For decades, high school football fans from around the country have debated what state plays the best high school football. States like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, and California have all had serious claims to the title at one point, but Texas has always been at or among the top.
High school football in Texas is more of a religion than it is a high school sport, and it’s the pastime of the 1500+ communities in Texas that field a high school football team. And, according to Oklahoma Sooners quarterback and Texas high school football alum, Jackson Arnold, no state plays better high school football than Texas.
It’s hard to disagree with Jackson Arnold’s sentiment here. Last year, Texas had the most players out of any state in the NFL with 187. They were followed by Florida and California.
Plus, high school football is played with what I consider to be a higher level of seriousness and professionalism in the state of Texas. At Texas public schools, high school sports coaches are required to have their teaching licenses, putting them in the building with their student-athletes. Oftentimes, weight-lifting and even practice is built into the beginning or end of the school day. And, the facilities are top-notch, with multiple stadiums at bigger schools in the state rivaling FCS college facilities. I remember watching current Texas Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers play high school football at Southlake Carroll, a Dallas suburb. Their program was sponsored by a large Mercedes dealership. It’s just different in Texas.
And, I think one thing that Texas does that’s really cool is they separate the public and private schools. The private schools in the state do not get to compete in the UIL State Championships held at AT&T Stadium, and the vast majority of top high school football players in the state play at public neighborhood schools with strict transfer rules. That sense of community is awesome.
Jackson Arnold knows all about this firsthand. Arnold was a two-year starter at perennial power Denton Guyer in suburban Dallas. He was Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2022 after he was responsible for 4497 total yards as a senior.
Arnold will be the starter in Norman this season, as the Class of 2023 five-star’s presence likely was a factor in Heisman candidate Dillon Gabriel transferring to Oregon.
