Two NFL players who spent their high school years dominating on the gridiron in Henry County are in the running for one of the league’s most prestigious honors.

  Each of the 32 NFL teams has nominated a player for the 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Nominees were announced December 10 by the league. Among them are Isaac Rochell of the Los Angeles Charges and Dalvin Tomlinson of the New York Giants.

  Rochell attended Luella Middle School before transferring to Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, where he played a huge role as the team reached the Class A state semifinals in 2011 and won the Georgia High School Association state championship in that classification in 2012. From there he went to Notre Dame, where he played four years. He was a seventh-round pick of the Chargers in 2017.

  Tomlinson graduated from Henry County High School, where he was All-State in football and a three-time state wrestling champion. Rebounding from two separate knee injuries in high school and college, he was a member of two national championship teams at the University of Alabama before joining the Giants in 2017 as a second-round draft pick.

  Here is what the NFL’s official website says about the award for which both men have been nominated:

  “The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field. The award was established in 1970. It was renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame Chicago Bears running back, Walter Payton. Each team nominates one player who has had a significant positive impact on his community.

  ‘Representing the best of the NFL’s commitment to philanthropy and community impact, 32 players are selected as their team’s Man of the Year and become eligible to win the national award.

  “The winner of the award each year receives a $250,000 donated to the winner’s charity of choice. All other 31 nominees receive up to $40,000 donated to their charity of choice.”

  The list of off-field accomplishments that led to Rochell and Tomlinson being nominated is literally too lengthy to include in this space. Each player’s resume is given in detail at nfl.com.

  The 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year will be announced during the league’s annual NFL Honors ceremony, which will air on CBS the first week in February before Super Bowl LV. Each nominee will receive a $40,000 donation in his name to his chosen charity, while the winner will receive a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice.