Before the 7th Annual DC Touchdown Club 3M Awards Dinner, WTOP is taking a closer look at this year’s award recipients. This year’s Players of the Year are DeMarcco Hellams from D.C., Tre’Mon Morris-Brash from Maryland, and Taylor Morin from Virginia.
Thursday night, three outstanding prep football players will be added to an illustrious list of those honored by the DC Touchdown Club. DeMatha WR/DB DeMarcco Hellams, St. John’s DE Tre’Mon Morris-Brash and Westfield WR/DB Taylor Morin will each take home their respective state honors as Player of the Year.
“I’ve heard a lot about the Touchdown Club and players who’ve come before me,” said Hellams. “I’m looking forward to the speakers and the chance to build relationships with other guys who have been places where I’d like to be.”
While he had nearly 1,500 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns as a wideout, his 12 interceptions were arguably more impressive, and the reason he’ll play defense at Alabama next year.
On the Falcons’ second play of the drive, Nick Cross rips the ball away from the running back, returns it 37 yards for a TD. 2-pt conversion good, 22-2 @DeMathaFootball
— Noah Frank (@NoahFrankWTOP) October 19, 2018
Hellams was actually recruited by new Maryland head coach Mike Locksley, while the latter was an assistant at Alabama. While he at least gave College Park a look once Locksley came home, ultimately what had sold him on Alabama remained.
“It was more about the relationships I have already built,” said Hellams, who was very complimentary of Locksley, nonetheless. “I committed for the program. I committed for the school. He made the best decision for him, I made the best decision for me.”
Morris-Brash is UCF-bound, committing to the emerging powerhouse during the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando. Despite more than 20 offers from schools across the country, Morris-Brash only visited Central Florida. Perhaps the biggest of his 15 sacks in his senior season came in the closing seconds to seal St. John’s regular season win over DeMatha, which kept the Cadets perfect at the time.
Morin, headed to Wake Forest, is thrilled to be sharing the stage with his fellow award winners.
“We’ve scrimmaged their teams a couple times, they’re tremendous players,” he said.
The award will also give the Westfield senior — who was forced into action as a quarterback in his team’s final game and totaled four touchdowns, one receiving, one rushing, one passing and one defensive — a chance to reunite with Darrell Green. The legendary cornerback also presented Morin with his Pro Football Hall of Fame Award for excellence last year.
Green will receive the Founder’s Award, while other honors will go to Verne Lundquist (Lifetime Achievement), Morgan Wootten (Circle of Legends), Dwayne Haskins Jr. (Washington Metro College Player of the Year) and Tom Verbanic (Washington Metro High School Coach of the Year).
