#PRZTN Class 3A POTY Finalists

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">It's tough competition for our 3A Prep Redzone Tennessee player of the year but we think these five guys below had the kind of season to be considered for top honors.</h2>     3A POTY Nominations     It was yet another season with the Tornadoes that Graf was the team's top playmaker as well as their leader that pushed them to the 3A state title. This future Harding Bison had a stellar senior campaign where Graf produced 61 percent of the team's total yardage while completing passes at a rate of 71 percent. When the Tornadoes needed something to happen on offense, Graf was the guy. Whether it was by way of the pass or the run, Graf showed up big time when he was needed, especially in the 3A title game where he ran 21 times for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Graf had a sensational career at Alcoa where he should go down as one of the best to ever put on the Crimson and White.    - - - - -    It was a breakout sophomore season for Murray and just a potential taste of what's to come from this Mid-TN quarterback over the next two years. The Patriots signal caller produced in a big way for his offense last Fall where Murray passed for 3,016 yards along with tossing 43 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also ran for three rushing scores while having a 74 percent completion percentage. Murray is a tough, hard nosed leader that has a good feel for the game. His moxy and playmaking abilities were put on full display last season, showing potential college upside. The Pats quarterback should be at the top of the list to contend for Mr. Football and #PRZTN POTY over the next two seasons.    - - - - -     Leading his Chargers team to the 3A title game as only a freshman, Simpson put together a stellar debut season and put himself on the map as potentially one of the best overall football recruits in the entire state! The Chargers signal showed poise and passing knowledge way beyond his years last Fall where he threw for 4,135 yards along with tossing 57 touchdowns and only one interception. Simpson also had a staggering completion percentage for a freshman at 75 percent. This dude was nearly flawless throughout the whole 2024 season and he has three years left to develop further, which is a scary concept for his opponents on the 3A level.    - - - - -     One of the more productive ball carriers in the Volunteer State over the past three years was this West Tennessee ball carrier, who had his best season yet as a senior. Smith produced 2,220 total offensive yards while scoring 41 rushing touchdowns and 47 total scores for his senior season. The Chargers were one of the better teams from the 3A level last Fall and the play of Smith and their backfield was a big catalyst towards their success. Smith is also still available on the open market and would be an excellent addition to someone's running back corps as well as someone that may surprise to eventually become a starter.    - - - - -    Springer might have been the best overall playmaker coming out of the 3A ranks last season as the Patriots senior two-way product nearly dominated the field from both sides of the ball. Over on offense, Springer had a big year at receiver where he caught 59 passes for 976 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 16.5 yards per catch. The Pats senior athlete also had a monster year on defense as Springer produced 137 total tackles along with 4 for loss, two sacks and six interceptions on the year. It was truly a breakout year for this Mid-TN talent, showing potential to excel at either position on the collegiate level.    - - - - - - - - - -   Just Missed the Cut ……   (RB) [player_tooltip player_id='1199149' first='Hicks' last='Hunter'] - Sycamore: Ever since he stepped on the field as a freshman, Hunter has done nothing but produce and he did that yet again last Fall. The War Eagles running back carried the ball 279 times for 1,982 yards and 26 touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Hunter also produced 28 tackles, 3 for loss and three interceptions on defense.    (WR) [player_tooltip player_id='1422977' first='Miles' last='Brown'] - Westview: Brown had a breakout sophomore campaign where he caught 54 passes for 984 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging 18.2 yards per reception. The Chargers playmaker also did well on defense where he had 39 tackles and three interceptions with all three being taken back for pick sixes.    (WR/DB) [player_tooltip player_id='466266' first='Radarious' last='Jackson'] - Sheffield: It was yet another highly productive season for this future Tennessee Volunteer where Jackson had a big year on both sides of the ball, especially on defense. The Knights senior playmaker had a defensive impact where he produced 77 tackles, 15 for loss, 3 sacks and 5 interceptions. Jackson had a good year on offense too with 1,604 total offensive yards and 15 touchdowns.    (Ath) [player_tooltip player_id='822698' first='Ronye' last='Watson'] - Chatt. Central: Watson did a little bit of everything for his Pounders offense last season. The #TN2025 athlete spent most of his time in the backfield where he produced 1,112 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns but Watson also did damage out wide with 45 receptions for 909 yards and five scores.    (DL) [player_tooltip player_id='1585716' first='Johnathan' last='Holcomb'] - Ripley: The 2024 season was a coming out party for this Memphis area D-lineman. Holcolmb became one of the more consistent performers from the 3A level that produced 86 total tackles with 27 of them for loss along with 5 forced fumbles and 14 sacks. The Tigers rising senior wasn't just strong versus the pass but he was equally as good at stopping the run.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/hhunter.webp?w=576" alt="" class="wp-image-1610920" style="width:215px;height:auto" /></figure>