High School On SI 2024 All-America Football Award Winners

High School On SI releases its high school football award winners for the 2024 season
Receiver Quentin Gibson of North Crowley signals that he and his teammates will be receiving a championship ring after defeating Westlake in the Texas 6A Division 1 state title game at AT&T Stadium.
Receiver Quentin Gibson of North Crowley signals that he and his teammates will be receiving a championship ring after defeating Westlake in the Texas 6A Division 1 state title game at AT&T Stadium. / Photo by Tommy Hays

There were first-time state champions, repeat winners - and some of the craziest games you will ever seen played anywhere on a football field this fall.

And now it is time for High School On SI to release its individual award winners from around the nation.

Editors Note: All high school football award winners will not be listed on the All-America teams with their award winning selections.


SBLIVE/SI 2024 ALL-STATE INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS

Player of the Year: Quentin Gibson, WR, North Crowley (Texas)

North Crowley
North Crowley senior receiver Quentin Gibson. / Photo by Oladipo Awowale (2024)

Deion Sanders says he's not hard to find. Well, Gibson, a Colorado signee, was tough to find in coverage for opposing defenses every single Friday night all the way to a UIL Class 6A, Division 1 state championship. Diminutive in size at 5-foot-9, 165 pounds, don't let that fool you about the impact he had for North Crowley throughout the 2024 campaign. Gibson proved himself to being the country's best in catching the rock, piling up 93 receptions for 2,009 yards and 36 touchdowns. The future Colorado receiver added four touchdowns via offense/special teams, totaling 40 overall scores.

Offensive Player of the Year: Keelon Russell, Duncanville (Texas)

Duncanville 5-star Alabama commit Keelon Russell unleashed a throw against St. Frances Academy on Sept 14, 2024.
Duncanville 5-star Alabama commit Keelon Russell unleashed a throw against St. Frances Academy on Sept 14, 2024 at Duncanville ISD Stadium. / Photo by Michael Horbovetz, SBLive

Yes, we've got another one coming from the Lone Star State, but once we dive into the numbers, you'll realize why. Over the last three years of Russell's storied career at Duncanville, the Alabama signee compiled nearly 11,000 yards through the air along with 127 touchdowns thrown. This past 2024 season was arguably the best of 'em all when it came to statistics, as the signal caller finished completing 238-of-343 passes for 4,177, 55 touchdowns to a mere four interceptions. Russell also added 321 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

Defensive Player of the Year: Bryce Davis, DL, Grimsley (North Carolina)

Grimsley defensive lineman Bryce Davis.
Grimsley's Bryce Davis, after his final high school season in South Carolina, will begin pursuing quarterback in the ACC as he has committed to Clemson. / 247Sports

Teams couldn't stop Davis, they could just hoped to contain him over in the Tar Heel State. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive dynamo bullied his way to some impressive numbers on the way to helping lift Grimsley to an NCHSAA Class 4A state championship over Rolesville. Davis, a Duke signee, tallied 125 tackles, 37 went for loss, 27 sacks and forced five fumbles. No defensive lineman caused the kind of havoc Davis did in 2024.

Two-way Player of the Year: Naeem Offord, ATH, A.H. Parker (Alabama)

Na'eem Offord
Dec 6, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Parker's Kameron Scarver (56) lifts Parker's Na'eem Offord (1) in celebration after Offord scored against Saraland at Protective Stadium in the 6A State Championship game. / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No matter what Offord was asked to do, he did it, and did it pretty well for A.H. Parker. The Oregon signee played all over the field, literally, for the Thundering Herd as the notched winning a AHSAA Class 4A state championship in 2024. Offord finished the season compiling 1,034 all-purpose yards and scoring 17 touchdowns (16 rushing, 1 passing). On the defensive side of the ball, Offord locked down one side of the field, notching 46 tackles, picking off four passes and batting away five others.

Breakout Player of the Year: Jordan Durham, QB, Zarephath Academy (Florida)

Zarephath Academy's Jordan Durham
Zarephath Academy's Jordan Durham (1) rushes for yards during the second quarter of a high school football game Friday, Aug. 16, 2024 at Fernandina Beach High School in Fernandina Beach, Fla. The Zarephath Academy Eagles defeated the Fernandina Beach Pirates 48-14. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

It's hard to ignore the overall jump from 2023 to 2024 for Durham when you take a look at the numbers. Last season Durham threw for 2,104 yards and 16 touchdowns. This year, Durham ended up going for 6,047 yards, 62 touchdowns and rushed for 684 with 10 more scores. Having accounted for nearly 7,000 yards and 72 total touchdowns, there's little argument to Durham being the state's breakout player of 2024. Durham is committed to Western Carolina, proving he had Division I talent despite not playing in the FHSAA state series.

Newcomer of the Year: Jackson Vaughn, DE, Bergen Catholic (New Jersey)

Bergen Catholic defensive end Jackson Vaughn
Jackson Vaughn/X

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound edge rusher was the top sack getter on the best team out of New Jersey. Vaughn finished the season with 16 tackles, 10.5 for loss and eight sacks. The edge rusher already has a boat load of offers on the table from schools like Boston College, Louisville, Purdue, Rutgers, Penn State, Texas A&M and West Virginia to name a few.

Comeback Player of the Year: Ryan Downes, QB, Sarasota Booker (Florida)

Booker High quarterback Ryan Downes
Booker High quarterback Ryan Downes threw four touchdowns Friday night in the Tornadoes' rout of Boca Ciega for the Class 3A-Region 3 championship. / Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coming off a horrific leg injury from the 2023 season when the quarterback was with Venice (Florida), Downes' goal was to play the first preseason game against Cardinal Mooney to begin 2024. Not only did the Cornell signee do that, Downes was able to lead the Tornadoes to the the FHSAA's Class 3A state semifinals behind a superb comeback season in a Run-N-Shoot offense. Downes, who still goes for physical therapy on his surgically repaired leg, ended the season completing 105-of-146 passes (71 percent) for 2,302 yards and 26 touchdowns. For a signal caller who wasn't sure about a year ago if he would ever play football again, this comeback story is one that would inspire any and all.

Co-Coaches of the Year: Ray Gates, North Crowley (Texas) & Raul Lara, Mater Dei (California)

Texas high school football state championships: Westlake vs. North Crowley
North Crowley coaches look on from the sideline during the Texas 6A Division 1 state championship game at AT&T Stadium. / Photo by Tommy Hays
First-year Mater Dei football coach Raul Lara coaching in his debut against Corona Centennial on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2023.
First-year Mater Dei football coach Raul Lara coaching in his debut against Corona Centennial on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2023. / Greg Stein

A choice so difficult, we had to choose two in this case. Both Ray Gates (North Crowley) and Raul Lara (Mater Dei) did superb jobs when it came to their respective football programs. Gates led North Crowley to its first state championship in a little over two decades, upending Duncanville in the state semifinals en route to the dominating Class 6A, Division 1 title over Westlake. Flipping over to Lara with the Monarchs and the lead man of the top team in the country did so once again in dominant fashion. Lara led his team to impressive wins over Bishop Gorman (Nevada), St. Frances Academy (Maryland) and a blowout victory during the regular season over St. John Bosco (also a 31-24 win in the playoffs). Both did not lose a single game during the season and had a combined record of 29-0 on the way to being the best in their respective states, a couple of the best in the country.


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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi


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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.