In what’s become a Corner Canyon High tradition, the Chargers’ talented wide receiver Cody Hagen has been named the 2021-2022 Gatorade Utah Football Player of the Year.
This is the third consecutive year a Corner Canyon player has earned the prestigious award. Cody Hagen’s older brother, Cole, was the 2019-20 recipient, followed by 2020-21 Utah and National Gatorade Player of the Year Jaxson Dart.
Cody Hagen also joins his brother in following a family tradition: His father, Sean, won Gatorade’s 1992-1993 honor after a banner year at Brighton High.
The family found out about the award early Tuesday morning when Cody opened his email account to discover a fun announcement message, giving the Hagens one heckuva breakfast conversation piece.
“He was stoked,” Sean Hagen said. “He was really excited about it.”
Cody texted the announcement to his brother, who’s serving a mission in Washington, D.C. for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After leading Corner Canyon to the 2019 6A championship, Cole, a quarterback, played one season at Yale before going on his mission.
“It is kind of cool because his brother got it. It’s pretty neat,” said Sean Hagen, who played football at the University of Utah and made it to the minor leagues in baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in the early 1990s. “We’re a sports family. They’ve played football, basketball, baseball, and soccer since they were 6 years old. They’ve just kept playing. That was for sure their favorite – football.”
Cody Hagen, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior, was the top target this fall for CCHS quarterback Devin Brown, the 2021 Utah MaxPreps Player of the Year who recently committed to Ohio State. Hagen caught 89 passes for 1,805 yards and 23 touchdowns this season while helping lead the Chargers to the Class 6A state championship game.
Hagen, who’s committed to play for 13th-ranked BYU, finished ranked No. 2 in the nation in receiving yards while averaging a whopping 20.3 yards a catch. His time in the 40 is a blazing 4.33, and he’s currently the fastest Utah high school athlete in the 100-meter dash at 10.52.
“Hagen has a great combination of speed and quickness,” Lehi High coach Ed Larson told Gatorade. “He’s a tough player with great hands who will go over the middle to catch a ball.”
Along with outstanding athletic excellence, Gatorade’s award recognizes academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, according to the press release.
Hagen, a track standout, excels off the field, too. He is a leader in his church youth group, tutors special needs kids at school, and has volunteered locally on behalf of the Special Olympics, Draper Rehabilitation and Care Center, and a homeless shelter.
The 4.0 student also was named to the Utah High School Activities Association’s Academic All-State list for 2021 fall sports.
Hagen now has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national organization of his choosing that helps young athletes realize the benefits of playing sports through Gatorade’s “Play It Forward” program. Also, he is eligible to nominate his chosen organization for one of 12 $10,000 spotlight grants.
Hagen is in the running to be a finalist for the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award, which will be announced this month. USC QB Dart, his teammate last year, won the national award for the 2020 season.
“He put a lot of work into it and earned it,” Sean Hagen said of his son. “He’s had a ton of fun, loves the coaches at Corner Canyon – they’re just incredible, Coach (Eric) Kjar — and his teammates are so awesome. He has played with so many of them since they were 8 years old. In four years (at CCHS), they only lost two games.”
Hagen is the sixth player from Canyons District to win the Utah award in the past eight seasons.
Puka Nacua (Orem, 2018-19) and Cammon Cooper (Lehi, 2017-18) earned the Utah honor prior to the Corner Canyon trio. They were preceded by CSD’s Joshua Davis (Alta, 2016-17), Simi Fehoko (Brighton, 2015-16), and Austin Kafentzis (Jordan, 2014-15).
