Texas high school football: Colin Simmons, Terry Bussey headline SBLive's preseason all-state team
Texas high school football is back.
With opening weekend in the books across the Lone Star State, SBLive has taken a look at the top players and teams spanning all sizes, classifications and corners of the state heading into the 2023 season.
After taking a look at the top quarterbacks, running backs and receivers in each region, we're unveiling our preseason all-state team.
MORE TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
From Class 2A Timpson's do-it-all 5-star Terry Bussey, to Midlothian 5-star Bryant Wesco to Duncanville's Colin Simmons, Texas is home to some of the nation's best high school football talent.
Here is SBLive's 2023 Preseason All-Texas Football Team — first team offense and defense:
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Hauss Hejny, Aledo quarterback, team captain.
Photo by Brian McLean
QB — DJ Bailey, DeSoto, sr.
Helped guide the Eagles to a Class 6A Division II title last year — passing for 304 yards and three scores in the title game win over Austin Vandegrift. He finished the year with 3,870 yards passing with 45 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He held a handful of Division I offers before eventually committing to Sam Houston State on July 30.
QB — Hauss Hejny, Aledo, sr.
Put up impressive numbers for the Class 5A Division I champions. Hejny will head to play at TCU, where his dad, Jim Hejny, played for former coach Gary Patterson. The younger Hejny is blazing his own path. He had more than 3,200 yards last year between passing and rushing, throwing for 21 scores and running for 15 more.
RB — Caden Durham, Duncanville, sr.
LSU considered him its top tail back target in 2024 after a junior season where the Tigers commit turned 210 carries into 1,960 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns along with nine catches, 93 receiving yards and a touchdown in 15 games.
RB — Taylor Tatum, Longview, sr.
How did Tatum ascend to the top spot of running backs across the country? By rushing for 1,889 yards and 33 touchdowns last season for the Lobos. Longview finished 14-1 and made it to the state semifinals, where it fell to Aledo, 17-14. Tatum will play football and baseball in the SEC at Oklahoma.
FB — Ben Carter, Liberty Hill, sr.
Sharing a backfield with Long is Carter, a fellow senior who approached the 2,000-yard mark on the ground and 31 touchdowns as a junior. Carter is the sleeper, the difference maker for the Panthers offense.
WR — Bryant Wesco, Midlothian, sr.
The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Clemson commit turned 58 passes for 1,160 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior with a penchant for big plays. The 5-star and No. 9 player in the country per 247 Sports averaged around 20 yards per catch.
WR — Dakorien Moore, Duncanville, jr.
As a sophomore, the 6-foot, 180-pound Moore received All-America nods after registering 44 receptions for 767 yards and seven touchdowns for nationally ranked Duncanville. He's been clocked at 10.63 in the 100-meter dash and is one of the top-ranked junior recruits in the nation regardless of position. The 5-star prospect is committed to LSU.
TE — Ian Flynt, Katy Taylor, sr.
Nebraska commit has tremendous size at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds. Expect a big senior season from the pass-catcher.
OL — Blake Frazier, Austin Vandegrift, sr.
Frazier is a four-star and one of the top offensive linemen in the country in 2024. He's headed to Michigan like his dad, Steve Frazier, who played for the Wolverines and won a national championship in 1997. For Vandegrift as a junior, Frazier logged 61 knockdowns, 37 pancake blocks and no sacks allowed across 16 games.
OL — Tyler Knape, Austin Westlake, sr.
An All-Central Texas pick at guard as a junior, Knape had 43 pins and 3 knockdowns in 15 games played. THe 6-foot-4, 285-pound lineman is committed to Cal.
OL — Ashton Funk, Katy Tompkins, sr.
First team all-District 19-6A selection logged 35 pancakes and nine knockdowns in 11 games.
OL — Daniel Cruz, Richland, sr.
Texas commit looks the part at 6-foot-4, 295 pounds. He also acts the part — a four-year starter emerged as an all-District 4-5A first team choice as a freshman.
OL — Ellis Davis, Prosper, sr.
Towering (6-foot-7) tackle is a part of a massive in-state Texas Tech signing class — and a leader on and off the field for the 6A-5 power.
ATH — Terry Bussey, Timpson, sr.
His status this season is in question due to injury, but even then Bussey is the top uncommitted prospect in Texas and was one of the nation's best all-around players last season. The first team all-SBLive East Texas selection racked up a mind-blowing 4,773 total yards of offense (2,596 rushing, 2,177 passing) and a silly 72 touchdowns (46 rushing, 26 passing). He also recorded 115 tackles and four pick-sixes on defense at safety and returned three kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns.
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FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Duncanville 5-star edge rusher Colin Simmons (left).
Photo by Tommy Hays
DL — Nigel Smith II, Melissa, sr.
In 2022, his production didn't disappoint. He logged 103 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, 50 QB pressures, 17 TFLs, 11 sacks, two FFs, two FRs, one defensive TD in 14 games played.
DL — Temerrick Johnson, Midlothian Heritage, sr.
held more than 20 offers and took visits to California, Kansas and Oklahoma State — committed to the latter in June. He had 32 tackles, six TLF, a team-high 3.5 sacks and 9 quarterback hurries in eight games played in 2022.
DL — Alex January, Duncanville, sr.
Texas commit has Longhorns size. At 6-foot-4, 325, the lineman former a formidable duo with 5-star fellow UT commit Colin Simmons, Duncanville's star edge rusher.
LB — Payton Pierce, Lucas Lovejoy, sr.
Four-star linebacker prospect is headed to Ohio State, but not before leading Lovejoy to UIL state aspirations. After a standout freshman year at Allen, he was named District 7-5A-II Defensive Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore.
LB — Brandon Booker, DeSoto, sr.
Stanford recruit was a first-team all-state pick last year. He had 144 tackles, 7 TFLs and four interceptions last year for one of the nation's top teams — and he and the Eagles are just as formidable. Originally a Baylor pledge.
LB — Colin Simmons, Duncanville, sr.
SBLive's All-North Texas Defensive Player of the Year logged 79 tackles, 45 quarterback hurries, 33 tackles for loss and 22.5 sacks across 15 games and led Duncanville to its first UIL Class 6A Division I state title since 1998 as a junior.
LB — Brandon Jones, South Oak Cliff, sr.
The North Texas pledge has logged 199 tackles (137 solo), 20 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two QB hurries, two pass breakups, and 16 games played to lead South Oak Cliff to a 5A Division II state championship.
DB — Kobe Black, Connally, sr.
The 5-star is the nation's No. 2 corner and the top DB in Texas is a walking coverage black hole in the secondary and a versatile weapon on offense — scored 11 touchdowns.
DB — Eli Bowen, Denton Guyer, sr.
Recent Oklahoma commit is following in the footsteps of his brother, 5-star Peyton Bowen, and is the leader of a formidable Guyer secondary.
DB — Tony-Louis Nkuba, Lewisville, sr.
Arizona State-committed cover corner recorded 21 tackles (14 solo), eight pass break-ups, seven interceptions, a forced fumble, and a pick-six in 11 games as a junior.
DB — Xavier Filsaime, McKinney, sr.
Filsaime chose the Gators over LSU, Oregon, Georgia and USC. A game-changing playmaker no matter where he lines up, the nation’s No. 2 safety in the Class of 2024 is a 6-foot-1 speedster who came up with 92 tackles as a junior.
K/P — Kyle Lemmerman, Southlake Carroll, sr.
TCU is getting one of the most dominant legs in the country from its backyard. Adidas All-American and highly-touted kicking prospect gives Southlake Carroll a bona-fide special teams advantage.
K/P — Jackson Stagg, Pearland, sr.
Pearland's star boot is a game-changer with range and precision — don't put the Oilers' senior in position to beat you.
