Vote: Who is the Mississippi High School Football Player of the Week? -Sept. 18, 2025

We have selected 12 individuals as nominees

MRA quarterback Samuel Stockett (12) looks for an opening during play against Ravenwood in Madison, Miss., Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. / Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Before we look ahead to this week's games, it is time to recognize last week's outstanding Mississippi high school football players. These nominees include terrific passing, receiving and defensive performances. Some of these nominees are also terrific running backs, one of which almost broke the state record for rushing yards.

If last week is any indication, we should be in store for some exciting performances and games from throughout the state.

As always, we ask you, the fans, to vote for who you think is the High School on SI Mississippi high school football player of the week.

Send player of the week nominations to reed_green1582@hotmail.com or reach out to him on X at @reed_green7.

Congratulations to last week's winner: Luke Essary of Jackson Prep

Voting will close on September 21 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Here are this week's nominations:

Samuel Stockett, Madison-Ridgeland Academy

Stockett put together one of the top quarterback performances last week in the 62-37 win over Collierville. He went 28/39 for 539 yards and five touchdowns.

Ty Keys, Poplarville

Keys had one of the top overall performances of any player in the country when he almost broke the single game record for rushing yards in Mississippi high school football history. He rushed for 506 yards and eight touchdowns on 18 carries in the 60-54 win over Hancock.

Drew Dean, Oxford

In the 63-20 win over Lafayette, Dean was passed for over 300 yards. He was 17/20 for 310 yards and three touchdowns. He also averaged nearly 18 yards per completion, and Dean added 13 more yards on the ground.

Case Thomas, Madison-Ridgeland Academy

Thomas was Stockett's go-to guy last week in the passing game. Thomas hauled in eight receptions for 194 yards and two touchdowns.

JJ Hill, Tupelo

Hill is further cementing himself as one of the top running backs in the state along with Ty Keys. In the 45-7 win over Houston, Hill rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries. He has alos helped the Golden Wave offense in a multitude of ways by taking snaps at quarterback this season. In the same game, he only completed one pass for eight yards, but it was a touchdown pass.

Sullivan Reed, Lamar

Reed, who recently committed to Mississippi State in baseball, is also one of the top quarterbacks in the state. Last week in their 55-15 win over Caledonia, Reed was 17/25 for 229 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball six times for 19 yards and one touchdown.

Elijah Johnson, Senatobia

In the 42-0 win over Independence, Johnson was everywhere on the field for the Warriors' defense. He finished the game with six total tackles, one tackle for a loss and one sack.

Shaun Bether, Moss Point

Bether had arguably the best defensive performance of any player in the state last week. In the 24-14 win over St. Stanislaus, Bether tallied three tackles, two pass breakups and three interceptions.

Reuben Bilbrew, Northwest Rankin

Bilbrew was a tackling machine in the Cougars' 24-14 win over Wayne County. He totaled 15 tackles, three tackles for a loss and one sack.

C.J. Campbell, Brandon

Campbell is another running back in the Magnolia State who had an outstanding performance rushing the ball last week. He rushed for 181 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries in the 14-9 win over Clinton.

Patrick Crump Jr, Corinth

In the 52-20 win over Houston, Crump rushed for 165 yards and three touchdowns on five carries. Also, Crump had a nose for the ball on defense. He tallied 15 total tackles as well in the win.

John Feaster Jr, Pearl River Central

In the 50-21 win over East Central, Feaster hauled in seven passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns.

Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll.