It’s time to vote for The State’s preseason high school football Offensive Player of the Year from Midlands area teams.

Voting ends Friday (Aug. 16) at noon, and the winner will be announced on Lou Bezjak’s Twitter/X page.

Below are the nominees. You can vote as many times as you. (These polls are not scientific and are meant to be just for fun.)

Nominees

Brady Albro, QB, Chapin: Senior threw for 3,054 yards and 24 touchdowns last season and was an all-state selection.

AJ Brand, QB Irmo: Senior and Virginia Tech commitment set school records for total offense (4,045 yards), passing yards (2,932), touchdown passes (45) and total TDs (62) last season. Was named Class 4A Lower State Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-state.

Kendall Byrd, WR, AC Flora: Junior was first-team all-state and caught a career-high 66 passes for 1,069 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2023.

Jordon Gidron, WR, Ridge View: Junior caught 45 passes for 731 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games last season. 247Sports Composite ranks him as the No. 1 prospect in South Carolina for the Class of 2026 and seventh-best receiver in the country.

Ty Grier, WR, Fairfield Central: Grier catches passes and also lines up some in the backfield for the Griffins. The senior had 1,136 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

Manny Johnson, RB, Hammond: Rushed for 1,285 yards and 11 touchdowns on Skyhawks’ state championship team. He’s committed to Davidson.

Jack Laird, OL, Cardinal Newman: Anchor of the Cardinal Newman offensive line. He committed to Marshall earlier this summer.

BJ Montgomery, RB, Gray Collegiate: Senior rushed for 1,203 yards and 16 touchdowns last season.

Donovan Murph, WR, Irmo: Junior was first-team all-state, caught 57 passes for 1,087 yards and school-record 17 touchdown passes. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 3 prospect in the state for the Class of 2026 and 19th-best receiver in the country.

Landon Sharpe, QB, White Knoll: Senior was first-team all-state and completed 67% of his passes for 2,702 yards and 30 touchdowns. Sharpe also rushed for 400 yards and seven TDs.

Roper Wentzky, QB, AC Flora: Junior threw for 2,695 yards and 30 touchdowns last season.

Will Wilson, QB, Richland Northeast: Senior completed 64% of his passes for 2,337 yards, 22 TDs and rushed for 1,527 yards and 25 TDs last season. First-team all-state selection and committed to N.C. State.

Trevon Williamson, RB, Gilbert: Was one of the breakout stars in the area last year as a freshman. He rushed for 1,401 yards and 20 touchdowns, caught 12 passes for 222 yards and five scores. On defense, he had 54 tackles and 11 quarterback pressures.