Nick Tronti had given some thought to the state’s most prestigious high school football award before, but never talked about it publicly.

Wednesday, he had no choice.

Tronti, a senior at Ponte Vedra, became just the sixth area athlete to earn the state’s top individual football award when he was named Mr. Football in a relatively solid margin of victory against classification winners across the state’s eight other classes and independents.

"Over the summer I said to myself during workouts, Mr. Florida Football was one of my goals, I kind of tucked that away and kept that to myself," said Tronti, a 6-2, two-star prospect who is committed to UNC Charlotte. "But it all goes back to our team and what we were able to do this year. I told myself I wanted to live a senior season of no regrets and I don’t have any regrets this entire year."

For an athlete who was coming off of a broken collarbone suffered in a playoff-opening loss against Ribault and playing for a school with little pedigree across the state, such an accolade seemed, at best, a longshot. But that was before Tronti produced one of the most memorable seasons in area history and helped put his nine-year-old program on the map.

Tronti led Ponte Vedra to the state championship game and went toe-to-toe with nationally ranked Plantation American Heritage in a 35-33 loss. Tronti showcased in that game what he had done in the area for much of the last two seasons. And doing so in front of a statewide audience left quite an impression across Florida.

"We’re extremely proud of him, glad he’s getting the recognition he deserves," said Ponte Vedra coach Matt Toblin. "To me [the award] is reporters using their eyes rather than a Rivals website [when voting]. Even though he doesn’t have an Ohio State offer, big offers like that, he meant more to a team that went 13-0 and played for a state championship … than imaginable. The fact that he was able to lead us where we went. People in the community were coming up to us going in to the playoffs and talking about him. He turned into Paul Bunyan in the playoffs. Game after game after game."

Tronti is the first local to win the award since First Coast’s De’Andre Johnson in 2014. He passed for 3,328 yards and 34 touchdowns, leading the Sharks to a 13-1 season and state runner-up berth in Class 5A. Tronti also rushed for 650 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was a runaway pick in the voting, earning 12 first-place votes, more than double of runner-up Matt Laroche of Venice and Navarre’s Michael Carter.

Tronti said that he was just one of the pieces in a historic season for the Sharks.

"When I had the injury and I was getting back into shape, my receivers were helping me out, my offensive line was keeping me up, my defense I was playing against was encouraging me," Tronti said. "I’m just going to remember all of my teammates, we’re brothers, we built bonds. I told my team that years from now, nobody is going to remember how many touchdowns you threw or Mr. Florida Football, they’re going to remember what kind of teammate you were. What kind of person you were. That’s what you’ll miss the most. That’s what you’ll remember the most."

He became just the second athlete from St. Johns County to capture the top honor, joining Nease’s Tim Tebow (2005).

Outside of Tronti and Johnson, Sandalwood running back Frankie Franklin (1995), Jackson quarterback Leon Washington (2001), Nease quarterback Tebow (2005) and Yulee running back Derrick Henry (2012) have also won.

Trinity Christian’s Shaun Wade finished fifth in Mr. Football voting. Wade, the Class 3A player of the year, was announced as the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year earlier Wednesday. In coach of the year voting, Ponte Vedra’s Matt Toblin and Lee’s O.J. Small finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in top coach balloting.