ARLINGTON — For four days, AT&T Stadium will be stacked with tons of highly-ranked Texas high school football recruits with hundreds of FBS scholarship offers between them.
Friday night’s matchup between Richmond Randle and South Oak Cliff in the Class 5A Division II UIL State Championship game had plenty of the Lone Star State’s top prospects, many of whom have already committed to play for major college football programs at the next level.
Richmond Randle sophomore running back Landen Williams-Callis stole the show offensively. He carried the Lions on the ground and was named Offensive MVP after helping lead Randle to a 38-35 victory over South Oak Cliff.
The Lions’ standout sophomore running back was named Offensive MVP of the 5A D-II state title game after rushing for 101 yards and a first-quarter touchdown on 23 carries.
Williams-Callis — a consensus five-star recruit in the Class of 2027 — has earned 39 offers from DI college football programs like Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Texas and Texas A&M among many others.
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Randle junior linebacker Ryan Mallory, who received an offer from Colorado earlier this year, was named Defensive MVP after tallying a game-high 12 tackles and two tackles for loss.
Senior defensive lineman Chase Sims — a key piece of Richmond Randle’s first football team in 2021 who has signed to play for the Texas A&M Aggies collegiately — racked up nine tackles, two QB hurries and 0.5 tackles for loss.
Senior defensive back Blake Thompson, an Oregon State signee, was the lynchpin of the Lions’ pass coverage and finished with six tackles and a tackle for loss in Randle’s win.
On the flip side, South Oak Cliff’s star-studded offensive line paved the way for a huge night on the ground for the Bears’ explosive running backs.
SOC’s O-line helped the Bears bully Richmond Randle on the ground, allowing South Oak Cliff’s offense to collectively rack up 355 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries.
Three of the Bears’ five starting offensive linemen will be DI bound soon. Senior Emeka Ugorji has signed to play at Stanford, while junior Cortavious Tisaby has verbally committed to the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Sophomore offensive tackle Brian Swanson — a four-star recruit and top 10 Texas high school football prospect in the Class of 2027 — currently holds 17 major offers from programs that include Baylor, Duke, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pitt, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
South Oak Cliff senior running back Damond Williams was one of several Bears backs that got to eat and benefit from their offensive line setting the table.
Williams, who signed to play at Central Arkansas, ran 13 times for 138 rushing yards and a game-changing 85-yard touchdown run.
The Bears’ defense boasted at least nine players with multiple FBS offers.
South Oak Cliff’s defensive line was led by senior defensive end Kamauryn Morgan, a Baylor Bears signee. Morgan commanded double teams all night, but still managed to affect Randle’s passing game with a key pass breakup and several pressures.
Junior defensive lineman Kordae Houston also added a tackle and a QB hurry for the Bears’ pass rush. Houston has collected offers from Nevada, North Texas, Texas A&M and UNLV so far.
South Oak Cliff’s dynamic linebacker duo of senior Jayden Shelton and junior Jamarion Phillips were at center of many of the Bears’ biggest plays defensively.
Shelton, who signed to play for the Arkansas Razorbacks, finished with eight tackles.
Phillips tallied a team-high nine tackles with a tackle for loss and a pass deflection. He has earned 17 DI offers from schools that include Arizona State, Colorado, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M and UCF among others.
The Bears’ loaded secondary featured four players with multiple FBS offers: juniors Marcell Gipson and Rickey Giles, and seniors Tobias Gary and Kendrick Carter.
Gipson — an elite cornerback who holds 17 offers from programs like Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Texas Tech, Washington and Wisconsin — ended the night with five tackles.
Giles, who has garnered offers from both Purdue and Texas State, finished the game with two tackles for South Oak Cliff.
Carter, a North Dakota State signee, made two tackles and a pivotal second-half interception for the Bears.
Three players who currently hold multiple DI offers were either sidelined or played sparingly during Friday night’s state title game: South Oak Cliff senior defensive back Tobias Gary, Richmond Randle junior linebacker Noriel Dominguez and South Oak Cliff sophomore defensive lineman Jaderian Jones.
Gary has signed to play with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at the next level. Jones has received offers so far from North Texas, SMU, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
Dominguez has earned offers from 17 schools that include Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida, Cal, Illinois, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, TCU, Texas A&M and Texas Tech among several others.
Andrew McCulloch covers Texas high school sports and Abilene Christian University athletics for The Abilene Reporter-News. Reach him atsports@reporternews.com orandrew.mcculloch@reporternews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByAndyMcCulloch.
