Versatile athletes headline 2020 Elite 11

Almost every player on The Southeast Sun/Daleville Sun Courier 2020 Elite 11 has played and started at multiple positions on the football field and all of them were leaders on their teams this season.

Enterprise’s Elite 11 representatives are headed up by senior all-state athlete, and Elite 11 All-Around Player of the Year Josh McCray. McCray has been All-Around Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons and has been one of the most versatile players in Enterprise history.

The 6-foot-2-inch, 230-pound McCray has been a starter at receiver, running back, linebacker and safety during his Wildcat career and in 2020 was a jack of all trades for the Enterprise offense. He spent time as a slot receiver, outside receiver, tailback, fullback, wing-back and even the quarterback in the “single wing.” McCray also played a key role at linebacker at the end of Enterprise’s upset win over Auburn.

In total, McCray compiled more than 1,800 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior. He rushed for 774 yards and 11 touchdowns along with catching 28 passes for 440 yards and six more scores. He also returned 19 kickoffs for 570 yards and two touchdowns and completed both of his pass attempts for 35 yards.

In his career, McCray amassed 3,856 all-purpose yards and 43 total touchdowns along with 41 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, four interceptions and six pass breakups on defense.

Joining McCray as Enterprise representatives on this year’s Elite 11 squad are junior quarterback Quentin Hayes, senior receiver Jared Smtih, senior linebacker Tanner Rogers and senior safety Jaylon Webster.

Hayes played quarterback for the first time at the varsity level in 2020 and did so in style, throwing for 1,464 yards and a school-record 20 touchdowns. He also rushed for 556 yards and four touchdowns and caught one pass for 33 yards as the leader of the Wildcat offense. As a sophomore, Hayes primarily played receiver and running back, while also serving as a backup quarterback.

His offensive production and leadership is what led to Hayes being named 2020 Elite 11 Offensive Player of the Year.

Smith showed no lingering effects from the knee injury that ended his sophomore campaign in 2018 as he regained his speed as a senior and became the fastest Wildcat on the team.

Smith played wide receiver, tight end and even carried the ball as a rusher in 2020. He caught 20 passes for 520 yards and nine touchdowns along with 171 yards and four more touchdowns on the ground.

Smith’s final two games may have been the most productive games receiving in Enterprise history as he caught 12 passes for 326 yards and five touchdowns in those contests.

Webster has been one of the most effective and consistent Wildcat defenders for the past three seasons and did so playing every position in the secondary. In 2020, he led the Wildcat defense with 71 tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, 13 pass breakups and three blocks PATs. He also returned an interception for his first career touchdown.

His effective play in the Enterprise secondary is why Webster is the 2020 Elite 11 Defensive Player of the Year.

Rogers may very well be the most inspiring story of the senior class returning from a gruesome leg injury in his junior season to become a leader on the Wildcat defense in 2020. In 2019, Rogers suffered a broken leg during preseason practices causing him to miss the entire season.

As a sophomore, Rogers started multiple games at safety before transitioning to linebacker going into his junior season. As a senior in 2020, Rogers recorded 72 tackles, 6.5 tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

A trio of seniors make up Daleville’s representatives on the Elite 11 team with athlete Sincere McKenzie, cornerback/running back Cedereon “Speedy” Wiley and offensive tackle/linebacker Myles Parris making the cut.

All three are returning seniors from the 2019 team that broke a number of school and state records but had to endure a losing season for the first time in any of their careers in 2020. Virtually the entire Warhawk team had to play on both offense and defense because of the low number of varsity players and these three made up the most production of the group.

McKenzie has been a starting player since his freshman season and has done so at a plethora of positions including running back, receiver, linebacker, cornerback, safety and even punter.

In 2020, McKenzie netted 885 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in nine games with 427 yards and four touchdowns coming on the ground. He also totaled 45 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries on defense as Daleville’s unquestioned leader.

Wiley led the Warhawk running game with 492 yards and three touchdowns along with returning 14 kickoffs for 338 yards and a touchdown. He averaged more than 24 yards per kickoff return as a senior. Wiley was also Daleville’s best player in the defensive secondary, totaling 17 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and two interceptions.

Parris has been one of Daleville’s leaders on defense the past two years and was also one of the Warhawks’ leading blockers on offense. As a defender, he recorded 56 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

The New Brockton Gamecocks suffered one of their more frustrating seasons in 2020 but a number of versatile players left everything they had on the field. Junior quarterback Kaden Cupp, senior linebacker/running back Julian Noble and senior receiver/defensive back Colton Marsh make up the New Brockton contingent on the 2020 Elite 11 team.

Cupp has been a starting quarterback for New Brockton since his freshman season and came into 2020 – after setting a number of passing records as a sophomore – recovering from a surgery to repair his appendix.

Still, Cupp threw for 836 yards and six touchdowns along with a career-high 795 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground as New Brockton’s all-around leader on offense.

Noble was one of New Brockton’s most versatile players this season playing linebacker, running back, tight end and returning kickoffs. On offense, he rushed for 148 yards and one touchdown and caught five passes for 83 yards and another touchdown. He also returned seven kickoffs for 73 yards. On defense, Noble was New Brockton’s leader as he tallied 51 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss, five sacks, one interception and three fumble recoveries in just eight games.

Marsh has started at quarterback, receiver, safety and cornerback during his high school career and was New Brockton’s leading receiver and top defensive back in 2020. He caught 12 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns along with 16 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, three interceptions and one sack on defense. He also returned 27 kickoffs for 422 yards.