Tag: Texas high school football

‘Winning championships, that’s a habit,’ Aggies coach Mike Elko rooting for 2025 commits

“We wanted to find winners,” Elko said. “I’m excited that seven of our commits are still playing and fighting to win state championships.”

Texas A&M football head coach Mike Elko is looking for winners for future Aggies and it appears that he’s found seven in the Class of 2025 commits.

With high school state championships on the line across the country this month, Elko shared his support for Texas A&M’s recruits this week.

“We had to work from really ground zero on so many of these kids of building an image of what Texas A&M should be and will be like,” Elko said Wednesday. “We wanted to find winners. When you talk about closing, winning, winning championships, that’s a habit.

“I’m excited that seven of our commits are still playing and fighting to win state championships.”

While the Aggies (8-4, 5-3 SEC) won’t be competing for a national title during Elko’s first season in College Station, he has certainly established a culture and foundation this year.

Texas A&M stood atop the mighty SEC standings this campaign, and with Elko at the helm, that is likely to occur more often in the future.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Duncanville head coach Reginald Samples isn’t focused on Texas football three-peat

Duncanville football isn’t focused on titles.

Reginald Samples is not focused on winning another 6A Division I state championship in Texas. That, the high school football head coach said, would be a distraction.

It has been consecutive state championships for Samples and his Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) program (ranked seventh in the nation in the USA TODAY Sports preseason Super 25 football rankings). Last year’s run to a historic title has Duncanville being talked about as among the best programs in not only Texas, but the nation.

And for Samples, this is potentially dangerous talk. In an interview with Bally Sports, he said the focus can’t be on three-in-a-row.

“It would be historic,” Samples told Bally Sports.

“You look around the state of Texas, a great football state – there’s some great coaches, some great programs. When you start winning three championships, it starts putting you closer to the elite program…but it’s not something I want to think about. Because when you’re thinking about those type of things, you forget about what it takes to get there.”

Duncanville finished last season 14-1. They are led by quarterback Keelon Russell, an Alabama commit who is a five-star recruit and the tenth-ranked player in the nation according to 247Sports.

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‘Best convention in the country,’ Aggies coach Mike Elko speaks to media at THSCA meetings

“It’s just a great opportunity for our staff to get out here and mingle with other colleges in the state and with all the high school guys.”

Unlike his predecessor Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko made it a priority to attend the Texas High School Coaches Association convention this week.

“This is a really cool event. We’ve talked a lot about how important the Texas High School Coaches Association is, how important our relationship is with that group. But also how we are as servants to the high school coaches in this state and the role that we play in kinda helping young coaches develop and aspiring coaches get better,” Elko explained Monday. “It’s an awesome opportunity to come out here, it’s one of the best conventions, if not the best convention in the country. It’s just a great opportunity for our staff to get out here and mingle with other staffs of colleges in the state and also with all the high school guys.

“We’re excited to be here and to do our part to brand football in this state and continue the great reputation of football in the state of Texas.”

The Aggies host Notre Dame at Kyle Field on Aug. 31 to begin the season.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Garrett Nussmeier says that Texas high school football is second only to college football

Garrett Nussmeier makes a big claim about Texas high school football.

LSU starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier didn’t hold back this week when he declared that Texas is the best high school football state in the country.

Born in Louisiana, Nussmeier played for Marcus High School (Flower Mound, Texas). He was a consensus four-star recruit coming out of high school.

The 2020 Under Armour All-America Game selection threw for over 5,000 yards combined during his sophomore and junior seasons at Marcus.

The comments from Nussmeier certainly see the quarterback wade into one of the great debates in American sports. The question of what state has the best high school talent is certainly a complicated one with many layers.

Texas is actually not the leader in sending players to the NFL on a per capita level and actually trails Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida in that regard.

Again, those numbers are per capita:

 

But let’s be honest here, Nussmeier has a point. Texas high school football is intense and tough. There is no doubt that he was well-prepared for the SEC and LSU from his time playing ‘Friday Night Lights.’

 

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Nussmeier and LSU will open their season in one of those states that claims to have the best high school football in the country with a Sept. 1 game at USC.

Last year Nussmeier got his first collegiate start in the Reliaquest Bowl against Wisconsin. In the bowl win, he went 31-of-45 for 395 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

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Where’s the whistle? Texas high school football is facing an officials shortage

Texas high school football needs game officials.

Texas high school football is huge, so it is noteworthy that the state is facing a shortage of game officials.

Three counties in Texas are going through a serious numbers crunch,

Jason Rush, from the Austin Football Officials Association (AFOA) told KVUE that in a typical year, somewhere between 10-20 game officials would leave due to retirement or moving out of the year. This past year, he said, “saw a decline of about 100 officials.”

The solution is simple: Get more officials. But Rush acknowledged that it is easier said than done.

His response to that is to make training as seamless and hassle-free for those looking to be trained as officials.

“Looking at the adult learning concept and the fact that people have jobs and we’re short officials and what makes it easier,” Rush told KVUE, an ABC affiliate in Texas.

“We have a training site in North Austin, South Austin, we’ve now added a site in Marble Falls and in Bastrop.”

Bastrop is 30 miles southeast of Austin.

“At the end of the day, we really preach the reward that comes with this and the good feeling,” Rush said.

“We always enjoy pushing people out of their comfort zone and making them feel better.”

New rules allow for the use of technology in Texas high school football games

Technology is coming to the locker rooms and coaches boxes for Texas high school football.

Technology is coming to Texas high school football…just not anywhere near the sidelines.

The Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL), the governing body for high school athletics in the state, has taken a significant step forward towards integrating technology in football games. As part of their ‘Rules Passed’ for the 2024 season, the integration of certain technology, in certain approved places, is permissible.

As part of their rule adaptation, the UIL passed:

“Teams are allowed to use video & data technology (computers, tablets, I-Pads, smart phones, etc) during the game and during half time intermission. The use of the technology is limited to the coaching booths and locker rooms – no sideline or team area use is allowed during the game.”

The rule went on to specify that game officials are not asked to enforce the rule, but “are expected to report any known or suspected violation of this rule in their game report to the UIL.”

 

Violation of the policy could lead to a forfeiture of the game under the UIL’s policy.

 

Rams HC Sean McVay to speak at the Texas Football Coaches Clinic

The Texas Football High School Coaches Clinic will take place March 22-23.

Steve Sarkisian and his staff are gearing up to host the annual Texas Football High School Coaches Clinic in Austin. Continue reading “Rams HC Sean McVay to speak at the Texas Football Coaches Clinic”

‘Respected’ Aggies coach Mike Elko quickly repairing relationships with Texas high school coaches

“Mike Elko has turned our relationship with Texas A&M around 180 degrees in the few weeks he’s been there,” said THSCA executive Glen West.

Former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher may have had the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2022 but damaged many relationships on the way to achieving such a feat.

Some of the most vital connections that Fisher tarnished were with high school football coaches in Texas. New Aggies head coach Mike Elko is now working his tail off to repair those strained relationships.

“Mike Elko has turned our relationship with Texas A&M around 180 degrees in the few weeks he’s been there,” said Glen West, assistant executive director of the Texas High School Coaches Association. “The thing was on its head and he flipped it. He showed up to our office by himself — no driver, no entourage — shook our hands and said, ‘I’m Mike, I’m here to help.’ It was refreshing to see and hear and something I really respected.”

A prime example of Elko’s efforts came last week on Dec. 12 when he spent his Tuesday recruiting in the Houston area. Whether Elko’s time and energy ultimately pay dividends at Kyle Field is to be seen.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Social Media reacts to 5-Star Texas A&M commit Terry Bussey’s record setting night

Texas A&M standout commit Terry Bussey was unstoppable on his record setting night int he 2A State title game.

The Texas Football playoffs are in full swing and current 2024 5-star Texas A&M commit Terry Bussey has written his name in the record books during the first half of the 2A-I state title.

Social media lit up as Bussey led Timpson to a dominant 49-7 over Tolar. He not only broke one UIL state record but two while playing Quarterback. The first came a few minutes into the second quarter when Bussey hit Dacorian Johnson on a quick slant route that he took for a 97-yard touchdown.

Ok, I get it Johnson did most of the heavy lifting on that particular record, but someone had to get Johnson the ball and a record is a record. However, there is a reason Bussey is considered one of the best players in the nation and he gave a taste of that late in the second quarter.

Backed up against their own endzone, Bussey’s number was called on a QB keeper and he sprinted the length of the field for an eye-popping 93-yard touchdown run. Both record-setting highlights can be viewed below.

 

The Timpson standout ended the night with 311 yards on 12-15 passing and 155 yards on 10 carries for a total of 6 touchdowns. To cap it off, he was named the 2A-I state title game offensive MVP.

Congratulations to Bussey and the following posts just show how impressive everyone was with his championship performance.

No. 7 North Shore defense dominant as Mustangs outlast No. 15 Westlake

North Shore held Westlake to only three completions in the Texas UIL 6A D1 semifinals.

In a season in which North Shore (Houston, Texas) had yet to score fewer than 30 points in a game, the No. 7 Mustangs needed all the defense they could muster to take down No. 15 Westlake (Austin, Texas) in the UIL 6A D1 semifinals.

Behind a superb defensive effort, North Shore beat Westlake 23-14 to secure its fifth appearance in the Texas championship game in the last six years.

The score of a football game often does not tell the story of the game. A glance at it doesn’t depict the battle deep into the fourth quarter. It doesn’t properly explain the importance of two late interceptions by the Mustangs. It doesn’t show how close Westlake came to winning despite completing only three passes in the game.

North Shore took a 17-14 lead in the third quarter when quarterback Kaleb Bailey created the chance to complete a fourth-and-six conversion. He maneuvered around tacklers to complete an eight-yard pass that kept the drive alive and put kicker Jonathan Soto in position to nail a 26-yard field goal.

That lead stood well into the fourth quarter after Westlake had two turnovers on downs, the second of which delivered the ball to North Shore at the Chaparrals’ 39-yard line with about five minutes to play. Despite that, Westlake’s defense held strong, preventing the Mustangs’ fourth-down conversion with about three minutes left that likely would have iced the game if successful.

Westlake had three minutes to recharge an offense that struggled to move the ball against the stout Mustangs’ defense. The Chaparrals averaged only 2.7 yards per play, according to the Houston Chronicle, and sophomore quarterback Rees Wise completed only three of 18 pass attempts for 29 yards and was sacked four times.

The Chaparrals once again could advance, and Wise was intercepted. North Shore returned the ball to around 10-yard line.

The Mustangs, seeing a steeper priority in running out the clock than attempting to force a touchdown or field goal, turned the ball over on downs deep in the Westlake red zone with about 10 seconds to play. The Chaparrals had not shown the offensive ability to drive the ball about 95 yards in 10 seconds, and North Shore trusted it would remain that way.

It did. A screen pass from Wise was tipped and caught by North Shore junior linebacker Charles Ross inside the end zone as time expired, securing the final points of the game:

Westlake finishes its season with a 14-1 record, falling just shy of advancing to the championship.

North Shore, meanwhile, will take on its well-known foe in Duncanville in a postseason matchup that has practically become tradition, with the two teams splitting the games over the last two years.