Colony’s Jack Nash named Gatorade Alaska Football Player of the Year

After leading the Colony High football team to the first Division I Alaska state championship in school history in the fall of 2022, Jack Nash became the third player in program history to be named Gatorade Alaska Football Player of the Year on Friday.

“Winning Gatorade Player of the year has always been a dream of mine,” Nash said. “Being that third is an honor.”

The award not only recognizes a student-athlete for their phenomenal feats of athleticism, it also takes into account outstanding academic achievement and extraordinary character exemplified on and off the field.

Nash maintained a 3.4 GPA and volunteered locally as a member of his school’s student government and leadership programs, as well as a football coach in the area Pop Warner program.

This distinction makes him a finalist for the national Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award, to be announced later this month.

Some notable recipients of the award from its previous 37 years include former No. 1 overall NFL Draft selections Matthew Stafford and Trevor Lawrence as well as three-time Super Bowl champion, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith.

Nash led the charge for the Knights on both sides of the ball as the team’s starting quarterback and free safety. On offense, he recorded 2,656 total yards and 34 touchdowns. On defense, he logged 104 tackles and led the entire state in interceptions with 12, including three that were returned for touchdowns.

“We knew he had a really good year, there are a lot of great athletes out there and I know statistics aren’t everything, but the way he played on both sides of the ball, he was a complete and incredible football player,” Colony head coach Robbie Nash said.

His storybook season also resulted in him being named Co-Offensive Player of the Year for Alaska, Defensive Player of the Year for Alaska, and Alaska Maxpreps Player of the Year.

“My brothers have gone through Colony’s program, and I’m just that little brother that has always been there watching, and it is literally like a dream come true having this all happen,” Nash said.

During the regular season, Nash split the Offensive Player of the Year award with Niko Alailefaleula of Bartlett. Both were in contention for this honor, and while both performed at an elite level in the postseason, Colony’s shining Knight took his game up another notch.

“I knew it was coming down to those two, but once we got to the playoffs, Jack caught on fire, and he knew nothing would burn out,” Robbie Nash said.

Jack Nash said he’s glad that he was able to make his family and the extremely tight-knit Palmer community proud of him with his accomplishments on and off the field this past fall.

“This is a lot smaller town than Anchorage, so everybody kind of knows everybody, so they’re all pretty grateful and happy that I won it,” Nash said.