DCTF Mailbag Friday: Best student sections; 5A DI frontrunners; BBQ or Tacos; best in-state college football player

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Each and every Friday, the staff at Dave Campbell's Texas Football will answer your questions on any and everything - high school, college, recruiting, pop culture, food, you name it! Want to submit a question? use the #AskDCTF hashtag on Twitter and look out for a Facebook post asking for questions!

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Jacob Jon: Which announced non-district games are already on your radar? Any regional clashes (ie Golden Triangle vs San Antonio) that make for an awesome pairing?

Matt Stepp: Converse Judson vs DeSoto; Austin Westlake vs Southlake Carroll; Humble Atascocita vs Allen; Dumas vs Waco La Vega; Texarkana Pleasant Grove vs Silsbee are some that come to mind. 

Ish Johnson: DeSoto and Judson Week 1 is the one for me, currently. Can’t wait for the rest to come out though.

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Andrew Christensen: Has there ever been a restaurant recommendation from Matt Stepp that you were disappointed in?

Shehan Jeyarajah: Here’s the thing about a Matt Stepp rec: Sometimes they’re great and sometimes they’re just okay, but they’re always the go-to restaurant wherever you’re going. If you want to understand what a community loves, Stepp is your guy. 

Ashley Pickle: Absolutely not. You ALWAYS trust a Stepp recommended restaurant.

Ish: No, because you learn Stepp’s language the more you know him. If he says something is, “Okay” it’s most likely bad because he’s sometimes too nice to say a local spot is terrible.

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Derek English: Which schools do u think has the best student sections. Top 3.

Shehan: At the college level, the school with the best student section is easily Texas A&M. The Ags sometimes get jokes for being “culty,” but the reality is that’s because they are maybe the best organized fan section in America. They show up on time, have well-coordinated chants and largely stay until the end. Every student section should aspire to be like them.

Pickle: Out of the DFW games I covered- Lewisville, Highland Park, and Rockwall.

Stepp: In no order, Coppell, Cy-Fair and Nederland

Ish: Ohhh that’s a tough one to differentiate from best overall crowds…. hmm obviously I can only go based off what I’ve seen in person. I can’t think of a third so I’m just going to say College Station and Cy-Fair were ones that stand out to me immediately.

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Jeremy J. Meredith: What is most overrated district in the 6A/5A level for this season?

Stepp: This is a loaded question, because its really tough to gauge this right now, but I wonder despite having some big names, how many playoff games will 27-6A actually win? 

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Jeremy J. Meredith: Who are your top 5 front runners for 5A D1?

Pickle: Denton Ryan, Frisco Lone Star, Highland Park, Longview… I know that’s only four but can we just admit Region 2 is nuts?

Stepp: Denton Ryan, Longview, Highland Park, Richmond Foster, Manvel

Ish: 

Denton Ryan

Longview

Highland Park

Richmond Foster

Lufkin

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Donald Smitherman: How will Mansfield Summit fair in their new district ?

Stepp: District 4-5A Division I is the deepest district in the state IMO, the eighth place team can beat the first place team, but the Jags got a great draw...they will be in contention with Red Oak for the district title and will be a major force in Region I. 

Ish: Talk about tough, our rankings has 4-5A DI as the toughest in the state based off 2019 records. It’s going to be a slugfest for the entire season, but luckily for Summit, I think they’ll be able to push for a playoff spot, but they can’t have any slip-ups to teams they’re favored against.

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Darrell Gest: What is the “the current model (which is very unique to Plano ISD) in place” referred to in article?

Stepp: Plano ISD has 3 senior highs (Plano, Plano East and Plano West) these campuses only have 11th and 12th grades, each senior high has 2 high schools grades 9-10 that feed into it. So each senior high head coach has limited interaction and involvement at the two feeder campuses, they also have very little control of the hiring of the coaches. In my view this puts Plano behind many others because of the moving parts and lack of vertical alignment from the senior high coach down to seventh grade

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DCTF Poll: You only get one the rest of your life: BBQ or tacos?

Shehan: I absolutely love BBQ, but the answer is tacos. Tacos are just a much more versatile food – you get way more styles and flavors. Plus, it’s possible to make tacos healthier for daily consumption. BBQ is a special occasion indulgence, but I think it would be easier to live without it. Also a factor: my wife is vegetarian. 

Pickle: I choose death….

Stepp: Easy, tacos..you can put brisket and sausage on a tortilla....

Greg Powers: I am rolling with tacos because you can put BBQ in them and they are a bit more versatile. I think I enjoy great BBQ better than great tacos, so if it is just one meal, I would pick BBQ. But give me tacos "for life."

Ish: Tacos, because literally anything can be in a taco, egg and cheese, bacon and potato, just cheese, etc. Being raised in a Mexican household, you’re not taking those from me.

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DCTF Poll: Who is the best college football player playing for an in-state program next season?

Shehan: This question is pretty tough. We lost many of the best players from 2019 to the NFL in James Lynch, James Proche and Jordyn Brooks, among others. I’m going to take QBs out of the mix because that’s boring – though Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele have a great case. Right now, my answer is SMU wide receiver Reggie Roberson. His numbers were good last year before getting injured. He has all the tools to be one of the most physically dominant receivers of the past few years in Texas, and a top NFL Draft pick. 

Other than Roberson, Texas safety Caden Sterns can get back to the top of this list if he stays healthy. He had an up-and-down sophomore campaign, but showed why he was one of the top recruits in America as a freshman. Linemen Sam Cosmi and Jack Anderson also got some consideration. This answer could fluctuate this offseason too. 

Powers: This is a surprisingly tough question, but since it is phrased up as best I will go with Caden Sterns or Demani Richardson with my pick over the quarterbacks (Ehlinger, Mond, Buechele). I will lean to Sterns because of the experience. Sam Cosmi might be the highest-rated NFL draft pick playing in the state as it projects at this moment but I think both UT and A&M's 2020 success hinges on the defensive side of the ball. Give me Sterns. 

Ish: Sam Ehlinger  

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