The honors keep rolling in for Liberty County senior Richard LeCounte III.
The most recent was announced Monday, when LeCounte, a senior defensive back, was named a finalist for the 2017 U.S. Army Player of the Year award.

Earlier this month, LeCounte, who has already committed the University of Georgia, was named a finalist for American Family Insurance’s All USA Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s long been considered one of Georgia’s top prospects as a defensive back.
The 5-foot-10 senior is set to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January in San Antonio. The U.S. Army Player of the Year will be named on Jan. 6.

The other finalists include running back Cam Akers, of Clinton High School in Mississippi; running back Eno Benjamin of Wylie East High School in Texas; Najee Harris, a running back from Antioch High School in California; quarterback Tate Martell of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas; and defensive lineman Jaelan Phillips from Redlands East Valley High School in California.

“The six Player of the Year finalists are a diverse group of student-athletes with unique strengths and talents, much like the soldiers who make up our Army team,” said Mark S. Davis, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for marketing. “We congratulate these six finalists and look forward to the winner’s announcement.”

The selection process began this fall as players were evaluated by the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee - consisting of All American Games and its official selection partner, 247Sports — and by coaches from across the country.
Past U.S. Army Player of the Year Award winners include Kevin Jones (2001), Lorenzo Booker (2002), Adrian Peterson (2004), Jimmy Clausen (2007), Terrelle Pryor Sr. (2008), Dorial Green-Beckham (2012), Elijah Hood (2014), Martez Ivey (2015) and Jacob Eason (2016).

For 17 consecutive years, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl has been a premier high school sporting event, serving as a launching pad for America’s future college and NFL stars.
Odell Beckham Jr., Andrew Luck, Patrick Peterson, Adrian Peterson, Ezekiel Elliott and Christian McCaffrey made their national debuts as U.S. Army All-Americans.

A total of 330 U.S. Army All-American Bowl alumni have been selected in NFL Drafts. The 2016 U.S. Army All-American Bowl drew a crowd of 39,121 to the Alamodome and was watched by more than 4 million unique viewers across the country.
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl presented by American Family Insurance is owned and produced by All American Games, a New Jersey-based sports marketing and event management company.

For more information on the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and its related events visit usarmyallamericanbowl.com, Connect with all #ArmyBowl activity at fb.com/ArmyAllAmerican, or at the official Twitter (@ArmyAllAmerican) and Instagram (@armyallamericanbowl) accounts.