2023 District 7-5A Division I Football Thread

[NODAYSOFFTX]

22 hours ago, WolverBean said:

How many winning seasons in last 20+ years y'all have compared to Longview dude said Tyler dominated the 2010s when was the last time Tyler legacy beat Longview 2003?

13 winning seasons in 20+ years since 2000 15 of those seasons were playoff teams. We weren’t scrubs. Do your research. Outside of lufkin we are the only in ETX to beat you in the last decade and I think the only  team to do it more than once in the last decade in ETX.

[ANTI]

1 hour ago, LufkinPack said:

Out of all of us bigger east Texas schools, Lufkin is by far at the biggest disadvantage.

Lufkin isn't growing, so that's a disadvantage for sure. But I wouldnt say they have the biggest disadvantage.

I'll say Tyler High has the biggest disadvantage of the 5A D1 ETX programs. 

The demographic thing in itself is a lot to deal with. Those football numbers speak for themselves. We already discussed the zoning. Heck, they're really only getting 100% of Boulter. Moore is zoned to them but the reality is...they dont get all of those kids. If a kid is disgruntled about PT or whatever, nothing for them to switch to CH or even Lindale. Now yes Tyler is growing, but mainly in Legacy's zone. Nice facilities though, sure wish we had an indoor!

[NODAYSOFFTX]

1 hour ago, VonG said:

I'll say this to my Tylerite's. For those of you who were there to witness it. Our golden years of sports were the 90's to the early 2000's. If you didn't get to see it. You missed out. We had talent in football, basketball, and speed on the track. From the looks of it. We'll never get it back. All we have is memories that keep fading away as time goes on. 

This is what I don’t understand. In the 90's we had population of 75,000 plus. The talent was just flowing like crazy. You couldn't put a cap on it. It was just so much. I compare it to the oilfield. When it was booming they was drilling wells everywhere. That's the type of talent we had. Now we have a population of 110,000 plus people and our wells are dry as hell. They done died out.

Private schools and kids going to lindale and CHill. You think lindale made it to state with homegrown kids?? No. Lol

Edited August 28, 2023 by NODAYSOFFTX

[JTFAN99]

2 hours ago, LufkinPack said:

Out of all of us bigger east Texas schools, Lufkin is by far at the biggest disadvantage. We ain’t got nothing around us to pull from. Just a bunch of small schools and most of those don’t even play football lol. Diboll does their own thing and Huntington wouldn’t have a single kid worth fighting for lol.. 
 

About that last thing you said, amen on that. 

good point

[LufkinPack]

1 hour ago, ANTI said:

Lufkin isn't growing, so that's a disadvantage for sure. But I wouldnt say they have the biggest disadvantage.

I'll say Tyler High has the biggest disadvantage of the 5A D1 ETX programs. 

The demographic thing in itself is a lot to deal with. Those football numbers speak for themselves. We already discussed the zoning. Heck, they're really only getting 100% of Boulter. Moore is zoned to them but the reality is...they dont get all of those kids. If a kid is disgruntled about PT or whatever, nothing for them to switch to CH or even Lindale. Now yes Tyler is growing, but mainly in Legacy's zone. Nice facilities though, sure wish we had an indoor!

Eh. I understand all of that to an extent. Tyler is more likely to benefit from a transfer move-in or something of those sorts. Lufkin gets absolutely zero transfers. Nothing close enough to us and the economy here with jobs isn’t exactly a hot bed lol. We got us and that’s all we got. 
 

Not to mention. Lufkin is a 1 middle school town. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by LufkinPack

[JTFAN99]

4 hours ago, Gametyme said:

I've said a kid has to want it for years. I don't care how good a play call you draw up if you don't have the kids to execute it what difference does it matter. It's always going to be about the Jimmy's and joes more then the X's and O's most of the time. 

true. but coaching can make a huge difference. Lufkin before and after Coach Outlaw, JT before and after Coach Wilson,  Skyline before and after Coach Samples.  A great coach and staff changes everything about your program. 

Edited August 28, 2023 by JTFAN99

[JTFAN99]

1 hour ago, ANTI said:

Lufkin isn't growing, so that's a disadvantage for sure. But I wouldnt say they have the biggest disadvantage.

I'll say Tyler High has the biggest disadvantage of the 5A D1 ETX programs. 

The demographic thing in itself is a lot to deal with. Those football numbers speak for themselves. We already discussed the zoning. Heck, they're really only getting 100% of Boulter. Moore is zoned to them but the reality is...they dont get all of those kids. If a kid is disgruntled about PT or whatever, nothing for them to switch to CH or even Lindale. Now yes Tyler is growing, but mainly in Legacy's zone. Nice facilities though, sure wish we had an indoor!

I can see it both ways with Jt and Lufkin.

 

[LufkinPack]

2 minutes ago, JTFAN99 said:

true. but coaching can make a huge difference. Lufkin before and after Coach Outlaw, JT before and Coach Wilson,  Skyline before and after Coach Samples.  A great coach and staff changes everything about your program. 

True that. Lufkin has the most talent they’ve had in quite some time on the varsity right now. The next two years should be good but guess what… Coach quick and them will mess it up. Our ceiling is forever limited with that staff here. The boys are gonna have to drag these coaches along the next few years for us to get any success out of this group. I have faith in the kids. But zero in our staff. 

[VonG]

6 hours ago, NODAYSOFFTX said:

Private schools and kids going to lindale and CHill. You think lindale made it to state with homegrown kids?? No. Lol

Lindale has boundaries in Tyler city limits. Those boundaries don't come close to what we consider Tyler, TX. I don't believe they are taking kids from JT. Same with C-Hill. C-Hill has been good before. I'm not surprised they are winning. You can't expect everyone in Tyler city limits to go to school in Tisd. We have had multiple schools district's in Tyler city limits for years. It's not going to change. We have to go with what we got. I only kids that want that want be apart of Tisd to go to our schools. I don't want no kids from other schools because they are doing good. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by VonG

[VonG]

5 hours ago, MattStepp said:

I know a guy who coached at Legacy/Lee after a long time in DFW and he was very surprised at the kids there 1) lack of toughness 2) unwillingness to do extra work to get better in the summer etc....

He had to be off George Clayton staff.

[Pick6]

4 hours ago, VonG said:

I'll say this to my Tylerite's. For those of you who were there to witness it. Our golden years of sports were the 90's to the early 2000's. If you didn't get to see it. You missed out. We had talent in football, basketball, and speed on the track. From the looks of it. We'll never get it back. All we have is memories that keep fading away as time goes on. 

 

Take a seat beside us Lufkin fans. We got some cold drinks in the fridge if you want.

It get's easier as time goes by. At least you guys finally changed the coaching staff. 

I remember Lufkin battling JT in the early to mid 90's right before things started to get better here. JT had some dawgs back then. Many of the players on that state championship played both ways. David Warren is still prob the best LB I've seen in person. Think there was Rb named Price that was quick as a cat. And Broyles was a beast too. The Qb was a standout basketball player too. 

Unfortunately Wilson was slow to adapt to changing times. Running pitch left/right 90% of time wasn't gonna get done anymore. Same with Lufkin being an early adopter of the spread. It worked wonders when not many teams were familiar with defending it. And we could just out athlete most schools. Well everyone else caught up and Lufkin never really adjusted. 

[ANTI]

 

[VonG]

28 minutes ago, Pick6 said:

Take a seat beside us Lufkin fans. We got some cold drinks in the fridge if you want.

It get's easier as time goes by. At least you guys finally changed the coaching staff. 

I remember Lufkin battling JT in the early to mid 90's right before things started to get better here. JT had some dawgs back then. Many of the players on that state championship played both ways. David Warren is still prob the best LB I've seen in person. Think there was Rb named Price that was quick as a cat. And Broyles was a beast too. The Qb was a standout basketball player too. 

Unfortunately Wilson was slow to adapt to changing times. Running pitch left/right 90% of time wasn't gonna get done anymore. Same with Lufkin being an early adopter of the spread. It worked wonders when not many teams were familiar with defending it. And we could just out athlete most schools. Well everyone else caught up and Lufkin never really adjusted. 

Lufkin haven't been as bad as these 2 knuckle heads. But I feel your pain.

[Gametyme]

5 hours ago, JTFAN99 said:

true. but coaching can make a huge difference. Lufkin before and after Coach Outlaw, JT before and after Coach Wilson,  Skyline before and after Coach Samples.  A great coach and staff changes everything about your program. 

Unless you play IMG or Mater Dei then it doesn't matter if Lincoln Riley was calling the plays for Lufkin. Would it matter who our coach was if we played Duncanville? I'm just saying it's nice and all to have a quality coach but I don't care how good he is when you play against teams with a significant talent gap. Duncanville is real elementary in their approach offensively. Nothing special and it doesn't matter against 99% of teams they play. Coach Samples has better kids then just about everyone else. Quick could coach that team right now to the state game. Samples isn't so much a x's and o's guy as he is a talent acquisition guy. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Gametyme

[JTFAN99]

6 hours ago, Gametyme said:

Unless you play IMG or Mater Dei then it doesn't matter if Lincoln Riley was calling the plays for Lufkin. Would it matter who our coach was if we played Duncanville? I'm just saying it's nice and all to have a quality coach but I don't care how good he is when you play against teams with a significant talent gap. Duncanville is real elementary in their approach offensively. Nothing special and it doesn't matter against 99% of teams they play. Coach Samples has better kids then just about everyone else. Quick could coach that team right now to the state game. Samples isn't so much a x's and o's guy as he is a talent acquisition guy. 

Nobody said Lufkin should be beating Duncanville. They are essentially 2 classes above yall (5a div1 vs 6a div2). But its no reason Lufkin can't handle Mckinney North or Forney. 

By the way, coach Samples gets alot of disrespect. If it was just a talent thing, why nobody else has done what he did at Skyline, Lincoln, or Duncanville. That's 3 schools...THREE.  It ain't a fluke. Kids come because he can coach. Just like they flock to other schools that win alot...some in East Texas.  And he just blew out SOC last week. SOC has like 20 div.1 kids on their roster. 

[JTFAN99]

9 hours ago, Pick6 said:

Take a seat beside us Lufkin fans. We got some cold drinks in the fridge if you want.

It get's easier as time goes by. At least you guys finally changed the coaching staff. 

I remember Lufkin battling JT in the early to mid 90's right before things started to get better here. JT had some dawgs back then. Many of the players on that state championship played both ways. David Warren is still prob the best LB I've seen in person. Think there was Rb named Price that was quick as a cat. And Broyles was a beast too. The Qb was a standout basketball player too. 

Unfortunately Wilson was slow to adapt to changing times. Running pitch left/right 90% of time wasn't gonna get done anymore. Same with Lufkin being an early adopter of the spread. It worked wonders when not many teams were familiar with defending it. And we could just out athlete most schools. Well everyone else caught up and Lufkin never really adjusted. 

Coach Wilson wasn't fired from JT. He moved on and continued to win. Yea his offense was outdated, but he won alot of games at Carter after JT..although you could argue in a much weaker district..lol. 

But I get the point your are trying to make.

[Gametyme]

1 hour ago, JTFAN99 said:

Nobody said Lufkin should be beating Duncanville. They are essentially 2 classes above yall (5a div1 vs 6a div2). But its no reason Lufkin can't handle Mckinney North or Forney. 

By the way, coach Samples gets alot of disrespect. If it was just a talent thing, why nobody else has done what he did at Skyline, Lincoln, or Duncanville. That's 3 schools...THREE.  It ain't a fluke. Kids come because he can coach. Just like they flock to other schools that win alot...some in East Texas.  And he just blew out SOC last week. SOC has like 20 div.1 kids on their roster. 

I'm just saying it's not all about coaching. That stops at a certain point when the talent gap is just to wide. Coach Acosta at De Valle can't win a game but at IMG he won some really big games. Did he forget how to coach or did he just have better kids at IMG? Coaches get way to much blame when teams play bad because parents don't like to admit they kids ain't very good. Samples is a great mentor and has a reputation that attracts the top kids. They literally run the same basic stuff and blow teams out not because the play call was amazing and I can promise you SOC doesn't have 20 D1 kids on the roster. If Samples was truly an elite coach they wouldn't had gotten boat raced by Mater Dei two years ago. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Gametyme

[ANTI]

1 hour ago, Gametyme said:

 I can promise you SOC doesn't have 20 D1 kids on the roster. 

'24-'26 classes, I counted 19. So I guess you're right. lol

DV has 18.

[Gametyme]

1 hour ago, ANTI said:

'24-'26 classes, I counted 19. So I guess you're right. lol

DV has 18.

I don't know where you got that number from but they have 4 kids in there 24 class with D1 offers and all of them are low 3 star recruits. And I could only find 1 in the 25 class listed on 247 with a legitimate D1 offer. That's 5 kids total. I'm not saying every kid is listed on 247 but most with legitimate D1 offers are. I'm just saying they don't have 18 kids with legitimate D1 offers right now.

[JTFAN99]

10 hours ago, Gametyme said:

I'm just saying it's not all about coaching. That stops at a certain point when the talent gap is just to wide. Coach Acosta at De Valle can't win a game but at IMG he won some really big games. Did he forget how to coach or did he just have better kids at IMG? Coaches get way to much blame when teams play bad because parents don't like to admit they kids ain't very good. Samples is a great mentor and has a reputation that attracts the top kids. They literally run the same basic stuff and blow teams out not because the play call was amazing and I can promise you SOC doesn't have 20 D1 kids on the roster. If Samples was truly an elite coach they wouldn't had gotten boat raced by Mater Dei two years ago. 

dude, of course you win with more talent. That's the case in any sport, but if you think coaching doesn't play a huge role, then you are being naive. I can give you hundreds of examples where just having a different coach change the complete outcome of the program.  Jt was trash in 04, the very next yr with a new coach they were playing for district championship.

Also, What is "basic stuff"? You think Sample should be running, double reverse flea flicker passes? A great coach can get get kids to be great at the so call "basics". This guy has turned around 3 programs, something very few coaches in the state have done...AND TWO WERE INNER CITY SCHOOLS. 

And you comparing Mater Dei...a Private School to Duncanville. Come on dude.  apples and oranges.

Edited August 29, 2023 by JTFAN99

[JTFAN99]

6 hours ago, Gametyme said:

I don't know where you got that number from but they have 4 kids in there 24 class with D1 offers and all of them are low 3 star recruits. And I could only find 1 in the 25 class listed on 247 with a legitimate D1 offer. That's 5 kids total. I'm not saying every kid is listed on 247 but most with legitimate D1 offers are. I'm just saying they don't have 18 kids with legitimate D1 offers right now.

Dude go to 247. I counted 16.

Class of 24 has 12  https://247sports.com/season/2024-football/recruits/?&PlayerSport.PlayerInstitution.Institution.Key=20874

Class of 25 has 2 https://247sports.com/season/2025-football/recruits/?&PlayerSport.PlayerInstitution.Institution.Key=20874

Class of 26 has 2. https://247sports.com/season/2026-football/recruits/?&PlayerSport.PlayerInstitution.Institution.Key=20874

[Gametyme]

27 minutes ago, JTFAN99 said:

Dude go to 247. I counted 16.

Class of 24 has 12  https://247sports.com/season/2024-football/recruits/?&PlayerSport.PlayerInstitution.Institution.Key=20874

Class of 25 has 2 https://247sports.com/season/2025-football/recruits/?&PlayerSport.PlayerInstitution.Institution.Key=20874

Class of 26 has 2. https://247sports.com/season/2026-football/recruits/?&PlayerSport.PlayerInstitution.Institution.Key=20874

Some of them kids have no offers and PV and Texas Southern not D1. I'm sorry it's not. I counted 8 in the 24 class. Not even close to 20 D1 offers

[Gametyme]

37 minutes ago, JTFAN99 said:

dude, of course you win with more talent. That's the case in any sport, but if you think coaching doesn't play a huge role, then you are being naive. I can give you hundreds of examples where just having a different coach change the complete outcome of the program.  Jt was trash in 04, the very next yr with a new coach they were playing for district championship.

Also, What is "basic stuff"? You think Sample should be running, double reverse flea flicker passes? A great coach can get get kids to be great at the so call "basics". This guy has turned around 3 programs, something very few coaches in the state have done...AND TWO WERE INNER CITY SCHOOLS. 

And you comparing Mater Dei...a Private School to Duncanville. Come on dude.  apples and oranges.

A lot of coaches could win with Duncanville kids right now. 

[ANTI]

7 hours ago, Gametyme said:

I don't know where you got that number from but they have 4 kids in there 24 class with D1 offers and all of them are low 3 star recruits. And I could only find 1 in the 25 class listed on 247 with a legitimate D1 offer. That's 5 kids total. I'm not saying every kid is listed on 247 but most with legitimate D1 offers are. I'm just saying they don't have 18 kids with legitimate D1 offers right now.

2024 (13)

3* WR Jamyri Cauley (SMU commit)

3* WR Elijah Baesa (Arizona State commit)

3* LB/DB Brandon Jones (North Texas commit)

3* WR Trey Jackson (Texas Tech commit)

3* CB Kerry Williams (North Texas commit)

WR Rickey Evans (Texas Southern commit....6 other offers including Ole Miss)

DL Tacolby Grant (11 D1 offers)

DL Jaden Rowe (ULM commit)

OL Jordan Rowe (ULM commit)

ATH Jayvon Roe (1 offer from Louisville according to 247, but his Twitter also reports offer from Arkansas).

OL Xyler Miles (PVAMU commit...4 other offers including FBS)

DB SamajDre Gasaway (Mississippi Valley State University commit)

RB Danny Green (2 D1 offers)

2025 (3)

CB Jalyn Reece ( 1 offer from UTSA)

3 * LB Jayden Shelton (19 offers)

S Tobias Gary (5 D1 offers)

2026 (2)

CB Marcell Gipson (2 D1 offers)

LB Jamarion Phillips (1 D1 offer)

Final tally, 18 players with D1 offers at SOC. Originally I said 19, but there was a player duplicate on 247 (Jaden Rowe and Jaden Smith are the same players).

[Gametyme]

54 minutes ago, ANTI said:

2024 (13)

3* WR Jamyri Cauley (SMU commit)

3* WR Elijah Baesa (Arizona State commit)

3* LB/DB Brandon Jones (North Texas commit)

3* WR Trey Jackson (Texas Tech commit)

3* CB Kerry Williams (North Texas commit)

WR Rickey Evans (Texas Southern commit....6 other offers including Ole Miss)

DL Tacolby Grant (11 D1 offers)

DL Jaden Rowe (ULM commit)

OL Jordan Rowe (ULM commit)

ATH Jayvon Roe (1 offer from Louisville according to 247, but his Twitter also reports offer from Arkansas).

OL Xyler Miles (PVAMU commit...4 other offers including FBS)

DB SamajDre Gasaway (Mississippi Valley State University commit)

RB Danny Green (2 D1 offers)

2025 (3)

CB Jalyn Reece ( 1 offer from UTSA)

3 * LB Jayden Shelton (19 offers)

S Tobias Gary (5 D1 offers)

2026 (2)

CB Marcell Gipson (2 D1 offers)

LB Jamarion Phillips (1 D1 offer)

Final tally, 18 players with D1 offers at SOC. Originally I said 19, but there was a player duplicate on 247 (Jaden Rowe and Jaden Smith are the same players).

I'll admit it's higher then I thought but it was also about 4 or 5 kids on that list I wouldn't consider D1 but more of FCS. You think a kid really choosing Texas Southern over Ole Miss if he has a committable offer? I would be interested in seeing this list closer to signing day once the official offers roll in. They don't have a Malik Muhammed level kid this year. None the less I concede they have a lot more then I thought.