Morgan football has three players named to Deseret News 3A first-team

For the Morgan Trojans, the season might not have gone the way that they’d wanted. 

Getting some individual accolades after the fact is always good, though. 

For three Trojans, their play on the field was good enough to garner 3A first-team recognition by the Deseret News. 

Zak Sargent was a force on both sides of the ball as a running back and linebacker. But it was his 795 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns that got the senior named to the 3A first-team. It was the first time that Sargent had been named to an All-State team. 

Defensive tackle Cooper McGiven was one of many Trojans that the coaching staff had play both ways. But the senior’s play along the trenches as a defensive lineman got him a first-team nod. For McGiven, this is a step up after having been named as a 3A honorable mention last year. 

For Beau Johnson, the 3A first-team recognition the kicker and punter received was actually his second straight honor as a first-team football player for the Trojans; the senior finished his career at Morgan 8 all-time on the Utah High School Athletics Activities Association [USHAA] record books for extra points, with 160.  

Two Trojans were named to the Deseret News 3A second team. They were junior wide receiver Lincoln Gilson [63 pass receptions, 930 receiving yards, 11 TD] and senior safety Tate Nelson [87 tackles, 2 INT]. 

For Nelson, this was also his second straight nomination to one of the All-State teams; he was named as a 3A honorable mention last season during Morgan’s run to the state championship in 2022. 

Several others were named as 3A honorable mention. Junior quarterback Beck Sheffield [199 pass completions, 2,599 yards passing, 25 TD; 128 yards rushing and 6 TD], sophomore offensive tackle Ledger Keele and senior center William Fisher got the nod on offense. 

Senior middle linebacker Tytan Willis [57 tackles, 2 sacks] and junior outside LB Jett Salmon [26 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 INT] were the other players named 3A honorable mention. 

According to the Deseret News, the All-State team is selected “based on coaches’ votes from a nominated list of players from each team.” λ