MERIDIAN, Idaho — Rocky Mountain High School's Jax Tanner has been named Idaho's football 'Gatorade Player of the Year.'
- Tanner tells Idaho News 6's Allie Triepke that he is proud to be apart of his team's 'uncommon' program.
- The group is expected to complete community service hours, attend several other school sporting and non-sporting events, and maintain a high GPA.
- You can vote for Tanner for Sports Illustrated High School "2024 Idaho Football Player of the Year"
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
When you think of the title ‘player of the year,' you probably envision game-winning touchdowns, dynamic defensive tackles, and a captain guiding their team to victory.
But for Junior Offensive Lineman Jax Tanner, “It’s a very big blessing,” It’s about more than the action on the field and being “uncommon” in his school’s community.
“So ‘Uncommon’ is a little program that we have in the Football program where you maintain a 3.5 GPA. You have to have a certain amount of attendance in the weight room, and you have to have to go to three winter sports, three spring sports, and then three non-sporting events,” said Tanner.
Showing up for the people who cheer them on each season is important to fostering a more positive community and helping each player grow as a person — something Rocky Mountain Head Coach Criner says inspires him to keep coaching.
“It’s teaching them how to be better young men," Criner said. "And when I see them helping another teammate up off the field, or the other team’s player up off the field, that’s telling me it’s sticking.”
This season, while leading his team to the state semifinal game, Tanner broke his own record for pancake blocks — pushing 115 opponents flat on their backs.
“If I put my mind to it, I can do anything,” said Tanner.
He also is being recognized as a ‘First Team All-Conference Offensive Lineman,' and off the field, Meridian Police Department named him Citizen of the Month, in September.
“It’s just something we do to help us live an ‘uncommon’ lifestyle,” said Tanner.
Tanner tells me he plans to take $1,000 dollars from his ‘Gatorade Player of the Year’ winnings to Game Changers Idaho.
“It’s an organization that helps special needs kids go out and have a chance to play the game, like we all love to, out here on Friday nights,” said Tanner.
Having coached at a professional and collegiate level - Coach Criner tells me he sees a bright future on the field for number 52, “To see a kid that has all that ability and all that attention, and he is the most humble guy in the world. You ask him to take a freshman and walk him around campus because he is struggling and just talk to him, and he’ll do it.”
“Being the first football player to win at Rocky was a very big achievement. It’s something that you always dream of as a little kid, so to have it come true for me it was a blessing. A very big blessing,” said Tanner.
