Jayden Thoreson, who completed his Mica Mountain football career last fall, leading the Thunderbolts to a 4A state title, continues to earn accolades associated with his high school career as a student-athlete.
A quarterback headed to NAIA program Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Thoreson is one of 82 student-athletes to earn a spot on the 2025 National Football Federation Team of Distinction.
He earned a 4.78 GPA and was the valedictorian at Mica Mountain. He was also on the Principal’s Honor Roll.
Thoreson was also a two-year team captain for former coach Pat Nugent and was selected to the All-4A Kino First Team, in addition to being chosen 4A Kino Player of the Year by region coaches.
His inclusion in the 2025 NFF Team of Distinction resulted from the NFF Southern Arizona Chapter submitting his name to the national committee.
He was one of the 82 selected from a pool of 3,500 scholar-athletes who were identified by the nationwide NFF Chapter Network, the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame.
“Part of the NFF’s mission to promote the scholar-athlete ideal, the initiative honors the top high school football players from across the country for their all-around excellence, while also highlighting the vital work of the NFF Chapter Network at the grassroots level,” the NFF stated in a press release.
The members of the team all played their final high school football season during the 2024-25 school year. Criteria to make the team included (but were not limited to) academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement. Each chapter is limited to one honoree, distinguishing them as the top scholar-athlete from all the high schools covered by the chapter.
Since 1954, the NFF Chapters have played an integral role in supporting and promoting the game of football at the amateur level while honoring the top scholar-athletes in their local areas. With more than 12,000 members, the nationwide NFF Chapter Network impacts more than 500,000 student-athletes at 5,000 high schools across the country each year.
The centerpiece of the NFF Chapter Network’s efforts are the annual chapter awards banquets, which recognize more than 3,500 of the nation’s top scholar-athletes and distribute more than
$1 million in scholarships.
2025 NFF Team of Distinction Notes
- 82 Honorees
- 40 States Represented
- 4.15 Average GPA
- 74 Team Captains
- 44 All-State Selections
- 10 Valedictorians
- 54 National Honor Society Members
- 1 National Merit Finalist and Honoree
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