High School On SI's Florida 2024 All-South Suncoast Football Team

Winston Watkins Jr. takes home player of the year honors; Manatee's JacQuez Green & Venice's John Peacock share co-coach of the year

Venice High wide receiver Winston Watkins (#1) is pursued by IMG Academy defender Tranard Roberts (#22). The Venice High School Indians hosted the IMG Academy Ascenders National team on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. / Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

High School On SI's Florida 2024 All-South Suncoast Football Team

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Winston Watkins Jr., ATH, Venice

I mean, we gave plenty of reasons why Watkins Jr. was the state's 2-way player of the year but we can name a bunch for him being the South Suncoast's best as well. Now we know there's deserving players, but Watkins Jr. had to play out wide, in the Wildcat, returning punts/kicks and also doubled up and played defense. He was kinda like Venice's version of a Travis Hunter, sort of. Helping lead Venice to its fourth state championship, Watkins Jr., a Ole Miss signee, ended 2024 totaling 1,813 all-purpose yards and 26 touchdowns. On defense, the senior made 24 tackles, batted away three passes and pick off two for the Class 7A champions.

CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR

John Peacock, Venice & JacQuez Green, Manatee

Playing arguably the toughest schedule in the Sunshine State, Peacock guided the Indians to the promise land after back-to-back losses in the big dance in 2022-2023. The goal from the get go was getting back and finishing the job, with Peacock's crew doing so in decisive fashion. The Indians rolled to a 52-19 rout of Lake Mary for the 7A title, capping an incredible 2024 campaign, finishing with just the lone loss to IMG Academy. Indians defeated Class 2A champ Cocoa and Class 4A champ Miami Northwestern in the regular season. Flipping over to Green and leading Manatee to just minutes away from beating St. Thomas Aquinas, down its workhorse back in Kei'Shawn Smith, certainly has to be recognized. The kind of season the Hurricanes have and enduring the damage sustained from multiple hurricanes during the regular season, Green did a commendable job. Only loss in the regular season came against South Georgia power Lowndes and they bounced back with an impressive win over Buchholz not too long afterwards. We could easily be talking about how Manatee played for the Class 5A state championship and possibly winning it all.

---

OFFENSE

Andrew Heidel, QB, Manatee

Heidel, an Army signee, finished the season with 2,432 yards, 31 touchdowns and added five more scores on the ground.

Jayce Nixon, QB, Venice

The Northern Iowa signee threw for 2,596 yards and 31 touchdowns en route to the Class 7A title.

Jamarice Wilder, RB, Venice

The Louisville signee finished the season rushing for 1,919 yards on 192 carries and scored 28 touchdowns.

Connail Jackson, RB, Cardinal Mooney

Jackson ended the season carrying the ball 169 times for 1,604 yards and scoring 28 touchdowns for the Class 2A state semifinalists.

Ike Perry, RB, Port Charlotte

Perry rushed for 1,384 yards and scored 17 touchdowns for the Class 3A region finalists.

Kei'Shawn Smith, RB, Manatee

Smith was solid in his senior season, rushing for 1,068 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns. Went for 99 yards and a touchdown in the state semis versus St. Thomas Aquinas.

Tyren Wortham, WR, Sarasota Booker 

The junior pass catcher last season hauled in 53 passes for 1,040 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Class 4A state semifinalists.

Ryan Matulevich, WR, Venice

Teamed up with Winston Watkins to form a dynamic duo as the Dartmouth signee hauling in 48 passes for 827 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns.

Torey Gilley, WR, Manatee

Gilley had himself a strong senior campaign and hauled in 39 passes for 619 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Eric McFarland, WR, IMG Academy

The freshman wide receiver caught 36 passes for 574 yards and eight touchdowns. The freshman already has Power 4 offers from schools like Florida State, Georgia and Missouri.

Michael Carroll, OL, IMG Academy

The Alabama signee is one of the top lineman in the country and standing 6-foot-7, 310 pounds, Carroll was an unstoppable force up front on Friday nights.

Al Oliver, OL, Venice

At 6-foot-5, 293 pounds, Oliver was an imposing offensive lineman to any would-be defender. Oliver was a big piece up front at offensive tackle in helping Venice win the Class 7A state championship.

Da'Ron Parks, OL, Cardinal Mooney

The transfer from West Virginia stepped right in and led the Cougars' offensive line, paving the way for nearly 5,000 yards of offense and 78 touchdowns.

Anthony Tanaka, OL, Venice

Playing primarily tackle and being one of the key cogs up on the offensive line for the Indians was Tanaka. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound lineman helped pave the way for two 1,000-yard rushers.

Peliasi Masila, OL, Manatee

Just a sophomore, the 6-foot-3, 332-pound lineman was a bulldozer in the trenches and can play multiple positions on the offensive line. Masila will be one of the top 2027 lineman out of the South Suncoast.

Dorien Irving-Jones, ATH, Venice

The sophomore sensation made huge plays and scored the game-winner against Miami Northwestern. Irving-Jones finished the 2024 campaign rushing for 1,398 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. Will be Venice's go-to-back of the future.

Tyree Manning Jr., ATH, Sarasota Booker

We had a hard time leaving the freshman off after the first season he had. Manning totaled over 1,000 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns.

---

DEFENSE

Elijah Golden, DL, Cardinal Mooney

The Cougars' defensive lineman caused havoc on the line of scrimmage. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound junior nabbed 10 sacks and 61 tackles, 29 for a loss.

Ean Johnson-Kelley, DL, Manatee

The Mercer signee played at a high level for the Hurricanes, with Johnson-Kelley tallied 46 tackles, 26 for a loss and seven sacks. 

Alvoid Kennon Jr., DL, Manatee

The Charleston Southern signee made 46 tackles, 27 tackles for a loss and seven sacks as apart of the Hurricanes' front seven. 

Myron Charles, DL, Port Charlotte

The Texas signee had a solid season once again for Port Charlotte. Charles tallied 41 tackles, eight for loss and 3.5 sacks for the Pirates.

Asharri Charles, DL, Venice

The junior defensive end finished with 107 tackles, 15.5 for loss, 13.5 sacks, six pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

Trenton Curliss, LB, Charlotte

Curliss, a 2026 linebacker, recorded 144 tackles, 34 went for a loss, nine sacks and five fumble recoveries.

Ben Zarkiewicz, LB, Venice

The Indians’ senior linebacker had 159 tackles, nine tackles for loss and one sack. 

Ronin Dangler, LB, Manatee

Was one of the Hurricanes' top players on defense all season long in the front seven. Dangler tallied a team-high 85 tackles, 27 for loss, four sacks and two forced fumbles. 

Landon Marsters, LB, Venice

Marsters had a huge senior campaign, racking up 178 tackles, 12 that went for a loss and 3.5 sacks.

Laron Foye, DB, Cardinal Mooney

The junior came up in run support from strong safety and tallied 81 tackles, seven for loss and intercepted four passes. 

Chris McCorkle, DB, Cardinal Mooney

The Kansas signee intercepted three passes and made 43 tackles, with eight going for a loss.

Dominick Kelly, DB, IMG Academy

The Georgia signee picked off four passes, defended two others and made 17 tackles for the Ascenders.

Jamari Parker, DB, Manatee

The Hurricanes' top defensive back intercepted four passes and made 37 tackles. 

Chauncey Kennon, DB, Sarasota Booker

Keeping wide receivers at bay throughout the season, the junior defensive back batted away 11 passes for the Class 4A state semifinalists.

Juluis Roach, ATH, Port Charlotte

Not many teams wanted to throw in the way of Roach as he picked off two passes, batted away four others and made 18 tackles on the season. On offense, the senior had 700 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns. 

---

SPECIALISTS

Owen Tomlinson, P, Parrish Community

The senior punter averaged 41 yards per punt on 35 attempts and landed 14 inside of opponent's 20-yard line.

Brunno Reus, K, Venice

The Florida State signee was solid on PAT's (91-of-93) and was nearly automatic on field goals going 9-of-14 and hit a long of 53 yards. Reus set a state record for points in a season with 119.

Jalen Bryant, ATH, Manatee

Bryant had himself a strong senior campaign and hauled in 28 passes for 675 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Also returned punts and kicks for the Class 5A state semifinalists.

---

Follow High School On SI throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi