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By Jed Blackwell
Sports Editor
The South Carolina Automobile Dealers Association will present its annual Mr. Football award on December 11 at the Myrtle Beach Performing Arts Auditorium beginning at 7 p.m. The banquet will be held the evening before the SCADA North-South All-Star football game.
The Mr. Football award, sponsored by the Moore Orthopaedics Clinic, is the top individual award to a football player in the state. To be considered for the award, a senior player must be nominated by his head coach and supported by a letter of recommendation from a non-athletic faculty member.
This year’s finalists include two local players, as Byrnes’ Marcus Lattimore and Boiling Springs’ Dylan Thompson have both been recommended for the honor. Other finalists are Bruce Ellington from Berkeley, Goose Creek’s Malcolm Howard, and Daniel’s DeAndre Hopkins.
Past local winners include Malcolm Long, Prince Miller, Trey Elder, and Roscoe Crosby.
Lattimore is hoping to carry on the Byrnes tradition by becoming the third Rebel to win the award.
“I remember when Prince won it and how happy he was,” Lattimore said. “I am just honored to be nominated. It’s not only about being a good football player, but being a good person and making good grades. It’s something people will remember forever. If I were to win it, it would be such an honor.”
Byrnes head coach Chris Miller thinks Lattimore stacks up well against Byrnes’ past winners.
“We feel like he is in the same category as Prince Miller and Trey Elder,” Miller said. “He has done so much for our program and is such a class act. He represents everything that the Mr. Football award is about. It’s not only what he does on the grass, but what he does off of it too.”
Thompson also appreciates the honor of being a finalist for the award.
“I think it is a huge honor to be a finalist for Mr. Football in the state of South Carolina,” he said. “It means a lot to me because a lot of it has to do with character and also football. Without Jesus Christ,none of these awards and accolades would be possible. Thats what I play for because God has given me all of my abilities and can take them away at any moment. Again, this is another great honor to end my senior year and its huge just to be in the same group with players like Marcus Lattimore, DeAndre Hopkins, Bruce Ellington, and Malcolm Howard. I also want to thank my family,coaches, and teammates for helping me become the person and player I am today.”
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