MONTGOMERY – Pinson Valley High School senior quarterback Bo Nix was named the Alabama Sportswriters Association’s Mr. Football recipient for the 20128 season Tuesday at the annual ASWA Player of the Year Luncheon at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center.

AHSAA Corporate Partner Cadence Bank was the presenting sponsor, and the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA) hosted the luncheon.

Nix, who was also selected for the second straight year as the Class 6A Back of the Year, beat out Class 7A Back of the Year Taulia Tagovailoa of Thompson in the Mr. Football voting – becoming the 37th Mr. Football selected in the ASWA’s long-running program which began in 1982.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Nix directed Pinson Valley to a 13-1 record in 2018 and a 15-0 slate in 2017 – earning Super 7 Class 6A state championship game MVP honors both years as the Indians won back-to-back state championships. He was 25-of-35 passing for 372 yards, one rushing TD and two passing touchdowns in the 6A 26-17 win over Saraland in the finals played at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.

An Auburn signee already enrolled at AU for this semester, he completed 267-of-447 passes for 3,795 yards and 50 touchdowns as a senior and finished as the AHSAA’s all-time career total offense leader (12,497 yards) and touchdowns accounted for (161) – 127 TD passes and 34 rushing TDs with more than 2,000 career rushing yards.

Nix played at Scottsboro High School from 2015-2017 and moved to Pinson when his dad became the Pinson head coach prior to the 2017 season. He started at QB for 2½ years for the Wildcats. He finished his career ranked second in career passing yards (10,386), first in career pass attempts (1,223), second in completions (687) and third in TD passes thrown (127). His 50 TD passes as a senior ranks third in the AHSAA all-time.

Nix was named an All-American by USA Today (first team) and MaxPreps (second team), was the ALcom Super All-State Player of the Year and the Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year. He was selected and played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic and Armour All-America Game following completion of the 2018 season.

He was the Mr. Football runner-up last season to another Auburn signee, Asa Martin. He becomes the 11th Auburn signee to win the state’s top honor. He is the first Birmingham-area winner since Huffman’s Andre Smith in 2005.

A total of 48 players, three linemen and three backs in each of the AHSAA’s seven classifications and the AISA, were honored at Tuesday’s luncheon. Tagovailoa was unable to attend the luncheon. He was in Hawaii preparing for the Polynesian All-Star Classic football game. He is enrolling early at the University of Alabama.

Clay Webb of Oxford, named the Class 6A Lineman of the Year and third in the Mr. Football voting, was also absent. The Georgia signee is already attending classes at UGA.

Named 2018 Back of the Year in the AHSAA’s respective classes were: Class 7A: Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Thompson; Class 6A: Bo Nix, QB, Pinson Valley; Class 5A: Javonta Leartherwood, RB, Central-Tuscaloosa; Class 4A: Lee Witherspoon, RB, North Jackson; Class 3A: Daquan Johnson, QB, Flomaton; Class 2A: Samario Rudolph, RB, Cottage Hill Christian; Class 1A: Jermaine Brown, QB, St. Luke’s Episcopal.

Selected 2018 Lineman of the Year in respective classes were: Class 7A: Pierce Quick, OL, Hewitt-Trussville; Class 6A: Clay Webb, OL, Oxford; Class 5A: Fred Austin, DL, Vigor; Class 4A: Will Breland, LB, UMS-Wright; Class 3A: Ja’Len Sims, LB, Fultondale; Class 2A: Arian Gregory, LB, Luverne; Class 1A: Jah-Marien Lathiam, DL, and Pickens County.

The ASWA SUPER ALL-STATE Team selected by the ASWA All-State and Mr. Football Committee of prep sportswriters across the state, was also announced following the luncheon. That team included, the top 12 players, regardlss of classification:Bo Nix, QB, Pinson Valley; Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Thompson; Clay Webb, OL, Oxford; Lee Witherspoon, RB, North Jackson; George Pickens, WR, Hoover; Roydell Williams, RB, Hueytown; Pierce Quick, OL, Hewitt-Trussville; Mahamoud Diabate, DE, Auburn; Darrian Meads, RB, Hokes Bluff; Daquan Johnson, QB, Flomaton; Vonta Bentley, LB, Jackson-Olin; and D.J. Dale, DL, Clay-Chalkville.

Van Riggs

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