Odessa Permian had a very high-profile offseason. (J.D. Bryant)

We often hear that when our annual summer magazine hits the racks in June, it signifies the start of football season in Texas. We tend to agree, but hey, that's just an opinion.

But that's why we have the Dave Campbell's Texas Football Kickoff Classic.

The lineups for our Week 0 tournament – unquestionably the football season’s official opener -- have just been announced, and, as always, DCTF is pretty confident with the ten teams it will put on the field in late August. From Dallas to the Permian Basin and San Antonio to Houston, we've got the state covered. Here's this year's dates and times:

Thursday, August 27, 7:30 pm: Floresville vs. SA Fox Tech
Friday, August 28, 7:30 pm: Boerne Champion vs. Midlothian
Saturday, August 29, noon: Katy Mayde Creek vs. Brenham
Saturday, August 29, 3:45 pm: Odessa Permian vs. Duncanville
Saturday, August 29, 7:30 pm: East Central vs. Cibolo Steele

For more information, head over to Lone Star Gridiron, where you can see some live video from our press conference in San Antonio.

Robert Walker, East Central (100-45): If there's one thing you can say about coach Robert Walker, it's that he's certainly earned his way to 5A East Central. After short stints at both Sabine Pass and Overton, small 1A schools, Walker took the job at 2A Anahuac and guided the struggling Panthers to the playoffs in three straight seasons. That's when he moved up to 5A Killeen Ellison, where he won 41 games in just four years -- Ellison has only won 40 games in the ten years since he left. And now here he is at East Central, where he's been to the playoffs twice in three years. His stripes are certainly earned.

Danny Threadgill, Boerne Champion (44 career wins): Though his career hasn't been as long as some of his colleagues, few coaches have had to deal with what Threadgill coped with in 2008 -- a move to a new home. Formerly the coach at Boerne, Threadgill moved both his staff and players to Champion, a new campus, for the start of the 2008 season while Boerne High was renovated. Faced with a new environment -- and even a new mascot -- Threadgill's Chargers finished 6-4 in district 27-4A, arguably the toughest district in Texas.

John Baker, Floresville: Entering his fourth year as the head coach at Floresville, John Baker already has quite a bit to be proud of: two winning seasons and two playoff berths for a team that hadn't enjoyed consistent success since the turn of the century. Despite sporting one of the smaller enrollments in class 4A, Floresville's young studs coming up through the ranks should keep Baker's Tigers' amongst 29-4A's upper crust.

Gary Gaines, Odessa Permian: If you were making a list of the toughest coaching jobs in American sports, Odessa Permian would have to be near the top, making Gaines' career, which now includes two stops in Mojoland, all the more impressive. Gaines closed out his first stretch at Permian (1986-1989) with an undefeated 16-0 season and a long-awaited state title. Now he returns after a 20-year hiatus to guide the state's most well-known program back to the promised land. To most of the country, he's a name in a book. To Texas, he's a proud part of history.

Jeff Dicus, Duncanville (81-44): It looks like Jeff Dicus is beginning to a reputation as a miracle worker. After a short three-year stint at Boerne, the offensively-minded Dicus moved to 4A Mission in 2001, where, one year later, he gave the program its first double-digit win season in 10 years. But his name truly became a household one when he moved to Lake Travis in 2003 -- at that point, the now-mighty Cavaliers had just three winning seasons in their 19-year history. In just five seasons, Dicus gave the program 45 wins and a state championship. And then this year, at Duncanville, Dicus took the Panthers to their first playoff berth since 2004. Sometimes numbers are misleading, but with Jeff Dicus, the proof is in the pudding -- here sits one of Texas' best football coaches.

Lance Carter, Mayde Creek (21-12): We here at Texas Football recently named Katy ISD the toughest football district in the state of Texas -- and coach Lance Carter sits right in the middle of it. After a short stint at Houston Westside, Carter took over the Mayde Creek program in 2007 and immediately brought it its first playof berth since 1997. Though the rest of its rivals are improving for '09 as well, Mayde Creek and a large number of returning starters should once again be in the playoff picture by season's end.

Mike Jinks, Cibolo Steele (27-15): Four years ago, Cibolo Steele had never played a single varsity football game. But in three seasons under the guidance of head coach Mike Jinks, Steele has established itself as one of the teams to beat in Class 4A. Jinks has led the Knights to a 24-11 record over the past three seasons, including a 10-2 mark in 2008 and season-ending No. 8 ranking by Texas Football. That followed an 11-2 record in 2007. Prior to coaching at Steele, Jinks had served one year as head coach at nearby Burbank. His career also includes stints as an assistant coach at Killeen Ellison, Austin Crockett, Galena Park and Converse Judson, where Jinks was a standout high school quarterback. He’s a graduate of Angelo State, where he started for two seasons at quarterback.

Robby Clark, Midlothian (20 career wins): Now entering his fourth year at Midlothian, coach Robby Clark starts every season with the same challenge: how do you qualify for the playoffs out of the famously tough district 16-4A? But with a new stadium and revitalized energy surrounding the program, coach Clark and the Panthers look to be on the way up.

Danny Peel, San Antonio Fox Tech: Peel's '08 group was a solid success -- despite finishing below .500 (5-6), Fox Tech still made the postseason behind an offense that averaged 26 points per game. The defense also did its part in the critical district stretch -- it posted one shutout and held two other opponents to just a single touchdown.

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