The 2025 college football season starts in Texas on Aug. 23, when Sam Houston travels to Western Kentucky in a Week Zero Conference USA clash between a pair of contenders from 2024. The other 12 FBS programs in the Lone Star State kickoff their respective seasons a week later. 

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football compiled a list of the 50 best players in the state and will use it to countdown the days until the start of the season. The list continues with 40-31 as we’re officially 40 days away from Week Zero. Rankings of 30-21 will be released with 30 days remaining until Week Zero, and so on. 

Previous: 50-41

No. 40 – UTEP WR Kam Thomas

Thomas was a first-team All-Conference USA punt returner in 2024, his first season at UTEP after following head coach Scotty Walden from Austin Peay. He also led the Miners in all-purpose yards (871) and was tied for the lead in receptions (47). And he did all that in only nine games. The 5-7, 184-pound Miner Back is a Swiss-Army knife in what should be a more explosive UTEP offense in Year 2. 

No. 39 – Texas State DE Kalil Alexander 

The undersized defensive end (6-3, 225) from North Carolina emerged as Texas State’s best passer rusher and edge player by the end of the season. Alexander started five times while playing in all 13, ending the year with a team-high 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He also recovered two fumbles. The Bobcats lost four defensive linemen to Power Four programs this offseason. Alexander, a redshirt senior who started his college career in Division II and then at a JUCO – is one of the only known commodities in the front seven. 

No. 38 – Baylor DL Jackie Marshall 

The Louisiana native was the highest-graded defender on the Baylor defense last year with a 78.4. That included a staggering 88.4 rush defense grade. The 6-3, 290-pound senior can do more than stop the run, however. Marshall led the Bears with 22 quarterback pressures while starting all 13 games. Dave Aranda’s defense isn’t built for defensive linemen to amass award-winning statistics, but it sounds like Marshall will play a little wider in 2025 to utilize his pass rushing skills more. 

No. 37 – North Texas CB David Fisher 

A Pearland Dawson graduate who is one of five potential defensive starters that followed new defensive coordinator Sklyer Cassity to Denton from Sam Houston. Fisher spent four seasons with the Bearkats and started 28 times in 33 appearances. He finished last season with 37 tackles, two interceptions, and six pass breakups en route to All-Texas honors. The Mean Green were prolific offensively in the first two seasons of the Eric Morris era but a poor defense held them back. Fisher is one of the players poised to help North Texas reach its ceiling and compete for an AAC title. 

No. 36 – Houston QB Conner Weigman 

Look no further than the Oct. 5 win last year against Mizzou for an illustration of Weigman’s upside when healthy. He diced up a Top 10-ranked Missouri squad by completing 18 of 22 passes for 276 yards. The former five-star prospect started 13 times over three injury-plagued seasons at Texas A&M. We’ve seen Haynes King thrive at Georgia Tech after a fresh start away from College Station. Maybe the same happens at Houston for Weigman. The Cougars will deploy an offense that suits his strengths under new offensive coordinator Slade Nagle. A reworked offensive line and a strong stable of running backs should take the pressure off. 

No. 35 – TCU DB Bud Clark 

Clark has seen it all during his previous five seasons of college football at TCU. He’s back for Year 6 and was recently named a Preseason All-Big 12 selection at safety. He’s started 34 games over his career and was instrumental in the 2022 run to the national championship game. The Horned Frogs were a much better defense during the second half of the season and that resulted in six wins out of seven games down the stretch. Clark will be a three-time team captain in 2025 after a second-team All-Big 12 season a year ago. His 89.8 defensive grade was third nationally among Power Four safeties on PFF. He has 11 career interceptions. 

No. 34 – UTSA QB Owen McCown 

McCown was tasked with following a hometown hero and Roadrunner legend in Frank Harris and it took him a handful of games to find his sea legs. Once he did, McCown became one of the best G5 quarterbacks in America and his return is an increasingly rare situation in the world of transfer portal and revenue sharing. The relationship between Jeff Traylor and the McCown family played a big role and it has set up the Roadrunners to once again compete for a conference championship. McCown threw for 3,424 yards and 25 touchdowns while adding 340 yards and three scores on the ground last season. 

No. 33 – Texas Tech OL Howard Sampson 

Sampson is a Texas native who began his college career at North Texas before transferring to North Carolina. He was one of four potential starters brought in through the transfer portal on the offensive line alone in a splashy offseason for the Red Raiders. Sampson was the star of that haul and will be the Day 1 starter at left tackle. He was an All-ACC honorable mention last year as a sophomore. 

No. 32 – Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed

The Aggies are wagering on a sophomore step forward, and an improved surrounding cast will unlock Reed’s full potential. He’s clearly an excellent runner, leading all SEC quarterbacks in yards per carry with 4.7. Reed started eight times last year as a redshirt freshman and led a comeback win against LSU with three second-half rushing touchdowns after taking over for Weigman. The Aggies should be one of the best running teams in the country because of an experienced offensive line and a great stable of running backs. If Reed can improve as a downfield passer, the Aggies are a sleeper in the SEC. 

No. 31 – Texas A&M DE Cashius Howell 

Texas A&M lost three NFL-caliber defensive linemen from the 2024 squad in Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart, and Shemar Turner. The Aggies believe Howell can be more productive than that trio was last year even if his NFL upside isn’t the same. Howell was a transfer from Bowling Green who arrived ahead of last season and finished second on the team in sacks and third in tackles for loss despite not registering a start until the bowl game. He led the MAC in sacks back in 2023 with 9.5. Don’t be surprised if he records double-digit sacks in 2025.