MaxPreps National Football Player of the Year Watch

With 14 touchdown passes in his first two games, Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C.) quarterback Will Grier is the early favorite to earn MaxPreps National Player of the Year honors. However a number of other candidates have also thrown their helmets into the ring.

Each week, MaxPreps will track the favorites for the honor of National Player of the Year. While it's still very early in the season, here's a look at our first 10 candidates:

MaxPreps National Football Player of the Year Watch





Will Grier, Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C.)
In a pair of blowout wins, Grier has thrown for 670 yards on the season with 14 touchdown passes. He completed 16 of 25 passes for 309 yards and seven scores in a 61-6 win over Albemarle on Aug. 23 and followed that effort with 17-of-24 passing for 361 yards and seven more touchdowns in one half of play in a 68-0 rout of North Raleigh Christian Academy. The yardage against North Raleigh put Grier over 10,000 yards in his career. Only four other passers in North Carolina history have thrown for as many yards as Grier (10,246). Chris Leak of Independence (Charlotte) is the state's all-time leader with 15,593 yards.{PAGEBREAK} Jake Browning, Folsom (Calif.)
While he didn't duplicate the 10 touchdowns he threw in last year's season opener, Browning came close in a 56-21 win over Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.). The junior signal caller tossed seven touchdown passes and completed 31 of 38 passes for 438 yards.{PAGEBREAK} Joseph Yearby, Central (Miami)
Playing for the nation's No. 2-ranked team, Yearby had 235 yards on 25 carries with a pair of touchdowns in Central's 42-20 win over American Heritage. Yearby and his Central teammates have a big test this week against national No. 1 Washington (Miami).{PAGEBREAK} Kyler Murray, Allen (Texas)
The junior quarterback got Allen off to a strong start with a 49-27 win over Carroll (Southlake, Texas) by throwing for 464 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Allen, which is ranked No. 3 in  this week's Xcellent 25 national rankings.{PAGEBREAK} Austin Kafentzis, Jordan (Sandy, Utah)
The MaxPreps Sophomore of the Year had a rough outing against Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) in a 38-12 loss as he completed just 9 of 27 passes for 112 yards and two interceptions. He also carried 14 times for 38 yards and no touchdowns. But in a season-opening 40-12 win over Fremont, Kafentzis completed 20 of 34 passes for 309 yards and two scores and also ran 22 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns.{PAGEBREAK} Shuler Bentley, Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.)
Although Byrnes did not play last week, Bentley opened the season with six touchdown passes in a 51-36 win over nationally-ranked Apopka. The senior quarterback completed 22 of 40 passes for 288 yards.{PAGEBREAK} Tre Watson, Centennial (Corona, Calif.)
After rushing for 1,483 yards as a junior, the senior running back is off to a tremendous start with 319 yards on 33 carries with five touchdowns in a 60-42 win over Liberty (Henderson, Nev.). Centennial is ranked No. 9 in the Xcellent 25 national rankings.{PAGEBREAK} Elijah Hood, Charlotte Catholic (N.C.)
Rushed for 189 yards on 36 carries with one touchdown in a 38-17 loss to Northwestern (Rock Hill). Hood now has 6,002 career yards, according to the Charlotte Observer, which would be a Mecklenburg County record. Hood opened the season with 325 yards and five touchdowns in a 35-28 win over Gonzaga.{PAGEBREAK} Deshaun Watson, Gainesville (Ga.)
Georgia's all-time passing leader and a returning MaxPreps All-American, Watson completed 27 of 41 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns in a 58-28 win over West Forsyth (Cummings, Ga.). He added 70 yards rushing on 10 carries with one touchdown.{PAGEBREAK} Mason Rudolph, Northwestern (Rock Hill, S.C.)
The Trojans' senior quarterback completed 25 of 34 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-17 win over Charlotte Catholic. He also ran for three touchdowns and had 39 yards rushing. In a 51-19 win over Gaffney in the season opener, Rudolph threw for five touchdowns and ran for another.