On Friday, November 8, in conjunction with C Spire’s support and promotion of our state’s high school student-athletes, the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) and the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) announced the winners of the prestigious 2024 Mr. Football awards.
Listed according to their school’s classification, the winning student-athletes for Mississippi’s 2024 Mr. Football are:
1A Tyshun Willis Velma Jackson
2A Adarius McDougle Sebastopol
3A KaMario Taylor Noxubee County
4A Coby King Greene County
5A Paul “Trey” Irving Gautier
6A Tony “Deuce” Vance Hattiesburg
7A Jaeden “JJ” Hill Tupelo
As a junior quarterback for Tupelo, Jaeden “JJ” Hill, Mr. 7A Football, is the only 2026 prospect among this year’s slate of student-athletes. A Mississippi State University commit, Hill has also logged some impressive yardage this year, with six 100-yard games and three games of over 200 yards.
With a verbal commitment to South Alabama, Mr. 6A Football, Tony “Deuce” Vance, is a dual-threat senior athlete (starting QB and DB) for Hattiesburg. With his father Tony as head coach, Vance helped the Tigers go undefeated in regular season play.
As a senior quarterback for the Gautier Gators, Paul “Trey” Irving” is this year’s Mr. 5A Football. Irving has a season filled with impressive stats, including over 2,000 passing yards (with a 65.2% completion rate), combined with almost 800 rushing yards.
Greene County’s senior quarterback, Coby King, is the 2024 Mr. 4A Football recipient. He also holds the MSHAA record for most touchdowns in a single season, with 49 touchdowns, including both passing and rushing scores.
KaMario Taylor from Noxubee County, Mr. 3A Football, is also a quarterback from the class of 2025. The nation’s #10 QB and Mississippi’s #4 overall prospect, Taylor is a hard commit to Mississippi State University, but, in recent days, he has been courted heavily by Georgia as well.
2A Football, Adarius McDougle, was the state’s only back-to-back winner of this prestigious high school award. A senior, McDougle is a dual athlete with standout stats as both quarterback and defensive back for Sebastopol.
But Tyshun Willis, Mr. 1A Football, did keep the award on the Velma Jackson campus, since Gavin Griffin was last year’s recipient. An impressive two-way player, Willis has committed to play for Mississippi State University after his upcoming 2025 graduation.
All 2024 winners of Mr. Football will be honored at the MHSAA Conference Center on Wednesday, November 20, at a special awards luncheon to be streamed live by the NFHS Network.
Each winner will also be recognized at the state championship game of their school’s specific classification (1A thru 7A) during the Blue Cross Blue Shield Gridiron Classic MHSAA Football State Championships in Hattiesburg at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) on December 5-7.
NOTE: Various second and third playoff rounds of high school football will take place this weekend, so be on the lookout for more information on the final rounds of the Mississippi Championship Gridiron Classic coming soon, right here at Our Mississippi Home.
*All photos courtesy of MHSAA
