The 15th annual East Texas High School Football Preseason Dream Team consists of players from the combined coverage area of the Longview News-Journal, Tyler Morning Telegraph, Marshall News Messenger, Kilgore News Herald and Panola Watchman.
The voting panel included Jack Stallard and Thomas Bingham of the Longview News-Journal, Phil Hicks and Brandon Ogden of the Tyler Morning Telegraph and Nathan Hague of the Marshall News Messenger.
Preseason offensive MVP Jalen Hale of Longview joins a list that includes Tyrik Rollison of Sulphur Springs (2008), Traylon Shead of Cayuga (2009), Trey Metoyer of Whitehouse (2010), Del Barnes of Henderson (2011), Greg Ward of John Tyler (2012), Patrick Mahomes of Whitehouse (2013), Larry Pryor of Sulphur Springs (2014), Zach Hall of Tyler Lee (2015), Jeremiah Crawford of Mineola (2016), Keontay Ingram of Carthage (2017), Gunner Capps of Carthage (2018), Haynes King of Longview (2019), Jordan Jenkins of Lindale (2020) and Brandon Tennison of Gilmer (2021).
Heading up the defensive side is preseason MVP Jordan Renaud of Tyler Legacy. Previous defensive MVPs include Jamarkus McFarland of Lufkin (2008), Ashton Dorsey of John Tyler (2009), Steve Edmond of Daingerfield (2010), Dalton Santos of Van (2011), DeMarkus Lathan of Longview (2012), Josh Walker of Gilmer (2013), Daylon Mack of Gladewater (2014), Demarco Boyd of Gilmer (2015), Lagarryon Carson of Liberty-Eylau (2016), Demarvion Overshown of Arp (2017), Carl Williams of Lufkin (2018), Landon Jackson of Pleasant Grove (2019 and 2020) and Kip Lewis of Carthage (2021).
OFFENSIVE MVP
JALEN HALE
Longview
Receiver
By the numbers: Hale is coming off a junior season that saw him grab 50 passes for 1,154 yards and 14 touchdowns. He caught seven passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman and added 39 catches for 700 yards and 11 TDs as a sophomore to give him 96 catches for 2,018 yards and 28 touchdowns heading into his senior season. Hale recently released his top three schools of Georgia, Texas and Alabama.
DEFENSIVE MVP
JORDAN RENAUD
Tyler Legacy
Defensive line
By the numbers: The 6-4, 275-pound senior is coming off a season that saw him rack up 66 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, 13 quarterback pressures, an interception, three passes defended, a blocked punt and a blocked kick. He has offers from Alabama Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M, Georgia, Houston, SMU, TCU and Jackson State, among others.
OFFENSE
ANDON MATA
School: West Rusk
Position: Quarterback
By the numbers: 145 of 245, 2,599 yards, 35 TD, 5 interceptions. Ran the ball 40 times for 420 yards and 13 TD. Lamar commit.
TAYLOR TATUM
School: Longview
Position: Running Back
By the numbers: 738 rushing yards, 6 TD. Caught passes for 85 yards and 3 TD. 15 Division I offers.
JAYLEN BOARDLEY
School: Pleasant Grove
Position: Running Back
By the numbers: 180 carries, 1,219 yards, 20 TD. Caught 23 passes for 428 yards and 4 TD. Offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Louisiana Tech, SMU, TCU and Texas Tech.
DAWSON PENDERGRASS
School: Mineola
Position: Running Back
By the numbers: 195 carries, 2,004 yards, 26 TD. Caught 17 passes for 356 yards and 4 TD. Baylor commit.
MONTRELL WADE
School: Tyler
Position: Receiver
By the numbers: 39 catches, 808 yards, 13 TD. Boston College commit.
MONTREL HATTEN
School: Carthage
Position: Receiver
By the numbers: 61 catches, 1,054 yards, 14 TD. Oregon State commit.
DEVIN MCCUIN
School: Jacksonville
Position: Receiver
By the numbers: 63 catches, 922 yards, 7 TD. Ran the ball for 82 yards. Verbal to UTSA.
GEKYLE BAKER
School: Brownsboro
Position: Receiver
By the numbers: 51 catches, 1,081 yards, 12 TD.
DEALYN EVANS
School: Pine Tree
Position: Tight End
By the numbers: 4 catches, 42 yards, 1 TD. Offers from Arizona State, Baylor, Central Florida, Houston, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M, UTSA and Washington.
TREVOR BOLDEN
School: Hughes Springs
Position: Fullback/H-Back
By the numbers: Career stats of 2,112 yards and 36 TD.
CASEY POE
School: Lindale
Position: Offensive Line
By the numbers: 52 knockdowns, 21 pancakes and 1 sack allowed in 12 games. Graded out at 90 percent. Offers from Arkansas State, Austin Peay, Baylor, Colorado State, Houston, Nebraska, Oklahoma, SMU, TCU, Texas Tech and UTSA.
KEVIYAN HUDDLESTON
School: Chapel Hill
Position: Offensive Line
By the numbers: 6-5, 240. 60 pancakes. Graded out at 92 percent. OL of the year in the district. Four-year starter. TCU commit.
KEYSTONE ALLISON
School: Carthage
Position: Offensive Line
By the numbers: 6-4, 275. First-team all-district in 2021.
LAYNCE WELCH
School: Tatum
Position: Offensive Line
By the numbers: 6-1, 300. 74 knockdowns and 47 pancakes for an offense that rushed for 5,858 yards and 92 TD, and averaged 390.5 rushing yards per game and 10.1 rushing yards per attempt. Graded out at 88 percent.
JAX NORMAN
School: Longview
Position: Offensive Line
By the numbers: 6-0, 245. Started at 3 positions and earned 65 knockdowns. Graded out at 90 percent.
DEFENSE
C.J. FITE
School: Tatum
Position: Defensive Line
By the numbers: 53 tackles, 16 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pick six, 3 QB knockdowns, 1 QB pressure. 20 DI offers.
CALVIN MASON
School: West Rusk
Position: Defensive Line
By the numbers: 89 tackles, 1 sack, 24 QB pressure, 15 TFL.
VICTOR SHAW
School: Pleasant Grove
Position: Defensive Line
By the numbers: 66 tackles, 9 TFL, 3 sacks. Offers on both sides of the ball, including to play tight end, from Baylor, Colorado, Houston, Nebraska, TCU and Texas Tech. Verbal to UTSA. District Co-DL of the year.
PEYTON CHRISTIAN
School: Kilgore
Position: Defensive Line
By the numbers: 62 tackles, 9 TFL, 3 sacks. Offers from Arkansas State and Louisiana-Monroe.
JAYDEN JOHNSON
School: Harleton
Position: Defensive Line
By the numbers: 76 tackles, 24.5 TFL, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 defensive TD, 2 forced fumbles, 8.5 sacks, 16 QB pressures.
BEAU BARTON
School: Van
Position: Linebacker
By the numbers: 150 tackles, 33 TFL, 9 sacks, 16 QBP, 1 interception. Verbal to Rice. District Defensive MVP.
OMERO ORONA
School: Gilmer
Position: Linebacker
By the numbers: 123 tackles, 3 sacks.
JEREMIAH ROUGELY
School: Longview
Position: Linebacker
By the numbers: 66 tackles, 10 sacks, 15 TFL, 4 FF, 1 blocked kick.
TREY STEVENSON
School: Waskom
Position: Linebacker
By the numbers: 153 tackles, 8 sacks.
AERYN HAMPTON
School: Daingerfield
Position: Defensive Back
By the numbers: 74 tackles, 9 interceptions, 6 defensive TD, 11 PBU, 4 TFL. Texas commit.
ROHAN FLUELLEN
School: Gilmer
Position: Defensive Back
By the numbers: 38 tackles, 8 interceptions, 1 pick six. TCU commit.
WILLIE NELSON
School: Longview
Position: Defensive Back
By the numbers: 76 tackles, 8 interceptions, 2 defensive TD, 4 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 7 PBU. Offers from Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
CAYDEN FORTSON
School: Sabine
Position: Defensive Back
By the numbers: 64 tackles, 6 interceptions, 10 PBU, 3 forced fumbles. Offers from Air Force, Arizona, Baylor, Colorado, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State and Tulsa.
MICHAEL FIELDS
School: Longview
Position: Kicker
By the numbers: 58 PAT, 6 FG.
DAVID DELEON
School: Carlisle
Position: Punter
By the numbers: Averaged 37.1 yards on 29 punts with a long of 56 yards and 9 inside the 20-yard line.
J’KOBY WILLIAMS
School: Beckville
Position: Utility
By the numbers: 114 carries, 1,385 yards (12.1 yards per carry), 21 TD. Caught 25 passes for 524 yards, 8 TD. Returned 3 punts for touchdowns. Offers from Baylor, Houston, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and UTSA.
NOAH PADDIE
School: Carthage
Position: Return Specialist
By the numbers: First team all-state return man in 2021. Texas A&M baseball commit.
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