The Joe Thomas Award is presented annually to the state's top senior offensive lineman as part of the WSN Senior Football Awards. The award is named after former Brookfield Central and University of Wisconsin athlete Joe Thomas, who has gone on to great success in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns. After an All-American career at UW, Thomas has been selected to the NFL Pro Bowl each of his three years in the league.
The pre-season list will be trimmed down to 25 semi-finalists halfway through the year, with five finalists chosen at the start of the playoffs. Winners are announced the week of the state finals.
Joe Thomas Award Pre-Season Watch List:
Eric Alfson, Waunakee
Mike Allard, Notre Dame
Kurt Annis, Oshkosh North
Marcus Aprahamian, Brookfield Central
Matt Baldwin, Catholic Memorial
Ben Bauer, Iola-Scandinavia
Thailor Bauer, Kenosha Bradford
Billy Beggs, Parkview
Dylan Bender, Wisconsin Rapids
Nick Berlick, Ozaukee
Mitch Berton, Deerfield
Brandon Bhatla, Brookfield Academy
Wyatt Blado, Tomah
Jake Borgardt, Cedarburg
Zack Borzick, Montello/Princeton/Green Lake
Mykaell Bratchett, The Hope School
Andrew Brekke, La Crosse Central
Kendal Buie, Milwaukee Bradley Tech
Chris Busbey, Waukesha West
Foster Bush, Menasha
Steve Bye, Regis
Jordan Campbell, Greendale
Nick Chiono, DeForest
Wyatt Clark, Nekoosa
Shaquille Cole, Milwaukee Vincent
Jonathan Coon, Pius XI
Drew Cross, Necedah
Michael Davis-Scott, Milwaukee Vincent
Zack Degner, Catholic Memorial
Zach Dehler, Oshkosh North
Matt Demler, Ozaukee
Jordon Denfeld, Two Rivers
Andrew Deptula, Oak Creek
Troy Dibb, Brown Deer
Nick Didier, Menomonie
Jorey Dobbs, Melrose-Mindoro
A.J. Donaldson, Wisconsin Heights
D.J. Esmahan, Port Edwards
Gage Ferkey, Nekoosa
Lucas Fiene, Sauk Prairie
Caleb Franson, Hayward / Lac Courte Oreilles
Dustin Frederick, Wautoma
David Gallagher, Pardeeville
Ricky Ginter, Crandon
Jesse Gribble, Florence
Lucas Gritzmacher, West Allis Central
Jon Groves, Lodi
Brad Hanson, Plymouth
Joe Harney, Madison Edgewood
Tanner Harrington, Oshkosh West
Todd Heinz, Shawano
Eric Heitman, Lake Mills
Jake Hock, North Fond du Lac
Taylor Hoff, Whitefish Bay
Kyle Holzem, Wisconsin Dells
Jordan Hoover, Flambeau
Lucas Hurtley, Evansville
Corey Hylton, Kenosha St. Joseph
Nick Jacobson, Brodhead / Juda
Justin Jagodinsky, Roncalli
Noah Jankowski, Greendale
Sean Johnson, Hartford
Matt Kautzman-Schaefer, Wauwatosa West
Ty Kearney, Rio
Jeremy Kelly, Somerset
Brandon Klewicki, Fond du Lac
Taylor Knothe, Richland Center
Trenton Knuteson, Poynette
Ryan Kolln, West Allis Hale
Andrew Korecz, Kenosha Tremper
David Koronkiewicz, Peshtigo
Kodi Kransberger, Edgerton
Chad Kueter, Platteville
Jon Lambert, Racine Lutheran
Christopher Lanham, Lakeside Lutheran
Nick Leintz, Clear Lake
Jake Leintz, Clear Lake
Tim Leis, Alma Center Lincoln
Sean Lenz, Appleton East
Jake Leu, Fond du Lac
Jake Lindenberg, Arrowhead
Isaac Linger, Madison East
Kevin Little, Madison La Follette
Matt Losiniecki, Waukesha West
Tanner Lyga, Cochrane-Fountain City
Nate Marshall, Whitnall
Cory McLinn, Manitowoc Lincoln
Sean Meehan, Wilmot
Mitch Meisenhelder, Shiocton
Austin Meyer, Plymouth
Cody Mezera, Wauzeka-Steuben
Joey Mikula, Shell Lake
James Minton, Waupaca
Cole Mish, Potosi
Charles Mitchell, Lakeland
Michael Murphy, River Valley
Isaac Neumann, Somerset
Taylor Noble, North Fond du Lac
Nick O'Connor, Adams-Friendship
Jacob Olson, Gilman
Billy Ostermeyer, University School
John Oyer, Waunakee
Jon Pahl, Kimberly
Grant Parker, Evansville
Derek Patten, McFarland
Ulice Payne III, Pius XI
Ronald Ratcliff, Milwaukee Riverside
Brian Reichling, Darlington
Rafael Saez, Oak Creek
Spencer Sauberlich, Menasha
Luke Schladweiler, Plum City
Joe Schmidtknecht, Mondovi
Jordan Schnur, Black River Falls
Connor Schroeder, Oshkosh West
Erik Sedani, Cameron
Dylan Seiter, Sun Prairie
Neal Sennhenn, Columbus
Pete Seuffer, Omro
Bryce Siverling, Bloomer
Dean Smith, Big Foot
Preston Smith, Milwaukee Bay View/MCLL
Daniel Soldner, St. Mary's Springs
Nick Spiegelhoff, Catholic Central
Jesse Standiford, Pardeeville
Mario Stephens, Chippewa Falls
Kyle Steuck, West De Pere
Bryce Stieber, Marathon
Mitch Sullwold, Clear Lake
Alex Tompkins, Osseo-Fairchild
Taylor Truan, Northwestern
Isaac Unger, Madison West
Frank Vruwink, Wisconsin Rapids
Sam Wegner, Kimberly
Bryant Welch, Mauston
Eddie Wetzel, Shoreland Lutheran
DaShawn Wilbern, Wisconsin Lutheran
Kenneth Wince, Milwaukee Riverside
Andrew Wojta, Kewaunee
Jesse Zander, West Salem
Trent Zander, Mount Horeb / Barneveld
Ryan Zavodnik, Racine Horlick
Pre-season watch lists are compiled from all-conference teams, stats leaders, film evaluations, WSN Player Rankings, and coach input. Players do not have to be on the pre-season list to be considered for the semi-final or finals list.
Tag(s): News Travis Wilson Senior FB Awards
