The Built Ford Tough Player of the Year Award celebrates the top high school football athletes in Texas across classifications 6A through 2A and eligible private schools.

Each week during the season, one standout is named the Built Ford Tough Player of the Week, leading up to the prestigious Player of the Year honors in each classification.

The experts at Dave Campbell's share their players to watch for 2A.

Mallory Hartley's Player to Watch

2026 ATH Kaegen Ash (Mount Enterprise): He’s a do-it-all athlete who rarely comes off the field. The Texas Tech linebacker commit racked up 49 tackles, nine TFLs, five sacks and one interception. Impressive, right? Well, his stat line as a running back might turn more heads, totaling 244 carries for 1,960 yards and 32 rushing touchdowns. Ash puts up video game numbers!

Carter Yates' Player to Watch

2026 RB HD Davis (Wolfe City): Davis’s 2,789 rushing yards ranked second in Texas, and he only needed 11 games to do it! A first-round playoff exit last season has him Hungry Like the Wolf for revenge, a scary sight for TXHSFB defenses.

William Wilkerson's Player to Watch

2026 QB Casen Carney (Muenster): It will be tough for Carney to top last season when he totaled 4,436 yards and 62 touchdowns while leading the Hornets to a state title. But we wouldn’t put it past him. He’s a one-man highlight show.

Matt Stepp's Player to Watch

2026 QB Casen Carney (Muenster): The bar is already incredibly high for Carney going into 2025. The scary part is that 2025 could be even better as Muenster brings the house back from last year's state championship squad, a scary thought for the rest of 2A-Division II.

Greg Powers' Player to Watch

2026 RB/ATH Ryelan Morris (Honey Grove): The DCTF four-star is a dynamic, all-purpose back with slick footwork and great hands. In just seven games last season, the Stanford commit racked up 1,871 yards and 30 touchdowns. It's not a stretch to think he could eclipse 2,500 yards with a full season of reps. 

Greg Tepper's Player to Watch

2026 RB Jorden Prince (Beckville): The next big thing out east, Prince dazzled as a junior, running for 2,132 yards and 37 touchdowns and averaging more than nine yards per carry. The younger brother of Texas Tech running back J'Koby Williams, he's also a track and basketball star. Prince could be in for a monster senior year.