Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

If Shelby County has its own table at the Mr. Football banquet on Jan. 28, it will be as crowded as it’s ever been as five local athletes are now up for awards from the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

Thompson’s Anquon Fegans and Trent Seaborn and Spain Park’s Corey Barber each earned Back of the Year finalist honors while the Warriors’ Jared Smith and Vincent’s Grayson Gulde are nominated for Lineman of the Year for their respective classifications.

The three finalists for each classification’s Back and Lineman of the Year awards were announced by the ASWA on Wednesday, Dec. 25. The winners will be announced along with the Mr. Football award and Super All-State Team on Jan. 28 at a luncheon banquet at the Montgomery Renaissance.

Smith and Gulde are the first county players to earn Lineman of the Year finalist honors since Thompson defensive lineman Peter Woods won the award for Class 7A after the 2022 season.

For Fegans, this is the third straight year the Thompson safety has been nominated for Class 7A Back of the Year.

The Auburn signee, reigning MaxPreps All-American and Shelby County Player of the Year finished with six interceptions, 80 tackles, seven pass deflections, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as well as three defensive touchdowns while earning All-State and All-County First Team honors.

The sophomore quarterback Seaborn earned his first Back of the Year finalist honor after earning 2,672 yards and 26 passing touchdowns against seven interceptions with a 64.2 percent completion rate. He also earned Class 7A All-State First Team and All-County Second Team selections.

The Warriors’ streak of having a Back of the Year finalist every year since 2018 remains active as this is now the seventh straight year they have had at least one finalist. Thompson players won the award in five straight seasons from 2018 to 2021.

The two of them are up for the award alongside Central-Phenix City wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw, the three-star Miami commit who Fegans matched up against in the Class 7A state championship game.

As for Lineman of the Year, Smith will hope to follow in Woods’ footsteps and win the award after securing 87 tackles, a county-high 8.5 sacks and five tackles for loss along with 23 quarterback hurries, four pass breakups and an interception.

The Auburn signee has already earned All-State and All-County First Team selections. He will go against future Tigers teammate Malik Autry of Opelika and Enterprise’s Zion Grady, an Ohio State signee.

In Class 6A, Barber was nominated for Back of the Year after a stellar season where he stepped up as Spain Park’s top receiver for quarterback Brock Bradley.

Barber went for 18 total touchdowns and a county-high 1,429 receiving yards off 74 receptions, with many of them being deep passes while earning All-State and All-County First Team honors.

The Jags senior will have highly-rated competition for the award in the form of the state’s top recruit, Parker cornerback and Oregon signee Na’eem Offord, and Saraland quarterback and Texas signee KJ Lacey. With a win, he would be the first player in program history to win an ASWA award.

Vincent’s Gulde will look to be the first Jacket to win Lineman of the Year since Shamar Abrams won the award in Class 3A in 1999. He is nominated alongside Highland Home’s JJ Faulk, an Auburn signee and the No. 7 recruit in the state, and Coosa Christian’s Clete O’Bryant.

Gulde was one of the top tacklers in the entire state with 202 tackles, including 118 solo tackles, 21 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception and two blocked field goals on special teams. The two-time All-State First Team selection also earned an All-County First Team selection.

To see the full list of finalists for each classification, read more below. To see every All-State selection, click here.

CLASS 7A

Back of the year

Anquon Fegans, Thompson

Trent Seaborn, Thompson

Daylyn Upshaw, Central-Phenix City

 

Lineman of the year

Malik Autry, Opelika

Zion Grady, Enterprise

Jared Smith, Thompson

 

CLASS 6A

Back of the year

Corey Barber, Spain Park

KJ Lacey, Saraland

Na’eem Offord, Parker

 

Lineman of the year

Keenan Britt, Oxford

Jourdin Crawford, Parker

Anthony Jones, St. Paul’s

 

CLASS 5A

Back of the year

Conner Nelson, Leeds

Cam Phinizee, Russellville

Jotavion Pierce, Catholic-Montgomery

 

Lineman of the year

Jabarrius Garrar, Vigor

Kentonio Kelly Jr., Vigor

Ellis McGaskin, Williamson

 

CLASS 4A

Back of the year

EJ Crowell, Jackson

Landon Duckworth, Jackson

Gunner Rivers, St. Michael

 

Lineman of the year

Tristan Brown, Cherokee Co.

Tae Diamond, Cherokee Co.

AJ Rice, Madison Academy

 

CLASS 3A

Back of the year

Caden Chandler, Mars Hill Bible

Kadyn Mitchell, Houston Academy

Rollie Pinto, Piedmont

 

Lineman of the year

Myles Johnson, T.R. Miller

Billy Neill, Bayside Academy

Tucker Wilks, Fyffe

 

CLASS 2A

Back of the year

Chris Clemons, Winston Co.

Luke Gilbert, Pisgah

Preston Lancaster, Tuscaloosa Aca.

 

Lineman of the year

JJ Faulk, Highland Home

Clete O’Bryant, Coosa Christian

Grayson Gulde, Vincent

 

CLASS 1A

Back of the year

Alvin Henderson, Elba

Ziquayvion Jackson, McKenzie

Jaquez Wilkes, Wadley

 

Lineman of the year

Fred Curry, Georgiana

Hayes Farrell, Donoho

Tim Parnell, Leroy

 

AISA

Back of the year

Julian Curry, Wilcox Academy

Gerrell Perry, Banks Academy

Luke Tarver, Chambers Academy

 

Lineman of the year

Jackson Boykin, South Choctaw Academy

Ashton Yelder, Lowndes Academy

Asher Young, Fort Dale Academy