2019 Warrick Dunn Award recipient announced

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - For 13 years, WAFB has given high school football stars who appear on Sportsline Friday Nite the chance to earn the prestigious Warrick Dunn Award, named after the former NFL Man of the Year.

The annual Sportsline Player of the Year Awards banquet was held Wednesday, Jan. 15 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge. At the banquet, Shamar Smith was announced as the winner.

Nominees and the winner must display the productivity on the playing field along with the intangibles like character, selflessness, and sportsmanship that Dunn exhibited over his long and successful playing career.

In 11 NFL seasons, Dunn eclipsed the 10,000-yard mark in rushing for Tampa Bay and Atlanta, but is just as well known to some for his Home for the Holidays program, which provides single working mothers with brand new furnished homes in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Tallahassee, and Tampa.

Dunn’s mother, the late Betty Smothers, was a single parent and an officer with the Baton Rouge Police Department. She was working an extra late-night security assignment when she was shot to death while he was still a student-athlete. Dunn has tried to honor her memory with his performances and his generosity.

• Jai Williams - Ascension Catholic RB
• Jackson Thomas - Catholic QB
• Keilon Brown - Zachary QB
• Jaquelin Roy - U-High DT
• Josh Parker - Catholic RB
• Steven McBride - East Ascension WR
• Desmond Windon - Baker RB
• Sam Kenerson - Central QB

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