Texas High School Talent

[LHPfactory]

Did you ever think about the Texas High School Talent Pool. This talent pool fills
Texas A&M
TCU
Texas
Baylor
Texas Tech
Oklahoma
OSU

These are all prominent national programs and The Lion Share of Talent comes from the Friday night fields in the Great State. Then when you add in that LSU has 14 Texas kids on their Roster, Several in Arkansas as well as losing some good ones to California and abroad. Then Add in the Shools like Texas State, North Texas, SMU, UofH and on and on and on.

Then think of the talent pool it self:

There is a thin band if elite that can and will go anywhere they want.

However, in Texas we have a thick band of good enough kids that only some will get to go somewhere. This is where the cut throat competition is. This is where everything from grades and yes, knowing someone or having connections can make the difference between 2 kids that are equally good, one plays no more after High School and the other gets the nod. These are the hardest working kids right here.

[slingshot]

Don't forget the ACU's, Hardin Simmons', UMHB's, TAMU Kingsville's, West Texas A&M's, Tarleton's, Angelo State's, SFA's and other smaller schools that have some outstanding talent.

[Aguilafanatico]

Check the rosters of the service academy teams. Lots of Texas talent on those as well.

[d0tc0m]

The talent level really is the big difference. And, honestly, the talent level at even the smaller schools.

I have been covering sports in the Springfield, MO area for about 4 years now, and these Missourians get uptight when I tell them how big the gap is between football here in Missouri and football in the Great State. They don't understand the amount of talent that exists at all levels in Texas.

For example, Webb City (near Joplin) is the BIG powerhouse here in Missouri. Everybody hates them. They've won 5 straight Class 4 titles and 10 overall. They consistently beat Class 6 schools and 7A (Arkansas) schools in regular-season matchups. But put them in 4A in Texas and they wouldn't have a single title, not even with their best team ever. Put them in Region II or III in Texas, and they'd struggle to make the playoffs every year. It'd be a slaughter nearly every week. Even in their best years, they wouldn't have a single 3A title in Texas.

And hell, most of the really good Missouri schools are either Kansas City-, St. Louis- or Columbia-based, and most of them are Class 5 or 6 schools. They would get pushed around and embarrassed by a great deal of 3A and 4A Texas teams. Wouldn't even be fun if they played against the Allens, Katys, Southlakes, etc. of the state.

Having covered football in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and a bit of Kansas, I can say it is staggering how big the talent gap is between the Lone Star state and everybody else.

[Rabid Cougar]

My old high school coach lives in Georgia now. He is a sales rep for weight room equipment. He says that Texas easily has the best high school programs, top to bottom, in the US. In Georgia, they have some outstanding talent but their HS teams are no where near Texas teams. Football is treated like baseball and track in Texas. It is an "after school" activity. There are no "athletics" class periods.

I have a friend that lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He is an avid high school football fan. When he got transfered to Idaho Falls he said it was like death sentence. Again, he said there was talent but crap football.


Back in 2007 I was sent to Iraq. I left the day of my sons Bi-district game in November. Of course they went to the State Championship game against Celina that year. I missed all the play offs. However, the coaches were very good to me and sent me a game DVD each week (before hudl). I had alread listened to the China Spring vs La Vega Regional Final and was excited to "see" the game. On of my partners was from Miami, Florida. All he coul d talk about was how good Florida and Miami high school football was. I showed him the CS/LV game AND the CS/Celina games. Said that was some of the best high school football that he had ever seen. Those were Texas 3A teams.

[panfan]

Check the rosters of the service academy teams. Lots of Texas talent on those as well.

Yup - there's a few from the lone Star State on those rosters.

[Eagle1]

Yup - there's a few from the lone Star State on those rosters.

The main difference is the number of coaches Texas schools have, and that Texas schools have athletic periods, and full time coaches.