Wide Receiver/Safety Dezmen Roebuck of Marana High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Arizona Football Player of the Year. Roebuck is the first Gatorade Arizona Football Player of the Year to be chosen from Marana High School.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Roebuck as Arizona’s best high school football player, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Emmitt Smith (1986-87, Escambia High School, Fl.), Peyton Manning (1993-94, Isidore Newman School, La.) and DJ Lagway (2023-24, Willis High School, Texas).
The 6-foot, 190-pound senior wide receiver and free safety made 95 receptions for 1,131 yards and 14 touchdowns this past season, leading the Tigers (10-1) to the Open Division State Tournament quarterfinals. A Conference 5A First Team All-State selection as a junior, Roebuck also recorded 51 tackles and four interceptions, returning one for a score. He concluded his prep football career with a state-record 352 catches.
Related: Marana No. 279 in HSFA 300
Roebuck has volunteered locally at a food bank and homeless shelter, and he has donated his time as a youth football and basketball coach. “Dez is an absolute stud,” said Justin Argraves, head coach of Cienega High School. “He’s a dynamic playmaker. Teams have to account for him in so many ways, which opens up opportunities for his teammates to make big plays.”
Roebuck has maintained a 3.06 GPA in the classroom. At the time of his selection, he had made a verbal commitment to receive athletic aid to play football at the University of Washington next fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
Roebuck joins recent Gatorade Arizona Football Players of the Year Navi Bruzon (2023-24 & 2022-23, Liberty High School), Nicco Marchiol (2021-22, Hamilton High School) and Ty Thompson (2020-21, Mesquite High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
Related: Finalists for 2024 Gatorade National POY
As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.
The above is a news release from Gatorade
