Tag: High School Football

Peyton Manning’s nephew, Arch, is the No. 1-ranked QB in 2023 class

Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli, is the top-ranked high school quarterback in the 2023 class.

Arch Manning, the son Cooper and nephew of Peyton and Eli, is the No. 1-ranked quarterback prospect for the 2023 class, according to high school football prospect rankings published by 247Sports.com.

Arch is fifth overall in the rankings and second among offensive players, one spot behind 6-5, 285-pound offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa.

As a freshman at Isidore Newman High School last fall, Arch totaled 2,438 passing yards and 34 touchdowns against just six interceptions.

Arch’s father, Cooper, was a star high school athlete but his football career was cut short by spinal stenosis before he had a chance to play in college.

Arch is the grandson of Archie Manning, who played quarterback in the NFL. His uncles, Peyton and Eli, both won Super Bowls as pro QBs.

“Obviously, [Manning’s] a big last name but I have to keep it more about the team,” Arch said in an interview with Sam Spiegelman of Rivals.com earlier this year. “Winning the team over was my biggest goal to get the starting job.”

Arch has already received interest from Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss. Peyton played for the Vols; Eli played for the Rebels.

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Two members of the Badgers’ class of 2021 will be playing high school football this fall

Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine announced yesterday that he will sign an Ohio Department of Health order permitting contact sports including…

Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine announced yesterday that he will sign an Ohio Department of Health order permitting contact sports including football, soccer and field hockey to move forward towards playing this fall.

The news doesn’t have much of a direct effect on the Wisconsin football program as their recruiting reach in Ohio isn’t as great as schools including Ohio State, Alabama and Texas.

It does, however, affect two players in the Badgers’ class of 2021, allowing them to play their final season of high school football; four-star tight end Jack Pugh and three-star outside linebacker Darryl Peterson.

This announcement followed the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association maintaining its plan for the fall athletic season.

There are countless unknowns about college and high school football this year and how NCAA eligibility will be affected by some conferences and states not playing fall seasons.

In Ohio, at least, there is now clarity as two future Badgers will be taking the field for their final high school season.

How many states are playing high school football, and when?

High school overview

For USC fans, Notre Dame fans, Big Ten fans, SEC fans, and all other college football fans, one universally shared concern in the midst of a pandemic is the way in which recruiting will be changed as a result of COVID-19.

At Trojans Wire, we will provide analysis of the recruiting landscape in the coming days. Various states have come down in different places, making different decisions on when — or if — they should start their high school seasons.

This particular piece is not analytical; it is a news item in which we will simply pass along this overview from the Indianapolis Star on the 50 states and where they stand on allowing (or not allowing) high school football to be played.

We covered the state of California’s move to a winter schedule with an early April conclusion.

Let’s offer some highlights from the Indy Star article on the other states in relationship to high school football.

States where USC often pursues recruits — or states within the Pac-12’s geographical footprint (which overlaps with priority states) — are highlighted so that you can get the basic details on them. You can read the rest of the article for the other remaining states.

Arizona:

“Arizona’s Gov. delayed the start of the school year until Aug. 17. The Arizona Interscholastic Association mandates a 3- to 4 week training period before games can be played, meaning the start of football season will be pushed back to Sept. 11.”

Colorado:

“As of now, the Colorado high school football season is scheduled to start on time, with games beginning Aug. 27.”

Hawaii:

“The earliest fall sports will start is Aug. 19, and the state’s athletic association requires 14 days of practice before games can be played.”

Idaho:

“As of now, there have been no delays to the state’s high school football season, scheduled to begin Aug. 28.”

Nevada:

“Coaches recently submitted a proposal to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association that would shorten the regular season and playoffs. It would include a seven-week, six-game schedule that would begin in September.”

New Mexico:

“The state has moved its football season to the spring.”

Oregon:

“The Oregon School Activities Association said in a July 1 release that football protective equipment is not allowed until practice starts, which is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 17.”

Texas:

“As of now, no official changes have been made by the state association regarding the scheduled start of football season.”

Utah:

“The football season is currently scheduled to start on time, Aug. 14.”

Washington:

“Practices cannot begin until Sept. 5, and teams are required to have 12 practices before playing games.”

What a fall without football would do to the American sports psyche

SportsPulse: From high school Friday night lights to Monday Night Football football is an engrained part of American culture and our fall sports calendars. What would a fall without it do to the American sports psyche?

SportsPulse: From high school Friday night lights to Monday Night Football football is an engrained part of American culture and our fall sports calendars. What would a fall without it do to the American sports psyche?

USC recruit Xamarion Gordon to forego senior season

Four-star USC cornerback commit Xamarion Gordon is going to forego his senior season, which was delayed thanks to the COVID-19 crisis.

A recent ruling in the state of California is postponing fall sports until at least December or January, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that has a lot of college commits facing a tough decision.

They could play out their final season, if and when it happens, or they could opt to forego their final year of high school eligibility, potentially clearing them up to enroll early in college.

Defensive back Xamarion Gordon, a four-star commit in the Class of 2021, already announced he will be a Trojan sooner than expected, saying he plans to forego his senior season on Twitter Tuesday evening.

Most college-bound high schoolers in California have already signed their NLI’s, which likely means Gordon will be one of many who make this decision without fall sports on the dockett.

A guaranteed spot on a college roster is too tempting to risk for a high school season, especially in these conditions, and USC will likely be happy to know that Gordon won’t be in harm’s way before he steps foot on campus ahead of the 2021 season.

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California high school football moves to winter/early spring schedule

Big news

While we wonder if college football is going to be played this fall, we now know that high school football in the state of California won’t be played at any point before December of 2020.

The California Interscholastic Federation sent out a release Monday morning in which it said that fall sports will begin “in December 2020 or January 2021.” This obviously includes football and represents a big disruption in the larger sports landscape.

The last day for CIF football section playoffs would be April 10, 2021. The last day for state or regional championships is April 17.

Consider this the first in a series of events which are simultaneously mind-blowing and yet expected. This is obviously mind-blowing in that we are forced to contemplate a world — in California and surely in other states — where September, October, and November Friday nights will not involve high school football. It is hard to wrap the mind around that point.

Yet, even though this represents enormous upheaval — with budgetary damage being done to athletic programs throughout California’s high school infrastructure — it is also an outcome people can see as entirely logical.

No one WANTED this, but as with the school reopening issue, most Americans — while hoping schools can be reopened — are seeing that government is not responding adequately enough to make such reopenings possible. Government is not responding adequately enough to make the playing of scholastic sports possible. We all want a situation in which we could have high school and college football. We all want a situation in which schools can reopen. It would be the best outcome for everyone. Americans aren’t divided in terms of what they actually want. They’re divided in terms of what they see as politically and medically workable.

The California Interscholastic Federation obviously thinks that in this very fluid and very uncertain situation, playing football in the fall is far too much of a risk at this point. It’s terrible… and yet it’s hard to argue against at this point.

If we acknowledge that it was always going to be a lot harder for college football to play games this fall than the NFL, the idea that high schools could play was a much more remote possibility than college football ever getting off the ground.

A story that is mind-blowing and earth-shattering yet completely expected is precisely the kind of story we have had to adjust to in 2020, a year unlike any other in our lives — or in the history of the United States.

May recruiting update: Oklahoma in the running for nations top running backs

Here is where Oklahoma’s quarterback board stands in May for the 2021 recruiting class.

The running back room at Oklahoma is one of the most star-studded position groups not just in the Big 12, but in the history of college football. From Billy Vessels, Steve Owens, Joe Washington, and Billy Sims to Adrian Peterson, DeMarco Murray, Samaje Perine, and Joe Mixon, there are always big shoes to fill in the Sooners backfield.

Here is where Oklahoma’s quarterback board stands in May for the 2021 recruiting class.

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CAMAR WHEATON—5-STAR—No. 1 RUNNING BACK

When DeMarco Murray was hired as the running backs coach, he was hired to do one thing: Get Camar Wheaton in crimson and cream. The No. 7 overall 2021 prospect is ranked 52 spots above the next closest running back, per rivals. Wheaton is a ‘can’t miss talent’ however, the Sooners need to fight off Texas and Alabama for Wheaton to take his talents from Garland, Texas (Lakeview Centennial High School) to Norman, Oklahoma.

TREVEYON HENDERSON–4-STAR–NO. 3 RUNNING BACK

Despite being verbally committed to Ohio State, everything is still in play for Henderson. Like most of Oklahoma’s recruits, Henderson (Hopewell, Virginia; Hopewell High School) has not yet stepped onto campus for an official visit but it is likely he will once everything gets a little more back to normal.

LJ JOHNSON–4-STAR–NO. 4 RUNNING BACK

Grabbing offers from nearly every Power 5 program, Johnson has taken an official visit to Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. The Cypress, Texas (Cypress Fairbanks High School). Former Oklahoma and current Texas RB coach,  Jay Boulware could affect Johnson’s decision to don burnt orange over crimson.

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Oklahoma currently has four verbal commitments from 2021 players. Per Rivals, they are No. 50 in the nation in 2021 recruiting with three 3-stars and a solo 4-star committed, but the Sooners can and will shoot up the rankings quickly once a few big dominoes fall.

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Patrick Mahomes and Mecole Hardman had spirited debate about Texas vs. Georgia HS football

Who’s winning?

When it comes to high school football, most associate Texas, California and Florida as the nation’s talent hotbeds. Particularly in popular culture, Texas high school football is seen as the driving force for entire communities.

Like, people care too much about it.

But Georgia is no slouch either as an NFL-talent-producing state. This is coming from someone whose Georgia high school played against Eric Berry and Cam Newton on consecutive weeks (it did not go well). But is Georgia high school football better than Texas?

Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Mecole Hardman weren’t ready to see eye-to-eye on the issue.

The debate started when Hardman — who went to Elbert County High School (Ga.) — took exception to Mike Evans saying that Texas high school football was the best.

Dez Bryant, a Texas native himself, sided with Evans.

But Hardman would not back down on his claim, saying that an All-Star team from Georgia would beat the best from Texas.

It got to the point where Mahomes had to publicly question his teammate.

And the Super Bowl MVP poked fun at Hardman, just for good measure.

Strictly looking at the numbers, Florida (180), California (175) and Texas (137) produce the most active NFL players. But Georgia isn’t too far behind at 97 active NFL players. And Texas has nearly three times the population of Georgia.

So … maybe Hardman has a point?

Don’t sleep on Georgia.

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The best teams in high school sports history

The high school sports landscape has produced some absolutely dominating teams throughout history-from the juggernauts playing under the now-infamous Friday night lights to the greats on the track, in the pool, on the court, mat, and field. Which …

The high school sports landscape has produced some absolutely dominating teams throughout history—from the juggernauts playing under the now-infamous Friday night lights to the greats on the track, in the pool, on the court, mat, and field.

Which ones are the greatest of all time, though?

That’s not an easy question to answer. Besides the school’s size (class/division), the different eras, competition, plus advancements in training and even technology makes for a lot of a grey area. (High school sports have been around since the late-1800s, too, so we’re talking about a lot of landscape.)

But when factoring in overall resumes—the dominance within the state and nationally, regardless of era—it’s hard to argue that these teams shouldn’t be considered the best in high school sports history:

(Note: Schools are listed alphabetically)

Albuquerque Academy Chargers Boys Tennis (Albuquerque, NM)

© Albuquerque Academy

Recent domination on the tennis court takes us to New Mexico, where an excellent program has held serve with seemingly relative ease. The Albuquerque Academy’s boys tennis team has won 24 state titles, which includes an incredible current streak of 17 in a row. No other tennis team in the nation can say the same thing.

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Patrick Mahomes explains why he’s only going to get better

Patrick Mahomes apparently had no idea what he was doing when he won MVP.

Good news, Chiefs fans. Things are only going to keep going up from here. For the rest of you? We’ve got some bad news.

Patrick Mahomes — who, by the way, is already an NFL MVP and a Super Bowl MVP at 24 years old — apparently did not learn how to play quarterback until six (!!!) years ago. Mahomes says he wasn’t even sure how to read defenses during his MVP season. This is incredible.

He detailed more about his journey in becoming a quarterback on The Shop with Maverick Carter. In High School, Mahomes played safety until his junior year of high school. He transitioned to quarterback… and the rest is history.

“I didn’t understand how to read defenses until, like, halfway through last year. I understood coverages, but how to be able to pick up little tendencies that defenses do — stuff that Brady and them have done and they know it and they just do it. I was just playing.” 

Normally, you’d chalk something like this up as just myth making. You’d say maybe Mahomes is just trying to make his legend a bit bigger. But, yo, the way this man plays? You can kind of see it. He just goes.

So that begs the question,  if what we’ve seen now is Mahomes just “playing” what comes next? Whew boy.

It’s scary hours for the rest of you NFL fans. Prayers up for y’all. Chiefs fans, y’all are good.

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