GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With the final step to fully closing the 2017 season is almost here, we are proud to reveal our candidates for our Class 5A Player of the Year candidates. For Coach of the Year, five coaches are selected as candidates based upon the resume they had for the season. For Player of the Year, three players are selected on offense and three on defense as candidates for Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. One player from each classification of the six candidates total will be selected as the Overall Player of the Year for their respective classification.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Watch the first team reveal for all eight classifications including the award winners for Coach of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Overall Player of the Year, this Wednesday night on the FloridaHSFootball.com Gridiron Report on Varsity Sports Network, starting at 8:00 p.m. EST / 7:00 p.m. CST by clicking here.
Without further ado, here at the candidates for 2017 Class 5A Player of the Year:
Offense
• RB Aundre Carter, Sr., Green Cove Springs Clay – One of only a handful of running backs in the state to break the 2,000 mark this season, Carter was a big leader for the Blue Devils offense with 2,358 yards and 24 touchdowns on 256 carries.
• QB Quadry Jones, Sr., Orlando Jones – One of the top quarterback in the state this season with one of the best touchdown-to-interception ratios in the state, Jones lead Jones to the first district championship since 1996 with 2,620 yards passing and 33 touchdowns to only two interceptions.
• RB John Miller, Sr., Lynn Haven Mosley – The only running back in Class 5A to break the 2,000-yard mark this season, Miller was the heart and soul for the Dolphins offense, rushing for 2,174 yards on 272 carries, scoring 21 touchdowns.
Defense
• DL Andrew Chatfield, Sr., Plantation American Heritage – Chatfield was one of several key players to the Patriots defense on their title run repeat, collecting up 92 tackles and 14 sacks along the way.
• DL Nesta Silvera, Sr., Plantation American Heritage – Like his teammate Andrew Chatfield, Silvera was another key player for the Patriots defensive line collecting up 99 tackles and 13 sacks.
• LB Eriq Gilyard, Sr., Jacksonville Trinity Christian – One of the most consistent linebackers in the state, Gilyard was a big leader for the Conquerors defense, collecting up 135 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 6 sacks.
