Mid-Season Awards

Since the 2023 European League of Football season is at the mid-season mark, it is time to take a first look at the Honors. If the regular season ended today, these would be my award winners.

Most Valuable Player: Jadrian Clark

This one is quite obvious. Jadrian Clark is playing an outstanding season and is on pace to shatter every quarterback record there currently is, standing at 2295 passing yards and 32 passing touchdowns after just seven games. His performance has been historical and won’t be replicated anytime soon.

Offensive Player of the Year: Markell Castle

Choosing the winner of this award has become complicated over the past two weeks. After it looked like Tony Tate had a secure grip on the trophy for many weeks, Markell Castle and AJ Jackson are really close to him by now. Right now, Castle got to nod over his competition. The 27-year-old ranks first in receiving yards (846), second in receptions (51) and third in receiving touchdowns (9), all while having played one less game than most of his competition.

Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Kitchens

It’s a three-peat for the best defensive player in European League of Football history. Kyle Kitchens is once again terrorizing offense lines and quarterbacks around the league. After seven games, the Thunder pass rusher is just four sacks short of tying his own season record of 16. Additionally, Kitchens has recorded a league-best 15.5 TFL, a forced fumble and two fumble recovery touchdowns this season. 

Special Teams Player of the Year: Aaron Jackson

Despite missing out on the OPOY award, Aaron Jackson is not going home empty handed. The all-purpose monster has proven to be a deadly force on special teams, amassing 854 return yards along with a kickoff and punt return touchdown. The 28-year-old is on pace to break the single-season return yards record of 1,235 yards and tie the return TD record of four in a season. 

Rookie of the Year: Juan Flores-Calderon

Juan Flores-Calderon has been one of the biggest surprises this season. The 19-year-old phenom ranks top-15 with 486 receiving yards, while also having 27 catches and four touchdowns to his name. The son of two Olympic track and field athletes has had two 100+ yard performances in seven games so far and is looking to establish himself as one of the best receivers in Europe. 

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Adam Žouželka

Prague Lions running back Adam Žouželka is a force to be reckoned with. Despite only playing in four games due to an injury, the Czech standout is standing at 268 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on the season, ranking him top-15 and top-10 respectively in those categories. 

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Darren Okoeguale

The two frontrunners for this award are Hamburg Sea Devils free safety Victor Omorodion and Cologne Centurions strong safety Darren Okoeguale. The Centurions’ safety is getting the nod here after recording 24 tackles, 5.5 TFL, four sacks and two blocked kicks in five games so far. The 22-year-old has been one of the few highlights for Cologne so far. 

Coach of the Year:  Jordan Neuman

Like Jadrian Clark for MVP, this is an obvious choice. Neuman took over a franchise that had won only two games in two seasons and turned it into a title contender. The Surge are sitting at the top of the Central Conference with a 5-1 record and would be the #3 seed for the playoffs if the season ended today.

Assistant Coach of the Year: Andrew Weidinger

After leading COY and leading the Barcelona Dragons to the playoffs, Weidinger and the team surprisingly parted ways. Now, the 41-year-old is coaching circles around the competition. Weidinger created the most lethal offense the European League of Football has ever seen, averaging 445 yards and 5,4 touchdowns per game and putting Jadrian Clark in pole position for the MVP award.