Most Improved Player – Connor Kirby

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2022 football season has come and gone. Once again, the football season has just flown by. We're a few weeks removed from the final football games of the 2022 season, and we've been recapping the year in football ever since. In today's post, we're crowning the most improved player from the 2022 season. For this category, we are looking for a player who played last year and took their game to another level this season. This year's most improved player is also a finalist for the Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year award and was our pick for 6A-1 Player Of The Year. This year's most improved player is Bixby senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='197183' first='Connor' last='Kirby']. We dive into what made Kirby this year's most improved player across Oklahoma. Keep it locked into Prep Redzone Oklahoma every single day for more postseason content!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["197183"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ernrnAt this time last year, Kirby was a situational quarterback, used only in running situations. And he was incredibly successful in that role. He led the team in rushing touchdowns with 19 on the year and he ran for over 700 yards in 2021. But as a passer, Kirby attempted just 20 passes all season and racked up a little more than 150 yards. But he worked all offseason to improve as a quarterback and specifically as a passer. The Spartans were in a unique position where they were going to be able play both Kirby and another quarterback in 2022 and that also freed Kirby up to play some defense at linebacker.rnrnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ernrnThis year, Kirby would start the season by splitting time with fellow senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='51037' first='Austin' last='Havens'] and Kirby was still in a role where he would come in for running situations but he started to throw the ball a little bit more. Kirby would end up winning the starting job at quarterback towards the end of the season and once he was taking almost all of the snaps at QB, he started playing his best football as the Spartans worked towards another state championship. Despite the loss that snapped their winning streak, one of Kirby's best performances came in week ten against Jenks. It was that night that it was apparent that the Spartans could ride Kirby in the playoffs and in their pursuit of another gold ball.rnrnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e u003c!u002du002d wp:paragraph u002du002du003ernrnThe evolution of Kirby as a quarterback was one of the best stories of the football season and Kirby's ceiling moving forward as a quarterback prospect is incredibly high. This year, Kirby threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns while also adding over 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. And again, he was splitting time at quarterback for the majority of the regular season. Imagine what those numbers would look like if he was QB1 all season long.rnrnu003c!u002du002d /wp:paragraph u002du002du003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63b0c0043f758"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->