Mr. Football winner Isaiah Groves proves he's worthy of unretiring East Robertson legend's number
Curtis Woodard was the first player in East Robertson history to be named Mr. Football. A running back who came close to 3,000 yards as a senior in 1991, Woodard was "one of those freak kids:" a generational talent, to the understanding of current East Robertson coach Chase Brooks.
Woodard, who went on to play at Cumberland, wore No. 1 in high school. No East Robertson football player was ever supposed to wear it again. But before the 2023 season, principal Mary Cook made an exception for Isaiah Groves, who was looking to switch from No. 11. The caveat: If Groves wanted to don the number of a school legend, he'd better become one himself.
So that's exactly what Groves did.
Groves ran for 3,085 yards and 31 touchdowns on 277 carries, leading East Robertson to a 13-2 record and its first state championship game appearance. The junior running back finished with 36 total touchdowns and 3,510 all-purpose yards, 120 off the TSSAA's record for most in a single season. His single-season rushing total ranks fourth in Tennessee history.
And on Tuesday, Groves was named Class 2A Mr. Football, becoming the third player in East Robertson history to win the award. He joins Woodard and James Cook, who won it in 1994.
"It feels wonderful," Groves said. "I'm just blessed to be where I am today."
At the start of last season, Groves split reps with senior Zechariah Prince, but Groves missed three games in September due to injury. Prince seized the No. 1 role and ended up rushing for 1,818 yards and 28 touchdowns en route to being named a Mr. Football finalist. Groves, meanwhile, thrived in tandem with Prince, racking up 1,229 yards and 10 touchdowns himself.
Playing alongside Prince, who's now at Indiana State, allowed Groves to improve his vision. In addition, Groves packed on 20 pounds of muscle in between his sophomore and junior season.
"(He has) the ability just to run through tackles instead of just getting hit and them taking him down," Brooks said. "Him being stronger and faster, he can break some of these arm tackles."
Groves, a three-star recruit per 247Sports, has seven Division I offers, including Kentucky, Missouri and North Carolina State. He's thinking about following his older brother, Elijah, to college. Elijah Groves, a 4-star senior linebacker, decommitted from Kentucky on Tuesday and is considering NC State and Purdue, according to Isaiah.
Brooks, who won Mr. Football Lineman of the Year at Portland in 2000, was an assistant at Beech in 2012 coaching Jalen Hurd, who set the TSSAA's single-season rushing record with 3,357 yards that season. He thinks Groves can challenge for Hurd's record again as a senior, as long as he stays healthy and continues to get stronger.
Groves has plenty of motivation to do so. East Robertson lost 13-7 to Riverside in Saturday's BlueCross Bowl, in which Groves was held to season lows of 118 yards and 5.1 yards per rush. The day after the loss, Groves was "emotional," but started to feel better and better as it sank in what he and his team had achieved.
"Riverside lost their first year, and they won their second year," Groves said, referring to the Panthers' loss to Tyner in last season's state title game. "We're gonna try to do that same thing."
Whether or not Groves and his teammates achieve that goal, East Robertson will likely retire No. 1 for real after next season — now in honor of not just Woodard, but Groves as well.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football: Isaiah Groves named Class 2A Mr. Football
