With players across the state, representing their respective team and class’ 1A to 6A, there was plenty of talent on hand at Ben Davis High School for the Indiana Preps 4th Annual Indiana High School Football Media Day. Players started off by breaking into their respective All State Classifications of either Underclassmen (A-6A), Small School Senior (A-3A) and Big School Senior (4A-6A) for a team photo. Afterwards, players would get individual photos and interviews done inside. In the meantime players waiting for their interview would be sharing stories amongst each other and partaking in friendly competition outside with the football cornhole toss. One thing I noticed walking around all the activities is the shared jerseys a handful of these players wore. Being named a Preseason All State member is a proud accomplishment in itself, but for the few that get to share that feeling with a teammate, makes the accomplishment a little extra special.
“It makes me feel good,” Underclassmen All State member and Warren Central defensive lineman Damien Shanklin says. “Knowing we will be able to work together as a team to stay humble and motivated.”
Shanklin, a 2025 4 Star prospect that holds offers from a handful of power five schools including West Virginia, USC, Missouri, Minnesota, Indiana and Purdue, is joined on the Underclassmen All State roster by fellow linemen Jerimy Finch Jr, Tyrone Burrus and Cam Herron.
“It is a good feeling,” says Burrus, who holds offers from multiple power five programs of his own. “[All of us] basically being on the same level, we have been playing together for a lot of years so there is a lot of chemistry there.”
For Fishers running back Khobie Martin and defensive end Brady Wolf, this honor is all about furthering their leadership.
“[Being on the All State roster] sets us as automatic leaders,” says Martin. “We got to be able to show the underclassmen and everyone else on the team that we worked to get to where we are. Making sure we set a good example for everyone.”
The Miami (OH) commit is coming off of a 1200 yard, 16 touchdown season while sharing the backfield with 2023 Indiana State commit Carson Dunn who had 1000 all purpose yards and 12 touchdowns of his own last season. With the likelihood of more carries coming his way, Martin is primed for a monster senior season.
“We control both sides of the ball,” says Wolf, who committed to Ball State after a 14 sack season last year. “He has the offense and I have the defense.”
Another pair of All State teammates that will be controlling both sides of the ball are Park Tudor quarterback DJ Gordon and linebacker Will Harris.
“It is a blessing, man,” says Gordon. “It is a blessing to see Will [Harris] and I grow from freshman to senior year, we push each other and work hard in the weight room.”
Gordon, who is coming off a season where he had 2000 yards passing with 32 touchdowns and 600 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns, leading Park Tudor to a 9-4 record while throwing for four or more touchdowns in seven of those wins.
“My personal goal is to help everyone on my team become a better player, while helping my team win state,” says DJ Gordon. “Whether that is passing for 300 and rushing for 100, I will do that. If it is passing for 100 and rushing for 50, I will do that. As long as we reach Lucas Oil by the end of the season.”
No matter how big of an individual accomplishment this is for these athletes, the one goal they all have in common is to rightfully win state. However, it is okay to have individual goals similar to making preseason All State to strive for just as much as they would strive for hoisting the trophy in Lucas Oil Stadium.
“To give Park Tudor that publicity that we have not gotten in the past,” says Harris. “Just being able to work with someone on the same team that has the same goals as you is a blessing. Coach told me since I had a better year last year (150 tackles and one interception) that everyone will start to know who I am, meaning my production would go down. So, my goal is to prevent that from happening.”
Similar to Harris, Warren Central 2025 3 star linemen Cam Herron and Tyrone Burrus both have the goal to continue to prepare for the next level and perfect their craft.
Herron, who like Burrus and Shanklin holds multiple power five offers including Duke, IU, Purdue and Iowa after helping lead Warren Central to 240 rushing yards per game and over six yards per carry. On the defensive side, Burrus and Shanklin each chipped in 31 tackles and three sacks during their Sophomore campaigns. Although Warren Central finished at a mediocre 6-6 last season, the amount of talent on their roster beside these three guys could propel them to their first double digit win season since 2018. However, getting double digits in 6A is a difficult task especially in a tough conference like the MIC or HCC. It is something Fishers has done just once in their existence and something even Warren Central has only done three times in the last 10 years.
“We go by something called DAT63,” says Khobie Martin. “It means Discipline Accountability and Toughness, it helps with our mental toughness going into the tough HCC games against really good competition.”
Fishers, who is coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, is primed for another good year with a handful division one talent on both sides of the ball.
“I love the competition, it does not matter who I play,” says Brady Wolf. “I love playing and I will perform against anyone that I play. What we got going is good, and I think we can beat anybody.”