The USA Today High School Football Player of the Year is the award given by USA Today to the best offensive and defensive high school football players in America.
The award has been given since 1982, the year the newspaper began, and each player was part of the USA Today All-USA high school football team.
| Year | Player | Pos. | High School | College | NFL[1] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | QB | Yes | Two year NFL career | ||||
| 1983 | RB | No | |||||
| 1984 | WR | Yes | Two-year NFL career | ||||
| 1985 | QB | Yes | 13-year NFL career | ||||
| 1986 | RB | Yes | Pro Football Hall of Fame, 4x rushing champion | ||||
| 1987 | QB | USC | Yes | Two-year NFL career | |||
| 1988 | RB | Yes | Ten-year NFL career | ||||
| 1989 | WR | Yes | Eight-year NFL career | ||||
| 1990 | RB | FSU / Central Florida | Yes | Two year NFL career | |||
| 1991 | RB | Yes | Three-time Pro Bowler | ||||
| 1992 | QB | Yes | Played in one NFL season | ||||
| 1993 | QB | Yes | Three-year NFL career | ||||
| 1994 | QB | Florida State[2] | No | ||||
| 1995 | QB | Leslie County | Yes | First overall pick in NFL draft | |||
| 1996 | Travis Minor | RB | Baton Rouge Catholic | Florida State | Yes | Eight-year NFL career | |
| 1997 | QB | Yes | Seven-year NFL career | ||||
| 1998 | QB | Yes | Eight-year NFL career | ||||
| 1999 | QB | Evangel Christian | Yes | Played in two NFL seasons[3] | |||
| 2000 | QB | Cretin-Derham Hall | N/A | No | Went to Major League Baseball; 2009 American League MVP | ||
| 2001 | RB | No | Drafted, but never played in NFL | ||||
| 2002 | QB | Florida | Yes | Made NFL roster for one season, did not play | |||
| 2003 | QB | Yes | Three-season NFL career | ||||
| 2004 | QB | East St. John (La.) | No | Signed and released by NY Giants Played in Arena and in France Ligue Élite de Football Américain | |||
| 2005 | QB | Arkansas / USC | No | Played in Arena Football League | |||
| 2006 | QB | Notre Dame | Yes | Second-round pick in 2010 draft | |||
| 2007 | QB | Jeannette (Pa.) High School | Yes | 2011 Supplemental draft | |||
| 2008 | QB | Yes | Sixth round pick in 2014 NFL draft | ||||
| 2009 | OT | Cretin-Derham Hall | Yes | 7th round pick in 2014 NFL draft | |||
| 2010 | QB | Auburn / Ouachita Baptist | No | ||||
| 2011 | WR | Yes | |||||
| 2012 | QB | No | |||||
| 2013 | RB | Yes | |||||
| 2014 | QB | Yes | First overall pick of the 2019 NFL draft | ||||
| 2015 | QB | Yes | Fourth-round pick in 2020 NFL draft | ||||
| 2016 | QB | No[4] | |||||
| 2017 | QB | Yes | First overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft | ||||
| 2018 | QB | – | |||||
| 2019 | QB | – | First overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft | ||||
| 2020 | QB | Westlake (TX) | – | ||||
| 2021 | Cade Klubnik[5] (2) | ||||||
| 2022 | Lamar Sperling[6] | RB | Archbishop Hoban (OH) | – |
| Year | Player | Pos. | High School | College | NFL | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | LB | No | |||||
| 1983 | DT | Yes | Two-year NFL career | ||||
| 1984 | LB | Yes | Three-year NFL career | ||||
| 1985 | LB | No | |||||
| 1986 | DT | Yes | Nine-year NFL career | ||||
| 1987 | LB | Yes | Nine-year NFL career, two Super Bowl appearances | ||||
| 1988 | LB | Pittsburgh | Yes | Played 11 NFL seasons | |||
| 1989 | LB | Notre Dame | Yes | Nine-year NFL career | |||
| 1990 | LB | Yes | Nine-time NFL All-Pro | ||||
| 1991 | LB | Yes | Played four NFL games | ||||
| 1992 | HB | Yes | Four-year NFL career | ||||
| 1993 | LB | Florida State | Yes | Played in the NFL in 1999 | |||
| 1994 | LB | Notre Dame | Yes | Four-year NFL career | |||
| 1995 | LB | Yes | Butkus and Lambert award winner in college | ||||
| 1996 | DE | No | Played in the CFL | ||||
| 1997 | DE | Yes | Three-year NFL career | ||||
| 1998 | LB | Yes | 12-year NFL career | ||||
| 1999 | LB | Miami | Yes | Ten-year NFL career | |||
| 2000 | DL | Yes | Seven-year NFL career | ||||
| 2001 | LB | Yes | 11-year NFL career | ||||
| 2002 | DB | Florida State | Yes | 11-year NFL career | |||
| 2003 | DB | Ohio State | Yes | 14-year NFL career | |||
| 2004 | DB | Miami | Yes | Eight-year NFL career | |||
| 2005 | DL | Yes | Active in NFL since 2010[7] | ||||
| 2006 | DT | North Carolina | Yes | Five-year NFL career | |||
| 2007 | DB | Yes | Active in NFL since 2011 | ||||
| 2008 | LB | Notre Dame | Yes | Active in NFL since 2013 | |||
| 2009 | DB | Florida State | Yes | Active in NFL since 2014 | |||
| 2010 | DE | Yes | |||||
| 2011 | DE | Florida State | Yes | Second round pick in 2015 NFL draft | |||
| 2012 | DB | USC | Yes | Second round pick in 2016 NFL draft | |||
| 2013 | DB | Yes | |||||
| 2014 | DT | Georgia | Yes | Undrafted, Signed by Cleveland Browns | |||
| 2015 | DT | Michigan | Yes | First round pick in 2019 NFL draft | |||
| 2016 | DB | Trinity Christian High School (Florida) | Yes | Fifth round pick in 2021 NFL draft | |||
| 2017 | LB | USC | – | ||||
| 2018 | DE | Oregon | – | ||||
| 2019 | LB | – | |||||
| 2020 | CB | – | |||||
| 2021 | Walter Nolen | DT | Powell (TN) | – | |||
| 2022 | Caleb Downs[8] | DB | Alabama | – |