November 29, 2016
By KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
Rutherford County Schools
A pair of football players from Rutherford County – JaCoby Stevens (Oakland) and Jacob Smith (Siegel) – were among the best for 2016 and recognized at the annual Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Awards luncheon.
Stevens, a senior defensive back, received the Class 6A Mr. Football Back award, while Smith, a senior kicker, who made a field goal from 55 yards earlier this year, was named the Kicker of the Year.
Both had previously been named among the Top 2 finalists.
“This is such an outstanding honor,” TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress said in a statement following Monday’s luncheon at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
Head coaches and members of the media nominated a total of 34 finalists in eight classifications. A committee of statewide sportswriters then selected the winners.
Winners were chosen based on their performance during the 2016 regular season, according to TSSAA. Academics and characters also factored into the selection process.
Awards were presented to the top linemen and backs in each of the eight classifications.
“They were here not only due to their athletic ability that they displayed on the field throughout the season,” Childress said, “but just as much for their outstanding character and academic achievements.”
Stevens and his Oakland teammates will be playing Whitehaven in the Class 6A Blue Cross Bowl for the state title Saturday night in Cookeville at 7 p.m.
Coincidentally Stevens, who recorded 61 tackles this season and has long since committed to playing college football at Louisiana State University, was named the state’s top back over Whitehaven’s Kylan Watkins.
PHOTO: Oakland's JaCoby Smith (left), Siegel's Jacob Smith