seasons from 2017 through 2021, but Fegans is the school’s first Back of the Year since that streak ended.

As Fegans joins Taulia Tagovailoa, Sawyer Pate, Conner Harrell and Ryan Peppins as Back of the Year winners from Thompson, he feels grateful to join a class of legendary Warriors that he looked up to growing up.

“It means a lot because watching those guys before me, it meant a whole bunch, and me just always wanting to be that one day and I finally got the shot, so, it’s a blessing,” Fegans said.

Fegans graduated early in December and is currently at Auburn University in preparation for his first season with the Tigers. He committed to coach Hugh Freeze’s team in July before signing on early signing day in December.

As he moves on to the Plains, he hopes to bring Thompson’s winning culture to an Auburn program looking to turn things around from recent years while using this award as motivation.

“It motivates me a lot, because you know I come from a winning program, so we’re trying to instill that winning back into Auburn,” Fegans said.

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