Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are happy to announce Wausau West's Jake Whalen as the 2014 recipient of the John Anderson Award as the most outstanding senior linebacker in Wisconsin, part of the WSN Senior Football Awards.

"Jake is the best all-around football player I have coached in 30 years," veteran head coach Kevin Grundy said. "Every team we faced this year had to plan for Jake on both sides of the ball."

Lining up at fullback for the Warriors, Whalen was the co-Offensive Player of the Year in the VFA-North along with the Defensive Player of the Year. Through 10 games he had 104 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and a sack.

Whalen was recently named a WFCA First Team All-State selection following his outstanding senior season.

Finalists for the award were Whalen, Troy Albrecht of Bay Port, Ty DeForest of Marshall, Max Fisher of Waterford, and Noel Winch of Stevens Point.

Past winners include Arrowhead's Derek Landisch (2010), Wisconsin Rapids' Vince Biegel (2011), Green Bay Southwest's Nathan Paup (2012), Mukwonago's Dominic Cizauskas (2013).

The award is named after John Anderson, a former Waukesha South standout who received All-Conference and All-State recognition on both offense and defense for the Blackshirts. He would go on to star for the University of Michigan for four seasons where he twice earned All-Big Ten honors. Anderson would be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft and go on to a successful 12-year career. Upon his retirement he was the Packers all-time leader in tackles with 1,020 (the Packer only have stats compiled since 1975) and still holds that record today. He was named to the NFL's All-Decade team for the 1980's and the Packers Hall of Fame in 1996.

The voting panel for the WSN Senior Football Awards consisted of:  Travis Wilson, WSN Content Manager and Head Football Writer;  Norbert Durst, WSN Content Producer; Dennis Semrau, Wisconsin State Journal; Justin Hull, WSCO The Score 95.3 in Appleton; JR Radcliffe, NOW Newspapers; Dan Barwick, WSN Contributor; Jimmie Kaska, iHeartMedia Eau Claire; Fan Vote