Texas is again at the top of the heap when it comes to producing elite high school football recruits in the Class of 2027.

This year’s class in the Lone Star State features 52 players from inside the borders earning blue-chip status as four- and five-star recruits. That was more than any other state in the country, including Florida, California and Georgia. Maybe even more impressive, 14 of the nation’s top 100 players hail from the state — or roughly 1 in every 6.

And of those 14, a dozen are already committed with the majority pledged to in-state schools Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Rivals breaks it down:

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 1 (#1 in Texas)
School: Cedar Hill
Scouting Summary: “Uber-athletic defensive line prospect with true game-wrecking ability. Measured in at around 6-foot-3, 300 pounds prior to his junior season. Tests as an elite athlete in the combine setting, easily cracking 5.0 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Carries that athleticism over to the field where he has flashes of dominance on Friday nights. Lines up all over the defensive line for Cedar Hill (Texas) while facing top competition. Dangerous pass rusher from any spot. Combines explosive get-off with the movement skills of a much smaller player, carrying elite testing numbers directly onto the field. Consistently collapses pockets and disrupts plays before they develop. Has legitimate game-wrecking moments on film. The quickness to dart into the backfield and the speed to hunt down ball carriers is eye-popping. May not possess premier length. Father was a third-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys. Tracking as the top defensive line prospect early on in the 2027 cycle with the upside to be an early NFL Draft pick.”

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 2 (#2 in Texas)
School: North Crowley
Scouting Summary: “Long and dynamic corner prospect with elite length and top-end speed. Can cover any body type at receiver that lines up against him. 6-foot-2, 180-plus pounds with 33-inch arms. Ran sub-22 in the 200m and jumped over 43 feet in the triple jump during his sophomore track and field season. Has the speed and hip fluidity to cover more sudden receivers and the physicality and length to handle bigger-bodied options. Excellent ball skills and ability to attack the football in the air. Needs to continue developing footwork and instincts in man coverage but has all the physical and athletic tools coaches covet at the position.”

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 25 (#3 in Texas)
School: Kingwood
Scouting Summary: “Explosive and long-armed offensive tackle prospect with rare reach, heavy hands, and the athletic ability to dominate both phases up front. Measured around 6-foot-3, 280 pounds prior to his junior season with a wingspan over 7 feet and 11-inch hands. Tested as a good athlete in the combine setting. Worked at right tackle as a sophomore before moving to left tackle as a junior. Shows excellent striking power, using his length and punch to stun defensive linemen at the point of attack. Moves easily to the second level and looks to finish blocks with effort and physicality. Shorter than the typical top tackle prospect but makes up for it with elite reach and functional strength. Had some lapses in pass protection on junior film after transitioning to the left side, but the athletic traits and power profile remain evident. Projects as one of the top offensive line prospects in the 2027 cycle.”

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 45 (#5 in Texas)
School: Liberty Christian
Scouting Summary: “Versatile linebacker that possesses range, sideline to sideline top-end speed and tremendous instincts. 6-foot-1, 210 pounds that has verified athletic ability. Ran sub-11 in the 100m during his sophomore track and field season. Primarily played safety as a sophomore but has since walked down into a more traditional linebacker role. Doubles as a wide receiver as well for his high school showing off his athletic ability and ball skills. Needs to continue developing his ability to strike and physicality in the box, but has top-tier athleticism to make plays in space and cover. Older prospect for the recruiting cycle.”

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 48 (#7 in Texas)
School: Waxahachie
Scouting Summary: “In what is shaping up to be a strong safety class, Snell is the most physical and biggest hitter in the group. Has a long, lean frame with room to add good weight and has incredible striking ability for a player of his stature. Decisive getting down hill, running the ally and is very quick to trigger. Can run through lanes, find the football and does not miss. Excellent open field tackler and is able to break down in space. Might not have the frame to ever be as big, but has a similar play style of Seattle Seahawk hybrid Nick Emmanwori. Looks like a player you can line up all over the field to take advantage of his physical style, range and high end athleticism. Has some strong metrics with a 23’ long jump and 45’3” triple jump. Love the motor and high end compete level as well and if he stays healthy, it’s difficult to imagine Snell not playing on Sundays.”

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 54 (#8 in Texas)
School: Summer Creek
Scout’s Take: “Benny Easter brings a strong combination of size, movement skills and production from his junior season. He is a big, filled-out receiver at around 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds. He moves really well for his size and is a high-volume target for his high school. Brown shows the ability to win at the catch point. I think when you look at him in this receiver group, Easter is one of the stronger receivers in contested-catch situations with his play-strength and strong hands. He’s dynamic after the catch, too. This is someone who had really strong raw production as a junior. When you look at the full breadth of what he brings, we feel good about him being one of the top receiver prospects to this point in the cycle.” — Charles Power, Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 65 (#9 in Texas)
School: Westwood
Scouting Summary: “Elite physical talent who has the potential to be a versatile defensive weapon. Measured at 6-foot-3, 216 pounds at the Rivals Camp in Houston prior to his senior season. Has 32.5-inch arms with hands that measure over 10 inches. An elite athlete in the combine setting, posting a 4.63-second 40-yard dash, 35.2-inch vertical, and 10’9.1 foot broad jump at the Rivals Camp – all elite marks. Shows the athleticism on Friday nights, where he lines up at all three levels of the defense for his high school team, taking reps as a pass rusher, outside linebacker, and safety. The top notch movement skills jump out immediately. An explosive, smooth mover who covers space quickly. Shows the ability to quickly generate pressure off the edge. Coordinated when working in spaces and shows impressive range in coverage. Eliminates angles and has sideline to sideline speed. Finished his junior season with 59 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and three sacks. Has solid physicality, but can continue improving his instincts and take-on ability as an off-ball linebacker. Younger for the cycle, turning 17 years-old in June prior to his senior season. Could have the highest upside of all linebacker prospects in the 2027 cycle with the potential to grow into a top pass-rusher.”

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 68 (#10 in Texas)
School: Westwood
Scout’s Take: “Bryant is one of the most physically and athletically gifted prospects in the country and we were able to see it during his workout at Rivals Houston. His comfort and natural arm action as a passer while on the move allows him to drive the ball with velocity, even if he is unable to get his feet underneath him. The ball flies off of his hand and throws the deep ball with little to no effort, even when pushing it 50-plus yards downfield. He showed that he has one of the strongest arms in the cycle.

… And even with a couple misfires during the individual period, Bryant still showed improvement in his ability to layer the football and deliver the ball with touch since the end of his junior season. He proved on Sunday that he’s not only one of the top athletes in the country, but one of the top passers as well.” — Cody Bellaire, Rivals National Scout

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 97 (#11 in Texas)
School:
Notable quote: “I feel like they treated me like family up there. They welcomed me in with open arms. I was sitting in the running back room, it actually made me seem like I was already at the school. So just them showing me that, I feel like that could be a place that I could be at. And the facility’s nice – they got everything you need. The coaching staff, I feel like Coach (Joey) McGuire is a real dude, one of the realest head coaches out.”

Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 103 (#12 in Texas)
School: Argyle
On his commitment: “The coaching staff has done a great job recruiting me,“ he told Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman. “They’ve definitely been in my ear a lot recently. For Texas Tech, I have an opportunity to really play early and make a big impact. They have a lot of seniors leaving, so there are a lot of good things going on over there. It’s close to home. My grandparents are alumni, so that’s another plus and shoot, it’s in Texas and it’s a great school.“

Maeve Staunton, a soccer and basketball star who helped Northwest Catholic to three basketball state titles and three soccer state finals, was named the state Gatorade girls soccer player of the year on Friday.

Staunton, who recently graduated from Northwest, will play soccer at UConn in the fall.

Staunton, a midfielder, led the Lions to a 15-6-1 record and the Class M state final this past season, where they lost to Foran, 3-2. Staunton scored 21 goals and had 17 assists.

Staunton was a two-time All-New England and three-time All-State honoree and a 2025 United Soccer Coaches All-American selection. Northwest advanced to the Class M finals her junior and freshman years as well.

Over her career, Staunton had 62 goals and 52 assists.

In basketball, Staunton helped Northwest to three straight state titles from her freshman year to her junior year. The Lions made it to the Division I state championship game in March but lost to Greenwich, 51-46.

With the latest rebuild by the Miami Dolphins—following the trend of past rebuilds, which are all just so exhausting—comes a wave of new players on both offense and defense. Since many of our previous discussions have focused on offensive players, I asked the following questions this past week:

Which of the new defensive players added by our Miami Dolphins are you most excited to see in action when they finally suit up for the team this fall?

Below are some of your thoughts and answers-

MiamiItaliano is really looking forward to a fun conga line!

Rene Konga. I hope he makes the d-line squad so he can do this celebration after a sack.

Reid_305 is ready to see what the new additions to the secondary bring to the table.

Drafted: Chris Johnson UDFA: Louis Moore

PA phinphan is hoping to see some of the new guys cause chaos in the backfield.

Ojabo, Uche, and Trey Moore: who’s going to create some havoc in the opposing backfield.

Bill Moody will learn who these new guys are on a need-to-know basis.

People throwing out all these names of dudes I’ve never heard of. This rebuild is going well I suppose. 🙂

CluelessNFLfan wants to see if all the hype is warranted.

Chris Johnson. Will he be our true No. 1 shutdown corner?

StanleyDoyle1, like a lot of us, has high hopes for Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, for the possibility he could be Zach 2.0, or a clone of Brooks. You just have this gut feeling that he’s going to pick up the defense fast and enter the starting lineup by week 5.

davidson11 chimes in with what I assume is trolling?

Major Burns? Storm Duck? It’s been all downhill since Barkevious Mingo.

Dave21 is just looking to see if some of last season’s rookies make that year two jump.

I am most eager to see our second years guys and how big of a jump they have taken.

Pod of Dolphins wants to see how Burns handles the oppressive heat and humidity of South Florida.

I would like to see how Major Burns can take the Miami heat

Phoenix6 highlights a couple of guys that will have to succeed at the NFL level if we hope to see this thing turn around.

Kyle Louis, 6’0″, 220lbs of great versatility.

I know about great is made of the ‘stache Jake Rodriguez… but I think this dude is going to wreck havoc on opposing offenses this season.

Dolfanjoe hopes a vet and a rookie can shut down the other team’s run game.

Rodriguez and Brooks as our centers in the defense together. We are about to be a running team and that means they have to give the offense back the football as quick as possible! These two may just disassemble opposing run games and force a lot of 3 and outs!

Jptapt says it’s all in a name.

With a name like Major Burns, how can you lose?

I Hate Sports just wants to see whichever 11 they run out there on game day play up to the standards we expect.

I could care less about a “singular player” or “specific group” standing out on this defense. I want to see 11-man team defense playing cohesively as a unit.

sdphinsfan believes that some of the new guys will have to play well if we hope to have any success.

Rodriguez. Be nice to see a play making LB in our Defense again. Louis will be an interesting watch too. Play makers in the middle…can’t have a good Defense without them. Nothing against Johnson but I’m exhausted with the attention to the CB position. Just like the WR position on Offense. How much money and assets have the Dolphins spent on both with nothing in return to show for it?

That concludes our list of comments for the evening. While there isn’t a clear consensus on which specific players fans are most excited to watch, the overall sentiment remains optimistic about the team’s direction. Let’s hope that enthusiasm translates to success on the field this fall. As always, thank you to everyone who took the time to join the conversation and answer our Phinsider Question of the Day.