With preseason football camps in full swing, the excitement is churning. Each year presents an opportunity for new stars to emerge and old ones to pick up where they left off, leaving their mark on their school and community.
Each year Lootpress recognizes standout seasons with scholarship awards for Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Lineman of the Year and positional awards for quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.
This year we’ve compiled a preseason list of the early favorites to win the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Each award, revealed at season’s end, comes with a $500 scholarship from the Lootpress Foundation. Note – the Offensive Player of the Year Award replaces the positional award of the winner. For example there was no Running Back of the Year awarded in 2021 or 2022 because Atticus Goodson and Judah Price, both running backs, won the OPOY their respective senior seasons.
Below are the early favorites to win the 2023 OPOY award, in no particular order, as well as a recap of what they did last season. Of note, all-staters Ian Cline (Greenbrier East) and Amir Hairston (Bluefield) are omitted. Cline transferred out of state over the summer while Hairston suffered a knee injury at a summer camp and will miss his senior season.
- Dominick Collins, WR/UTIL – Princeton (Senior) – After emerging as a reliable weapon for Princeton during his sophomore campaign in 2021, Collins erupted onto the scene as a junior earning first-team all-state honors while shattering the single-season program record for receiving yards and touchdowns with 1,019 and 19 scores. The loss of record-setting QB Grant Cochran will likely limit his ability as a receiver this year but the shifty playmaker can be utilized in a myriad of ways. He jumped onto college radars this summer, running a 4.25 in the 40-yard dash at WVU and Coalfield and Co.’s camps. While a potent deep threat, he was just as good on short and screen passes. As Princeton’s new head coach Keith Taylor sorts out the QB spot, it wouldn’t be surprise to see him lean on Collins as rusher and utilize him in a way similar to how WVU once utilized Tavon Austin.
- Trey Bowers, QB/UTIL – Independence (Senior) –Â It’s easy to forget just how efficient Bowers was last season. But on a team loaded with first-teamers in every position group (Independence had at least one all-stater at QB, RB, OL, DL, WR, DB and LB) and the Kennedy Award winner in Judah Price, not everybody shines the same. Now all eyes are on Bowers. Last year he broke the program record with over 1,600 yards passing, tossing 11 touchdowns as a junior. As a rusher he compiled 899 yards and 15 more scores. He’ll share the backfield with a pair of capable rushers in Liberty transfer Connor Bradford (1,333 yards rushing yards last season) and Tyler Linkswiler (just over 700 yards on 70 carries) but has proven dynamic in his own right as receiver in 2021.
- Cooper Ridgeway, RB/UTIL – James Monroe (Senior) –Â Ridgeway was a solid back as a sophomore in 2021. In 2022 he erupted as an all-stater, rushing for 1,444 yards and 16 scores but generated a lot of value to the Mavericks as a pass-catcher, hauling in 24 passes for just over 350 yards and six touchdowns. He helped quarterback Layton Dowdy evolve into a true passing threat, giving him a safety blanket. With all-stater Eli Allen, as well as several of the backs Ridgeway shared carries with out of the picture, Ridgeway stands to benefit with more touches. It paid dividends last season as he was a key cog in the Mavericks march to Wheeling.
- Layton Dowdy, QB – James Monroe (Junior) –Â Dowdy was probably the area’s biggest surprise last season. James Monroe has never been a team known for its propensity to throw the ball so when Dowdy came in as sophomore, took the reins and fired 27 touchdown passes while throwing for nearly 1,800 yards it stunned most outside the program while giving the Mavericks the extra juice they needed in a historic season for the school. His path will be more difficult this year. For starters his top receiver Eli Allen – who captained three all-state teams between football and basketball – graduated. Secondly, the Mavericks had to search long and hard to fill out their schedule which meant adding Class AA power Bluefield and Class A power Wheeling Central.
- Eli Campbell, OL – Princeton (Senior) –Â These awards are usually reserved for skill players and QBs, but there’s a case for Campbell to be here. He’s already a two-time first-team all-stater and has committed to Air Force. Grant Cochran broke passing records behind his protection and Princeton lost to the Class AAA state runner-up last season by one possession with a chance to tie at the end. If the Tigers are creative with Collins as a rusher it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Campbell leading the way. Campbell’s mention on this list is merited with the way in-state offensive line products have produced. Darnell Wright (Huntington ’19) was selected as the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft this past spring. Zach Frazier (Fairmont Senior ’20), Wyatt Milum (Spring Valley ’21) and Doug Nester (Spring Valley ’19) are starting along WVU’s offensive line. It’s hard to argue the best players aren’t coming from the trenches.
- Cole Vandall, QB/UTIL – Greenbrier West –Â Greenbrier West has become a perennial playoff program with postseason wins in three of the last four seasons. The Cavaliers have maintained that success by effectively running the ball with first-teamers leading the way at running back each year. Vandall plays QB but serves more as a dual-threat type. He rushed and threw for over 400 yards in each phase while leaning on Ty Nickell.
- R.J. Hairston, WR/UTIL – Bluefield (Senior) – Bluefield is one of the biggest question marks heading into the season. The Beavers have the talent to win Class AA but a pair of blows have hampered their preseason status. The plan at QB was to put Bryson Redmond there but he elected to sit out his senior year to focus on baseball. On top of losing Redmond, Amir Hairston is out for the season forcing offensive coordinator Fritz Simon to move players around. As it stands Sencere Fields, who played receiver the last few years, will be the QB. That likely limits the impact of a player like R.J. Hairston, who at 6-foot-4, could take the top off of defenses as a receiver and tight end with his speed. It will be difficult for him to replicate his 600-yard season from a year ago but he’s the most talented prospect in a solid group of skill players.
- Tyler Linkswiler, RB/UTIL – Independence (Senior) – In limited action last year Linkswiler rushed for over 700 yards, averaging around 10 yards a carry. Independence comes into the season as one of the unknowns mostly because it’s replacing a chunk of an offensive line that paved the way for the last two Kennedy Award winners. If this year’s group can get up to speed it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Linkswiler emerge as one of the best backs in Class AA.
- Drake Cole, RB/UTIL – Summers County (Senior) –Â Cole quietly rushed for nearly 1,200 yards last year on a team where he shared carries with two other players. With Duke Dodson now gone and the Bobcat offensive line in its third year under Josh Evans, Cole could be in for a 1,500-yard season.
Darkhorses – Tyson Adkins, Summers County; Gerrard Wade, Bluefield; Connor Bradford, Liberty; Brandan Isaac, Summers County; Jaden Gladwell, Midland Trail; Kadien Vance, Westside; Sencere Fields, Bluefield; Kisean Smith, Bluefield.