ALL-USA Football Midwest Team nominees as 2025 regular season concludes

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With the high school football regular seasons wrapped in most states and the playoffs beginning, we’re starting to narrow our focus on the ALL-USA Football Teams.

Every player is still eligible. Postseason performances will still be taken into account for everyone. However, it’s also time to name finalists for each position. These are players who will definitely be in the discussion when the final teams are chosen in December.

There have been some amazing performances this year in the Midwest region. Just among the quarterbacks, we have the nation’s leading rusher, an Illinois record breaker, a player whose offense is averaging more than seven touchdowns a game, a player who is completing over 80 percent of his passes, and a player who threw eight touchdown passes in a single game. Wow.

Here's the complete list of ALL-USA Midwest Region Football Team finalists. The Midwest region includes athletes from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Quarterbacks

Tommy Carr, Saline (Mich.) – Carr’s big year has included a win over Dexter in which he accounted for nine total touchdowns, including eight TD passes, which is the second most in a game ever in Michigan.

Myles McLaughlin, Knox (Ind.) – McLaughlin has been leading the country in rushing for most of the season and seems to widen the gap over the second-best rusher every week.

Trae Taylor, Carmel Catholic (Ill.) – In his first nine games, he threw for 2,931 yards. But what really pops is his 81.4 percent completion percentage (175 of 215).

Jett Thomalla, Millard South (Neb.) – Thomalla’s offense has been a juggernaut, scoring more than 50 points in each of its win and going over 70 points about half the time. Thomalla has over 2,000 passing yards.

Jonas Williams, Lincoln-Way East (Illinois) – Williams broke the Illinois state record for career touchdown passes this season.

Running backs

Shahn Alston, Harvey (Ohio) – He’s gone over 1,500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards and has over 30 total touchdowns. That includes at least one touchdown in every game and eight rushing touchdowns in a game against Berkshire.

Jonathan Brown, Bishop Hartley (Ohio) – Brown racked up 138 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in a game recently. Hartley is 8-2 and Brown is committed to Michigan.

Evan Hampton, Owensboro (Ky.) – Hampton is also a big-time high school baseball player. For football, he is closing in on 1,000 rushing yards and is averaging more than nine yards per carry.

Savion Miller, Regina (Iowa) – Opened the playoffs with a 108-yard, three touchdown performance. He has led his team to a 9-0 record and into the second round of the playoffs.

Aaron Stewart, Warren Township (Ill.) – Stewart has over 2,400 rushing yards and over 40 touchdowns already this year. He is leading the state of Illinois in rushing.

Wide receivers

Samson Gash, Catholic Central (Mich.) – Gash’s team closed out October still undefeated. He has over 30 catches for almost 600 receiving yards and has reached double digits for touchdowns. He has also been returning kickoffs and punts.

Jerquaden Guilford, Northrop (Ind.) – Guilford has already gone over 30 receptions and 750 receiving yards this year and has more than 10 touchdowns. He is averaging over 21 yards per catch.

Amarion Jackson, Millard South (Neb.) – The QB-WR pairing of Thomalla to Jackson has been prolific. Jackson already has more than 35 receptions for over 740 yards and has reached double digits for touchdowns.

Milan Parris, Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) – Parris recently announced the Miami Hurricanes as his college choice. This season, he already has nearly 40 catches for over 1,000 receiving yards and at least 12 touchdowns.

Monshun Sales, Lawrence North (Ind.) – A junior, Sales has been having a big year. He’s already caught over 35 passes for more than 780 yards and is right around 10 touchdowns.

Tight ends

JC Anderson, Mt. Zion (Ill.) – Anderson has been a true receiving threat this season, having surpassed 40 catches and 500 yards before the playoffs even began. He also has touchdowns in at least six games.

Landon Blum, Woodbine (Iowa) – Can stretch the field as a receiving tight end, and has already surpassed 33 receptions, 640 yards and 15 touchdowns this season.

Brayden Fogle, Lexington (Ohio) – Fogle had multiple Division I offers for basketball, but has picked football for college and is committed to Georgia. His team won its conference this year, and he already has reached 20 receptions and surpassed 400 yards.

Lincoln Keys, Saline (Mich.) – Has been a key cog in an offense that seems likely to win its conference title. He’s reached 25 catches and seven touchdowns and surpassed 448 yards.

Mack Sutter, Dunlap (Ill.) – Son of former NFL linebacker Ed Sutter, Mack plays both offense and defense and high school but has committed to Alabama as a tight end. At the end of the regular season, he is closing in on 30 receptions, has gone over 560 yards and has reached double digits in touchdowns.

Offensive linemen

Jackson Cantwell, Nixa (Mo.) – Cantwell’s team was undefeated entering the playoffs, and its offense is prolific. It had scored at least 28 points in every game and had scored 55 points or more in each of its past four games, including 62 in the regular-season finale. It has also racked up over 2,500 rushing yards.

Sam Greer, Archbishop Hoban (Ohio) – Greer is considered by most to be the top offensive lineman in Ohio, and is committed to Ohio State. His team is 8-1 and has scored more than 40 points three times and more than 50 once.

Ben Nichols, Davidson (Mich.) – Entering the playoffs, Davidson has already won eight games. Its offense had scored 44 points or more in five of its past six games, and 57 for more three times. It is averaging over 350 total yards per game.

Hudson Parliament, Brandon Valley (S.D.) – Parliament made the playoffs earlier this year with an 8-1 record and a big-time offense. At that point, it has scored 43 points or more five times and had gone over 50 points three times.

Owen Fors, Barrington (Ill.) – Barrington made the playoffs at 8-1, and had scored 35 points or more seven times. It was averaging over 400 total yards per game.

Defensive linemen

Titan Davis, St. Louis (Mo.) – A former quarterback, Davis turned into a dominant interior defensive lineman and has been named a Navy All-American. He is a sacks machine, and had an interception in his team’s win last week.  

Braeden Jones, Mount Carmel (Ill.) – Jones has helped put Mount Carmel in position to compete for another state title by dominating the middle of the defensive line, especially against the run.

Cincere Johnson, Glenville (Ohio) – Johnson is well on his way to his second-straight season with over 200 tackles. He will finish his career with well over 20 sacks.

Howie Johnson, Forest Lake (Minn.) – Has already tied the Minnesota state record of 104 career sacks and tackles for loss (that is one category), and he will certainly put that record in the rearview mirror soon.  

Brayden Parks, Brother Rice (Ill.) – Parks has helped his team to the playoffs by being a dominant run stopper in the middle of the line and being able to generate a pass rush there. He is one of the team leaders in both tackles and sacks.

Linebackers

Jakobe Clapper, St. Xavier (Ohio) – Clapper has already passed 60 total tackles for the season, including more than five tackles for a loss.

Roman Igwebuike, Mount Carmel (Ill.) – In Mount Carmel’s first playoff game, Igwebuike had 10 tackles including a pair of tackles for loss. Carmel is 10-0 and on a quest to win its fourth straight state championship.  

Marcus Jennings, Cass Technical (Mich.) – Jennings has been a huge playmaker on defense this year, including in his team’s first playoff game in which he had an interception return for a touchdown that gave his team an early lead. He also forced a fumble on a sack in the third quarter which a teammate returned for a TD. It was his second sack of the game. He has been named a Navy All-American.

Aden Reeder, St. Xavier (Ohio) – Reeder has tackles for loss in at least six games this year and has at least nine total. He also has at least six sacks and more than 45 total tackles.

Jacob Savage, Ryle (Ky.) – Entering the playoffs, Savage had 83 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Those numbers are still rising in the postseason.

Defensive backs

Ace Alston, Anderson (Ohio) – Teams have started to avoid throwing it in the direction of the cornerback Alston. That’s because he has at least a pair of interceptions and 11 pass deflections, along with 29 tackles.

Gideon Gash, Catholic Central (Mich.) – Gash’s team has started 9-0 and has not allowed more than 14 points in a game during that stretch. Gash has at least 51 tackles, including three tackles for a loss, an interception and five pass deflections.

Kaden Gebhardt, Olentangy (Ohio) – Gebhardt is a two-way player who also plays wide receiver. At defensive back, he has over 93 tackles this year, with three tackles for a loss two interceptions and eight pass deflections.

Darion Jones, Omaha North (Neb.) – Jones’ season has included at least 25 tackles and three for a loss, including a sack. He also has at least three interceptions and six pass tackles deflections.

Tory Pittman III, Central (Neb.) – Central’s defense has a pair of shutouts under its belt and has allowed under 20 points five times. Pittman has at least 68 total tackles with three interceptions.

Coaches

Justin Cessante, Detroit Catholic Central (Michigan) — Catholic Central is 10-0. It's offense has scored at least 26 points in every game, and has held its opponent to 14 points or less nine times.

John Hart, Brownsburg (Ind.) — Brownsburg is 10-0 in Indiana's biggest division and has scored at least 35 points eight times.

Jordan Lynch, Mt. Carmel (Ill.) — Lynch's team has won its first playoff game and is 10-0 as it goes after its fourth straight state championship.

Doug Ramsey, Elder (Ohio) — Even though Elder is 10-0, they've had some tight games in which calmness by its top players and great decisions by its coach have made a difference.

Bill Utz, Platt County (Mo.) — A 9-0 record earned the Pirates a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Platt County has scored at least 42 points in every game and has scored 60 or more four times.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Myles McLaughlin headlines All-USA Football Midwest Region finalists

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