Texas spotlight: Most talented high schools

The talent in Texas isn’t quite as top-heavy as it was in 2017, but there are still plenty of top players across the state even looking out to 2020. Not surprisingly, the teams with the most ranked and offered recruits are focused more in the Dallas and Houston regions, and a few schools in each city have more than most this year.

TALENT HOTBEDS: Midwest | Southeast | Mid-Atlantic | West

Last season, the Eagles were bounced from the state playoffs by eventual championship runner-up, The Woodlands, but they’ve won four state titles since 2008. Two Texas players in 2019 were made five-star prospects in the most recent Rivals250 update, one of which was Allen wide receiver Theo Wease. His offensive teammates, fellow 2019 recruits offensive lineman Elton Ndoma-Ogar and quarterback Grant Tisdale are the team’s four-star players heading into the season, but several others like 2019 defensive end Jayden Jernigan and 2018 offensive lineman and UCLA commit Trey Stratford are highly-ranked three-stars that could push for more. Allen boasts even more offensive talent with bruising Arizona State running back commit Brock Sturges and speedy Iowa State slot receiver commit Carson Schleker. Also include three-star Arkansas State commit Jevon Jones in the Eagles’ cast of ranked prospects.

After the way Bishop Dunne just missed out on a state championship last season, the team is anxious and motivated to finish the job this year. The Falcons lost two big defensive talents in 2017 in high three-star defensive tackle Damion Daniels and Rivals100 cornerback Chevin Calloway. Those losses on defense aren’t so painful when considering all the offensive talent the team has in 2019 Rivals250 athlete/receiver Marquez Beason, his younger cousin, Zeriah Beason - a 2020 recruit who holds several offers already - and 2019 receiver Jabari Khepera, who is expected to be a playmaker this season. Class of 2019 quarterback Peyton Culberson and 2018 receiver Jarel Miller should both see their recruitments open soon. And the cupboard is not bare on defense, with 2018 Illinois commit and Rivals250 defensive tackle Calvin Avery as well as 2019 Rivals100 safety Brian Williams.

The Houston Chronicle recently dubbed Lamar DB High -- and with good reason. The obvious names that stand out in the secondary are Anthony Cook, the state’s only five-star recruit in 2018, and Rivals250 cornerback D’Shawn Jamison. Add in 2018 three-star safety Zion Burrell, who has been a well-kept secret after missing the majority of last season with a broken collarbone, and 2019 cornerback Alex Hogan, who already has several FBS offers, and this is as good of a unit as can be found in the state. Four-star defensive end and Baylor commit Joshua Landry is a tenacious pass-rusher and helps pressure opponents into making poor throws to those defensive backs. Rivals100 wide receiver Al’Vonte Woodard and high three-star all-purpose back Ta’Zhawn Henry will be leaned on heavily this season, but the offense needs to find an answer for departed 2017 three-star quarterback Owen Holt.

Teams like Cibolo-Steele and DeSoto aren’t on this list because of Ridge Point, who is headlined by 2018 Rivals250 Missouri linebacker commit Chad Bailey and four-star tight end Mustapha Muhammad. Bailey is the best pure linebacker prospect in the state in his class and despite relatively modest receiving numbers last season, Muhammad is one of the better built tight end prospects in the country. The Panthers come back in 2019 with four-star weakside defensive end Nelson Ceaser, who showed flashes of his potential at numerous events this offseason. Quarterback Aaron Allen is committed to Louisiana Tech, and leads fellow committed three-star prospects Dennis Osagiede (UMass), Jarrett Preston (UTSA) and Knowledge Smith (Nevada) in 2018.

Texas A&M continues to mine the Manvel pipeline, as three players on this year’s roster are committed to the Aggies’ 2018 class. Remember just last season, Rivals250 defensive back Derrick Tucker was an A&M signee, and now in this year’s class, the Aggies have received commitments from Rivals100 wide receiver Jalen Preston as well as three-star linebacker Brian Johnson and running back Deneric Prince. Rivals250 defensive back Trent Gordon is a versatile defensive back committed to Penn State, while three-star wide receiver Kam Scott is headed to Missouri. Three more Manvel recruits are committed to FBS programs in 2018. Three-star wide receiver Terence Norman is an under-the-radar prospect. Despite his strong camp performances this past offseason, he’s still looking for an offer and should be a name to remember.