Philadelphia Eagles’ Lane Johnson, right, celebrates after Super Bowl 52 against the New England Patriots on Feb. 4, 2018, in Minneapolis. The Eagles won 41-33. Johnson played at Groveton High School, Kilgore College and the University of Oklahoma.

A question I often get asked is, “Did you watch Patrick Mahomes play in high school?”

The answer is yes.

The next questions are, “How good was he? Did you expect him to do what he was doing?”

Mahomes was an incredible overall athlete at Whitehouse High School. I saw him play basketball, baseball and yes, even football.

I got to see Mahomes once as a quarterback live. When he was a junior, Nacogdoches traveled to Whitehouse, and he was 15-for-32 for 297 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-21 Whitehouse victory. Mahomes had touchdown passes of 68 yards and 54 yards, showing off his big arm that eventually had pro scouts drooling. His touchdown passes were to Coleman Patterson and Dylan Cantrell, who also played in the NFL.

During Mahomes’ senior season, I was at the Longview News-Journal at the time and didn’t cover any Whitehouse football games during that year.

But I saw highlights and the numbers — 237 of 418 for 3,839 yards with 46 touchdowns and 107 carries for 258 yards and six touchdowns as a junior and 287 of 495 for 4,619 yards with 50 touchdowns passing and 157 carries for 940 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior.

But when I first saw Mahomes play football for Whitehouse, he was playing on defense as a defensive back. As a sophomore, Mahomes had 33 tackles, five interceptions and two forced fumbles playing in the Wildcat secondary.

I also saw Mahomes dominate on the baseball diamond, where he started for four years on the Whitehouse varsity and helped the Wildcats to the state tournament in 2013. Full disclosure: I envisioned Mahomes being a professional athlete and a very successful one, but as a baseball player. Given that his father, Pat Mahomes, played 11 years in the Major Leagues as a pitcher, it was easy to make that assumption. I remember seeing Mahomes strike out six in a two-hit victory at Nacogdoches as a freshman. Then, I saw him strike out 15 as a sophomore, outdueling former Texas A&M and minor league pitcher Brigham Hill.

Mahomes was also a standout talent on the basketball court. I watched him as a skinny freshman score 13 points — 11 in the second half — and dish out nine assists in a 59-56 Whitehouse win at Nacogdoches back when I was at the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel.

Speaking of skinny, I remember seeing another skinny quarterback from East Texas years before I saw Mahomes. It’s actually Mahomes’ opponent in Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII — Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson.

Yes, Johnson, now standing at 6-6, 325 pounds, was once a skinny quarterback.

The first team I covered in my career was Groveton High School football for about five seasons for the Lufkin Daily News. Those last couple of years, I remember a tall, thin kid on the sidelines throwing the football before games. That kid was Lane Johnson, who those in the press box would say, “that’s our future quarterback.”

Johnson was in middle school and a freshman during those years. By the time Johnson was the Indians’ starting quarterback, I was at the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel, so I wasn’t covering Groveton anymore, but they did meet Alto in the playoffs in 2006 and 2007 when Johnson was a junior and senior.

In that 2007 meeting, Alto won 21-13 at a rainy Abe Martin Stadium in Lufkin to extend its winning streak to 25 games. With the Indians down 21-0, Johnson scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in an attempt to lead a comeback that just fell short. Johnson had led the Indians to eight straight wins before that playoff loss as Groveton finished with a 9-3 record.

Johnson also advanced to the track and field state meet in the shot put as a senior in 2008.

Johnson’s only offer was to Kilgore College, where he played quarterback and tight end. He threw for 584 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions in his lone season with the Rangers. He then moved on to the University of Oklahoma, originally serving as the practice squad quarterback as a redshirt. He then moved to tight end and defensive end.

But eventually, as he started to get bigger and bigger, Johnson was asked to move to the offensive line, eventually becoming an All-American and getting drafted with the No. 4 pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Johnson is a three-time All-Pro selection and a four-time Pro Bowler.

Like Mahomes, Johnson also has a Super Bowl championship. Johnson and the Eagles won Super Bowl LII, while Mahomes and the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV just two years later.

I remember both Mahomes and Johnson from their time in East Texas, but my memories are of them at positions different than the ones they will be playing on Sunday.

Notes: Like Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’ older brother, Averion, also played quarterback at Kilgore College. … Former John Tyler quarterback Greg Ward is on the practice squad for the Eagles as a wide receiver. From 2019-21, Ward had 88 receptions for the Eagles for 768 yards and 10 touchdowns. … Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton, who had 180 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions this season, attended Edgewood ISD through middle school.