Joshua Kay is the 5Star Preps Defensive Underclassman of the Year, presented by Jeremy Cox/THRIVENT. (Graphic created by Logan Finn. Photos taken by Myah Wilson)
BY MIKE BLACKERBY
If Joshua Kay’s style of play on the football field looks familiar, it’s by design.
That’s because Powell’s sack-happy standout sophomore end – the 5Star Preps Defensive Underclassman of the Year – has the perfect template to follow.
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Former Powell standout Steven Soles was the 2021 5Star Preps Defensive Underclassman of the Year after recording a school-record 17 sacks and forcing 50 quarterback hurries.
Soles, who plays edge like Kay, went on to sign with Kentucky and was tied for the team lead with 3.5 sacks and had 4.5 TFLs last season for the Wildcats.
Soles, who recently transferred to Arkansas, will be a junior for the Razorbacks in 2026.
“Steven Soles is a big role model for me,” said Kay.
“He had such a good career here at Powell and still holds the single-season sack record.”
Like Soles, Kay is a high-energy defender on the corner who combines grit and tenacity with a relentless drive to win every play.
“So much of that is Joshua trying to emulate what Steven Soles established here with his ability to accelerate off the line of scrimmage and bend the corner,” said Powell coach Matt Lowe.
“The other thing that’s great about (Kay) is something he just inherited. You really can’t teach effort.”
Kay, who had 12 sacks, 56 tackles and 42 quarterback pressures last season, admits he is obsessed with beating the player across the line of scrimmage from him.
There are no plays off for this determined Panther.
“I just don’t like to lose,” said Kay, who was also selected as the Region 2-5A Defensive Lineman of the Year.
“I’m just a winner at heart who has to beat the guy in front of me on every rep.”
Kay has big footsteps to fill following Soles, but Lowe said it’s not a stretch to project a similar path moving forward.
Kay is 6-1 and 190 pounds as a sophomore while Soles was 6-2 and 205 at the same stage in his career.
Soles continued to put on weight at Powell and beyond, and is now listed at 235 pounds by Arkansas.
“A lot of it is just going to depend on how much weight he (Kay) packs on,” said Lowe.
“He will just continue getting bigger and stronger. He is smart and he’s a good athlete who can run and bend,” continued Lowe.
“What he is going to look like as a 21-year-old as compared to a 15-year-old will be very different.”
That’s the plan, according to Kay.
“From my freshman to sophomore years I put on 30 pounds in the offseason,” said Kay.
“I think I can really put on some more weight. My weakness is I’m not the strongest guy out there right now. Sometimes on run plays I get overpowered by offensive linemen who are 280 or 290 pounds and are seniors.”
Lowe is confident that Kay will continue to follow the blueprint that Soles left behind.
“To take that next step he has just got to put on weight,” said Lowe.
“The sky is the limit for him.”
PAST RECIPIENTS
2018 — Kalib Fortner (Central, LB)
2019 — Marshaun Bowers (TKA/West, DB)
2020 — Aaron Davis (Alcoa, LB)
2021 — Steven Soles (Powell, DE)
2022 — Carson Nivens (Oliver Springs, DL)
2023 — Bryson Headrick (Sevier County, DB)
2024 — Parker Newman (Sevier County, LB)
2025 — Joshua Kay (Powell, DE)