By: J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola
Gateway High School junior running back Nydrell Thigpen has been named Positively Osceola’s Osceola Air Player of the Week for Week 2 of the 2026 high school football season after powering the Panthers to a 13-12 season-opening win over Lake Minneola.
Gateway coach Marlin Roberts says he doesn’t understand why more college football recruiters are not knocking on junior running back Nydrell Thigpen’s door.
If he keeps producing on his current level, that could change in the coming months.
Thigpen was a major factor in Gateway’s 13-12 season opening win over a much-improved Lake Minneola club on Friday night – earning Positively Osceola’s Osceola Air Player of the Week for Week 2 of the 2026 season.
Thigpen ran past, around and through the Hawk defense, gaining 158 yards on 24 carries –averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. Many of those yards came after first contact and they did not include a 40-yard carry on his first attempt of the night that was called back by an offensive hold.
He was particularly effective on Osceola’s two touchdown drives. He scored the team’s first touchdown on an eight-yard power run up the middle and on Gateway’s decisive touchdown run of the second half, he gained 41 yards on four carries.
Thigpen workload was magnified when fellow running back Honor Kim was injured early in the third quarter – allowing the Hawk defense to key solely on Thigpen. “Just trying to do my job,” the soft-spoken Thigpen said. “I set goals before a game and felt I could have done better but the most important thing is we came up with a win.”
Roberts says his star running back is an integral part of the team. “Nydrell is one of those backs that simply doesn’t go down on first contact,” the veteran coach says. “He’s always carrying two or three defenders for those extra yards.”
A starter since his freshman year, Thigpen is on pace to become the school’s all-time leading rusher. As a sophomore, he became the first Panther running back( since 2019 to rush for 1000 yards (Philip Bangura-1249) and now has 2,201 career rushing yards.
Osceola Air Partners with Positively Osceola to Celebrate Local Student-Athletes
Positively Osceola is proud to welcome Osceola Air as the community partner of Positively Osceola’s Osceola Air Player of the Week, helping recognize outstanding high school football student-athletes from across Osceola County throughout the season.
A 100% locally owned and operated company, Osceola Air has deep roots in the community it serves. Founded by lifelong Osceola County resident Zak McMorrow launched in 2014, the St. Cloud-based company has grown from a small local HVAC business into a full-service home comfort company providing air conditioning, heating, plumbing, drain and indoor air quality services throughout Osceola County and surrounding Central Florida communities. Giving back to the communities it serves is also one of Osceola Air’s core values.
