Maryville’s Patton Robinette named Gatorade state player of the year
sports@thedailytimes.com
Maryville High School’s Patton Robinette has been named the Gatorade Tennessee Football Player of the Year, the organization announced on Thursday in Chicago.
Robinette, senior quarterback for the Rebels, is the first football player from the high school to earn the honor. Alcoa running back JaRon Toney, now a walk-on at UT, won the award in 2009.
The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Robinette has now led the Rebels to two Class 6A state championship games, including a 14-0 record so far this season. Maryville will face Whitehaven on Saturday in Cookeville.
“It’s a great honor and I’m honored to get it,” Robinette said. “It means a lot. I think it’s really a team award because I have a great offensive line and great receivers who helped me get it. So thanks to all of them.”
Robinette has passed for 1,509 yards and 21 touchdowns, having completed 108 of 150 passes with just seven interceptions this season. He has also rushed for 860 yards and 16 touchdowns on 82 carries.
A Tennessee Mr. Football finalist, Robinette was selected for the ESPNHS Elite 11 Quarterback Camp and has helped the Rebels produce 28 straight wins over two seasons.
“What an incredible honor,” Maryville coach George Quarles said of the Gatorade award. “We are very happy and excited for Patton. This is a great honor for him and for Maryville High School. He is a great representative of our school and community.”
Robinette, a University of North Carolina commitment, has also excelled in the classroom. He has a 4.55 GPA and has been active in the community, volunteering for an area pre-school program and a youth football camp. He has also participated in a number of service-mission projects with his church youth group.
“It all requires a lot of organization and you have to have your priorities straight,” he said.
The Gatorade awards annually recognize one winner in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball and boys and girls track and field. Then one National Player of the Year is designated in each sport.
The selection process is guided by a panel at Gatorade and ESPN Rise, who work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished veteran prep sports writers to determine state winners in each sport.
In winning the award, Robinette becomes a finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year award, which will be announced later this month.
