Bledsoe County's Gabe Boring was named the Tennessee Titans Mr. Football kicker of the year Monday afternoon.
The first player in Bledsoe County's history to win a Mr. Football award, Boring was honored during the TSSAA's awards luncheon at the Titans Nissan Stadium. One player from each of the state's nine classifications was honored as Mr. Football, plus the kicker representing all classifications.
"I wasn't really that nervous. I was just glad to be there, just to be selected to be a finalist," said Boring, who has scholarship offers from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Texas-San Antonio and also is being recruited by Ole Miss and Virginia Tech. "I've wanted this award for a few years and have worked for it, so it felt really good to get it. I'm pretty excited, to be honest."
Other Mr. Football finalists from the area were Notre Dame's Cam Wynn in Division II-AA and Marion County's Jacob Saylors and Meigs County's Aaron Swafford in Class 2A.
Boring was perfect on 11 extra-point kicks this season and was 5-of-6 on field-goal attempts, with a long of 47 yards. He led the area with a 47-yard punting average as well.
Wynn, a junior who has committed to Tennessee, had more than 1,500 all-purpose yards in the regular season and 20 total touchdowns, along with 30 tackles and a kickoff return for a score. He will help lead Notre Dame in Saturday's BlueCross Bowl state championship game at Tennessee Tech University. The Fighting Irish, who are making the program's first appearance in a title game, will face 2016 Division II-A champion Lausanne at 4 p.m.
Saylors, a senior and three-time all-state defensive back, finished with more than 2,500 offensive yards and 35 TDs to go with 50 tackles and five interceptions on defense. Swafford, a sophomore quarterback, had more than 2,500 all-purpose yards and 33 total TDs, as well as 55 tackles and three interceptions on defense.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.