The third-annual Michigan Prep Football Great 8 Awards Banquet was held Wednesday night at the Kellogg Center.

The event was sponsored by the Mid-Michigan Touchdown Club, which is a chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. The event honored Michigan's top high school quarterback, running back, receiver, offensive lineman, defensive lineman, linebacker, defensive back and special teams performer.

Eight individuals, representing eight geographic regions, will be nominated for each of the eight position awards. The 64 players were selected by a staff of prep writers and broadcasters from around the state. Those selectors then gathered input from their coaching contacts around the state to select the top player at each position.

Top QUARTERBACK: Region 1 – Nick Freeman, Gaylord; Region 2 – Kirk Deering, Grand Rapids West Catholic; Region 3 – William Arnold, Mount Pleasant; Region 4 – Dan VanDreumel, DeWitt; Region 5 – Jared Cowan, Davison; Region 6 – Rick Powell, Warren Cousino; Region 7 – Anthony Mifsud, Dearborn; Region 8 – Tyler Burke, Comstock.

Top RUNNING BACK: Region 1 – Casey Hares, Ishpeming; Region 2 – Joe Glendening, East Grand Rapids; Region 3 – Joe Bitterman, Chesaning; Region 4 – Isaac Harper, East Lansing; Region 5 – Mark Ingram, Flint Southwestern Academy; Region 6 – Jonas Gray, Birmingham Detroit Country Day; Region 7 – Darrin Williams, Detroit King; Region 8 – Larry Caper II, Battle Creek Central.

Top RECEIVER: Region 1 – Robert Phillips, Gaylord; Region 2 – Jake Mulder, Grand Rapids South Christian; Region 3 – Isaac Zimmer, Reese; Region 4 – Jason Fleet, DeWitt; Region 5 – Chad Pougnet, Linden; Region 6 – Rodney Hush, Macomb Dakota; Region 7 – Fred Smith, Detroit Southeastern; Region 8 – Nate White, Comstock.

Top OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: Region 1 – Rocko Khoury, Traverse City West; Region 2 – Matt Forward, Zeeland West; Region 3 – Jordan Rahme, Fulton, Region 4 – Austin Holtz, Holt; Region 5 – Zac Hueter, North Branch; Region 6 – Ethan Ruhland, Lake Orion; Region 7 – Willie Campbell, Detroit Cass Tech; Region 8 – Sean Hooey, Hillsdale.

Top DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: Region 1 – Cody Woods, Memoninee; Region 2 – Zach Stevenson, Grandville; Region 3 – Andrew Grillo, Midland; Region 4 – Matt Armstrong, Lansing Sexton; Region 5 – Joe Borowicz, Flushing; Region 6 – Mike Martin, Novi Detroit Catholic Central; Region 7 – Nick Perry, Detroit King; Region 8 – Darryll Stinson, Jackson.

Top LINEBACKER: Region 1 – Matt Eisenzoph, Menominee; Region 2 – Grant Caserta, Holland West Ottawa; Region 3 – Ryan Palmer, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic; Region 4 – Mitch Zajac, Holt; Region 5 – Lawrence Clark, Flint Southwestern Academy; Region 6 – Kenny Demens, Birmingham Detroit Country Day; Region 7 – Omar Sharp, Taylor Truman; Region 8 – Evan Hagen, Jackson Lumen Christi.

Top DEFENSIVE BACK: Region 1 – Zac Dreffs, Elk Rapids; Region 2 – Damion Horton, Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills; Region 3 – Trenton Robinson, Bay City Central; Region 4 – Lavelle Walker, Lansing Everett; Region 5 – Tyler Moreland, Flint Powers; Region 6 – Bruce Horner, Farmington Hills Harrison; Region 7 – Bobacar Cissoko, Detroit Cass Tech; Region 8 – Dan Hocker, Richland Gull Lake.

Top SPECIALIST: Region 1 – Will Conklin, T.C. West; Region 2 – Torsten Boss, Lowell; Region 3 – Alex Faust, Midland Dow; Region 4 – Craig Heger, Howell; Region 5 – Mike Machala, Grand Blanc; Region 6 – Kevin Muma, Troy; Region 7 – Jonathon Dandridge, Highland Park; Region 8 – Doug Raak, South Haven.

Mark Dantonio's address was directed at the honorees. In the address he stressed the importance of taking their talents and use them to make a positive impact on and off the field and in their home communities. Click the link below to hear the speech in its entirety.