Jaden Walk-Green of No. 6 Corona Centennial is shown scoring on an interception return during win in September vs Bingham of Utah. Photo: cen10.football / Instagram.com.
Just a junior, the Corona Centennial defensive back is going to make us work to add another category to our state records: most interception returns for a touchdown in a season. Walk-Green had five of those pick six TDs for the state No. 2 Huskies this season, led the state in interceptions with 10, led the team in tackles and created a new term: the pick seven. That’s because after Jaden would get a pick six, he would stay on the field and kick the extra point.
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If the Centennial of Corona football team had been able to win both the CIF Southern Section D1 and CIF Open Division state titles, there’s little doubt that its top overall state player of the year candidate would have been junior Jaden Walk-Green.
Regardless of the Huskies falling in the CIFSS D1 final to Santa Margarita, Walk-Green’s accomplishments on the season and the unique aspect of him also serving as their kicker in addition to what he did on defense still put him high on our list of player of the year contenders. The result is that the 6-foot, 190-pounder been named the Defensive State Player of the Year for the 2025 season.
Centennial’s Jaden-Walk Green tops all of the state’s juniors after record-breaking season returning interceptions for scores. Photo: Instagram.com.
Juniors are not often handed out these types of honors. Jaden is the first one from California since current NFL defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux of the New York Giants, who gained the nod as a junior in 2017 playing for Oaks Christian of Westlake Village. The only others on our all-time list, which goes back to 1960, is the late Viliami Moala from Grant of Sacramento for 2009 and the great D.J. Williams from De La Salle of Concord for 1998. Walk-Green also is only the second winner ever from Centennial. He joins linebacker Vontaze Burfict from the team’s 2008 CIF D1 state championship team.
After being recorded with 47 tackles and one interception as a sophomore for the Huskies in 2024, Jaden came out strong to start his junior season. He had 13 tackles in the first game, a 47-14 win vs Servite of Anaheim and then he had 15 tackles in a 33-27 overtime loss to Santa Margarita, the team that eventually ended Centennial’s season with a 41-7 win in the CIFSS D1 championship. After getting his first interception return TD of the season in a win vs Bingham of Utah, the first big breakthrough outing of the season for Walk-Green came in the fourth game vs Mater Dei of Santa Ana, which won the CIF Open Division state titles in 2023 and 2024. Jaden not only had his second pick six, but was in on seven tackles and kicked three field goals in a 43-36 win.
Walk-Green never had any more than one interception return TD in any one game, but added them in additional games, including the fifth in a CIFSS playoff win vs Servite. We currently do not have a category in our state records for interception return TDs, but will be adding it before the 2026 season. Jaden’s total of five will at least be No. 2 on that list based on the NFHS national records. The NFHS records show Ben Sukut from Capistrano Valley of Mission Viejo with six for the 2012 season, which is tied for first on that list. There are three on the Nat Fed list shown with five and none of the three are from California.
In addition to the five interception return TDs, Walk-Green also had a defensive touchdown on a fumble return. He also finished the season with 10 interceptions, a total that led the state, and he had a team-leading 125 tackles. Jaden’s final kicking totals showed him with four field goals and 63 PATs.
While Jaden does have plenty of interest from major colleges, his current list of offers doesn’t include some of the usuals like Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia and USC. He does have an offer from Notre Dame, along with those from Cal, Utah, San Diego State, North Carolina and more. Walk-Green also has been a baseball player at Centennial. He had 18 hits and 12 RBI as a sophomore last spring and chased down a lot of fly balls as a centerfielder. If his junior baseball season goes like his junior season did in football, the production that he displayed in baseball is about to explode just like it did this season in football.
CAL-HI SPORTS DEFENSIVE
STATE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
ALL-TIME HONOR ROLL
2025 — Jaden Walk-Green (Centennial, Corona) DB (Jr.)
2024 — Marco Jones (San Ramon Valley, Danville) LB/DE
2023 — Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (St. John Bosco, Bellflower) LB
2022 — Deven Bryant (St. John Bosco, Bellflower) LB
2021 — David Bailey (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) LB
2020 — Raesjon Davis (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) LB*
2019 — Justin Flowe (Upland) LB
2018 — Henry To’oto’o (De La Salle, Concord) LB
2017 — Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) DL (Jr.)
2016 — Jaelen Phillips (Redlands East Valley, Redlands) DL
2015 — Oluwole Betiku (Serra, Gardena) DL
2014 — Iman Marshall (Long Beach Poly) DB
2013 — Adoree Jackson (Serra, Gardena) DB
2012 — Michael Hutchings (De La Salle, Concord) LB
2011 — Michael Barton (De La Salle, Concord) LB
2010 — Viliami Moala (Grant, Sacramento) NG
2009 — Viliami Moala (Grant, Sacramento) NG (Jr.)
2008 — Vontaze Burfict (Centennial, Corona) LB
2007 — Jurrell Casey (Long Beach Poly, Long Beach) DL
2006 — Chris Galippo (Servite, Anaheim) LB
2005 — Darian Hagan Jr. (Crenshaw, Los Angeles) CB
2004 — Luthur Brown (Lakewood) LB
2003 — Brigham Harwell (Los Altos, Hacienda Heights) DT
2002 — Lawrence Jackson (Inglewood) DE
2001 — Derek Landri (De La Salle, Concord) DT
2000 — Kevin Simon (De La Salle, Concord) LB
1999 — D.J. Williams (De La Salle, Concord) LB
1998 — D.J. Williams (De La Salle, Concord) LB (Jr.)
1997 — Robert Thomas (Imperial) LB
1996 — Andre Carter (Oak Grove, San Jose) DE
1995 — Chris Claiborne (J.W. North, Riverside) LB
1994 — Clyde Sanders (Grant, Sacramento) DE
1993 — Darrell Russell (St. Augustine, San Diego) DT
1992 — Travis Kirschke (Esperanza, Anaheim) DT
1991 — LeRoi Glover (Point Loma, San Diego) DT
1990 — Jamir Miller (El Cerrito) LB
1989 — Willie McGinest (Long Beach Poly, Long Beach) DE
1988 — Tommie Smith (Antelope Valley, Lancaster) DB
1987 — Arnold Ale (Carson) LB
1986 — Scott Ross (El Toro) LB
1985 — Randy Austin (Canyon, Canyon Country) LB
1984 — Mark Green (Poly, Riverside) DB
1983 — Chance Johnson (Compton) DB
1982 — Tim McDonald (Edison, Fresno) DB
1981 — George Ebertin (Bellarmine, San Jose) LB
1980 — Jack Del Rio (Hayward) LB
1979 — Darrell Hooper (Carson) DB
1978 — Michael Richardson (Compton) DB
1977 — Chuck Willig (St. Paul, Santa Fe Springs) DB
1976 — Dennis Smith (Santa Monica) DB
1975 — John Van Buren (South Hills, Covina) DB
1974 — Jerry Robinson (Cardinal Newman, Santa Rosa) NG
1973 — Frank Manumaluena (Banning, Wilmington) LB
1972 — Lonnie Shelton (Foothill, Bakersfield) DL
1971 — Paul Kinne (Paso Robles) DB
1970 — Fred McNeill (Baldwin Park) LB
1969 — Artimus Parker (Sacramento) LB
1968 — Willie Buchanon (Oceanside) DB
1967 — Jeff Siemon (Bakersfield) LB
1966 — Mel Gray (Montgomery, Santa Rosa) DB
1965 — John Albanese (Bellarmine, San Jose) LB
1964 — George Buehler (Whittier) LB
1963 — Tim Rossovich (St. Francis, Mountain View) LB
1962 — George Wilfert (Bellarmine, San Jose) DL
1961 — Ted Norlund (Lowell, San Francisco) DL
1960 — Rich Koeper (Sequoia, Redwood City) DL
*Spring of 2021 season due to COVID.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
