If you happened to be a normal person that tuned out of TXHSFB for the past eight months, here's a primer for the 2026 TXHSFB season from a staff that never left the weeds.

The following storylines are listed from largest classifcation to smallest.

The Wildest Coaching Carousel of All Time?

There were 209 head-coaching changes in TXHSFB this offseason. I've never seen more bluebloods experience a changing of the guard in one year.

Four of the top 11 teams in the preseason Class 6A rankings have a new head coach. No. 1 Waxahachie elevated defensive coordinator Lawrence Williams. No. 4 North Crowley elevated defensive coordinator Demarcus Harris. No. 8 Southlake Carroll elevated defensive coordinator Lee Munn. No. 11 Humble Atascocita was the only team that went outside the pond, snagging rising star Kyle Coats from The Woodlands College Park. 

Two preseason Top 10 teams in Class 5A have new head coaches. Shane Tolleson left state championship contender Waxahachie to return to Denton Ryan, where he was the defensive coordinator on the Raiders' last state championship team. Meanwhile, Alamo Heights elevated Rudy Nerio after the great Ron Rittimann retired. 

The same goes for Class 4A, where three preseason Top 10 teams have a new leader. Decatur landed Glen Rose head coach Cliff Watkins, one of the state's most underrated head coaches. Pleasant Grove replaced program architect Josh Gibson (who took a job in the private sector) with defensive coordinator Jonathan Darby. And Canyon West Plains elevated Jeff Lofton to replace the departing Adam Cummings, who turned an upstart program into a perennial power from 2022-25. 

We saw first-year head coach Cory Laxen take Sheldon C.E. King to its first state championship in program history last fall. With so many state title contenders breaking in a new coach, there's a high probability that at least one man pulls off Laxen's accomplishment in 2026. The question is – who?

Can anyone sneak into Class 6A's Members-Only Club?

In full transparency, I posed this same question heading into last season. It felt like Duncanville and North Shore were loosening their stranglehold on Class 6A after the 2024 football season. Austin Vandegrift was coming off its first state championship, while North Crowley won its first since 2003. It felt like Class 6A's era of predictability was ending – until Duncanville and North Shore played in their sixth state championship bout in the last eight years, and DeSoto took home its third state title in the last four tries. 

But maybe I wasn't wrong – just early. Because this year's Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine has Waxahachie winning its first state championship since 1992, and Sheldon C.E. King winning its first title ever. Of the preseason top five teams in Class 6A, only one (North Shore) has won multiple Class 6A titles. So, does a new champion emerge, or do Duncanville and North Shore continue to tighten their grip on the state's largest classification?

Are the Aledo Bearcats Ready for Class 6A football? Or, is Class 6A football ready for Aledo?

The Aledo Bearcats are the program of record in Texas high school football. This title town has won 12 state championships, the most in TXHSFB history. The Bearcats are currently on a 135-game district winning streak, which started in 2007 – before any of the current players were even born! But this fall, Aledo makes the most highly anticipated jump to the state's largest classification: Class 6A.

If you're an Aledo believer, you're asking if the rest of the state's 6A bluebloods enjoyed their reign before big, bad Aledo came into the picture. If you're an Aledo hater, you're pointing to the fact that the Bearcats were held out of the state championship game in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2009.

Aledo is the preseason No. 16-ranked team in Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine and only returns five total starters. 

Is Class 5A the most talent-rich classification in the country?

Five of the top 10 players in the 2027 DCTX Hot 100 hail from Class 5A. For reference, that is the most 5A players in the top ten since Class 6A was introduced in the 2014 season.

You have the state's No. 1 overall recruit in Cedar Hill defensive lineman Jalen Brewster. Then, there's Richmond Randle's Landen Williams-Callis, the first solo high school athlete on the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine since Midland Lee's Cedric Benson in 2000. Williams-Callis isn't the only running back represented, however. DeSoto's SaRod Baker is the No. 6-rated player in the state after rushing for over 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns in the playoffs alone last season. Then, there are two megastar wide receivers in Pflugerville Weiss's Tre Moore (85 receptions, 1,443 yards, 19 touchdowns) and Argyle's Julian Caldwell (94 catches, 1,737 yards, 20 touchdowns). 

So bring your popcorn, because Class 5A will be a fireworks factory in 2026. 

Landen Williams-Callis's Run for the Record Books

Speaking of all those stars in Class 5A, there's no one brighter than Richmond Randle superstar Landen Williams-Callis. Featured on the gatefold cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine this summer, Williams-Callis's senior season is one of revenge and legacy.

First, the revenge factor. After falling in the Class 5A DII State Championship in a rematch with South Oak Cliff last December, Williams-Callis's teary eyes were plastered all over social media. It didn't matter that he'd set a UIL state championship record with a 103-yard kickoff return touchdown. In sports, we love to build kids like Landen Williams-Callis into legends. But the twisted part inside every sports fan also loves to tear them down. In interviewing Williams-Callis for the story, I found a kid hyper-aware of everything said about him online – and determined to end his legendary career on top.

Then, there's the legacy. When talking to Williams-Callis and his family for the story, I realized how zeroed in they were on the number Williams-Callis needed for the state's rushing record. Kaegan Ash set the career rushing mark just last year with 11,382 yards. For years, Williams-Callis has been chasing his cousin's record: Rosenberg Lamar Consolidated star Jacquizz Rodgers's 8,302 yards. But now that Williams-Callis has 7,554 yards in three years, Ash's record is within striking distance. Granted, it would take a heroic performance: 3,828 yards in one season alone. But Williams-Callis rushed for 3,502 yards last year despite a deep bone bruise that nagged him throughout the playoffs. Could a career rushing yards record that took over 70 years to break be snapped again in just one year? Normally, I wouldn't bank on it. But I also haven't seen a running back like Landen Williams-Callis yet.

Class 4A DI Experienced the Wackiest Realignment

The top four teams in the preseason Class 4A DI rankings all switched regions.

Defending state champion Stephenville was arguably the craziest one. Matt Stepp said that at UIL Realignment in Birdville, a Stephenville assistant coach approached head coach Sterling Doty and claimed the UIL had forgotten about them. Stephenville is always in Region I, and maybe Region II in a weird year. But the Yellow Jackets are all the way in Region III. 

But Stephenville was far from the only team that got a surprise. The East Texas district of doom with Kilgore, Tyler Chapel Hill, Lindale, and Longview Pine Tree has shifted from Region III to Region II for the first time in three alignments. 

This means that if Stephenville and Kilgore rematched in the Class 4A DI State Championships, they would have to emerge from opposite sides of the bracket from which they were in last season. 

So throw out everything you've ever known about the Class 4A DI playoff picture, because it's a new year, new us.

Does Carthage Face the Most Questions Ever? 

The biggest preseason question in Class 4A DII is always the same: Is it a Carthage year or not? Head coach Scott Surratt has led the Bulldogs to 11 state championship games in the last 18 years. He has more state championship wins than playoff losses (career 86-8 record in the postseason). 

But it's fair to ask whether Surratt has ever faced more turnover with his star power than in 2026. Carthage said goodbye this offseason to the record-setting QB/RB duo of Jett Surratt (Texas A&M-Texarkana) and KJ Edwards (Texas A&M), prolific wide receiver Junior Henderson (Mississippi State), and the fearsome linebacker tandem of Daquives Beck (Texas A&M) and Carson Crawford (Colorado). And we must point out that Carthage has only three-peated once in this run, from 2008-10 (I know, that's an insane only qualification). 

Even with all the unknowns, Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine picked Carthage to win its 12th state championship this year. Part of the reason is that all the teams in East Texas who could challenge them have big-time questions as well. Pleasant Grove has a new head coach, while Gilmer is coming off its second losing season since 1995. Another reason is that Surratt has said that this is the best group of wide receivers he's ever had. Jace Harris was a First Team All-State defensive back who should see more time on offense. JD Edwards, the younger brother of KJ Edwards, was the District Offensive Newcomer of the Year. Meanwhile, Jaden Jeffress is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound tight end who's a matchup nightmare.

Is Class 3A DI the Most Loaded Classification in the state?

After realignment, nine teams in the Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine preseason top 20 have played in a state championship game in the last decade. Columbus won a state title two years ago and returns 17 starters. Gunter moves up to Class 3A DI after winning the last ten regional finals in DII. Franklin has made five state championships since 2015. Wall and Yoakum both won their first state championships in program history last fall. Malakoff is one year removed from making back-to-back state championships. Grandview has made three state championships since 2018. Pottsboro made state in 2019. Lorena drops back down to Class 3A, where it won a title in 2021. 

And that's before we mention Sinton, who made the state semifinals in Class 4A last year. Or Whitney, who returns 20 starters from a 10-3 team.

That means we will get some blueblood matchups within the first few weeks of the TXHSFB playoffs. Buckle up.

TXHSFB's Most Consistent Program Faces an Unprecedented Rebuild

For the last two decades, you've been able to set your watch to Refugio playing in the regional final. The Bobcats have advanced to at least the fourth round of the playoffs in 19 of the last 20 years. Since 2010, Refugio is 204-26 with seven state championship appearances. But the scuttlebutt on the street is that Refugio is facing a massive rebuild – and is potentially in a downcycle. 

Refugio has a new head coach after longtime defensive coordinator Eli Boxell was elevated to replace the retiring Drew Cox. Refugio, which had remarkable stability under the legendary Jason Herring from 2007-23, is now on their third head coach in four seasons. The Bobcats also return just 11 lettermen and three total starters from last year's 13-1 team. According to the Texas Tribune, Refugio ISD's enrollment has dropped over 20 percent since 2016. Now, the high school has 188 kids, the lowest enrollment total of the entire district.

Maybe we're just overthinking things here, and Refugio is a machine that can sub in new parts and still deliver the same results. But it feels like this South Texas institution has more questions than ever.

Class 2A DII is the Most Shakeup Guaranteed of any Classification in the State

Muenster and Shiner have absolutely dominated Class 2A DII the past two years, playing each other in the state championship in 2024 and 2025. This classification was already going to be shook up after those two juggernauts were elevated to Class 2A DI in UIL realignment. But if you're a Class 2A fan that tuned out of Texas high school football this offseason, boy do I have news for you.

Stratford was Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine pick to win the state championship, but most of our staff has backed off that pick after All-State quarterback Chase Lantelme moved to Ropes this offseason. Ropes has an even more star-studded roster, but it remains to be seen how head coach Beau Riker will use Lantelme and returning District MVP Zayden Pittman, who played quarterback last year. Both are spectacular athletes who will most likely share time at quarterback and play other positions when they're not taking snaps.