Brauny's Best: Highlighting top high school performances from Week 1
High school football has returned to the Lone Star State, and with that, so have our weekly renditions of Brauny's Best, where I peruse the Friday Night Lights for the top performers from inside the Texas border (and sometimes beyond) as well as the Texas A&M commit class. There were some tough decisions to be made here because lots of future Aggies had outstanding performances.
Texas A&M's 2026 Class
Douglas County (GA) DE Jordan Carter
- 13 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 sacks
Like I said, making this decision was difficult this week. Singling out one performance when there were a lot of sensational efforts from the commit class feels a bit unfair, but not everyone gets a trophy on Brauny's Best. So, with a nod to Mike Brown, DaQuives Beck, KJ Edwards, Tank King and even Zaden Krempin, who paved the way for a big night on the ground in Prosper's win over Austin Westlake, I went with Carter because those numbers in one game from a defensive lineman are incredible. He has been rock solid as a senior and only further improved his stock as we've seen his strength profile and short-area power improve. His status as a game-wrecking presence along the defensive front boosts even further.
State of Texas
2027 Argyle Liberty Christian LB Cooper Witten
- 17 catches, 175 yards, 4 touchdowns
- 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass breakup
Uh, yeah...that'll play. Jason Howell actually got to see this one live and was sending texts throughout about the night Witten was having. This kid is proving more and more to be a special player. It's not often that you see a linebacker prospect haul in 17 passes and average over 10 yards per catch on those. Then, you take into account that he reached paydirt four times and also made an enormous impact flying around the field on defense, and you can see why Howell was singing his praises. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess. Most folks believe he's a top-five player in the 2027 class in Texas, but with more outings like the one from Friday night, he's going to move into the discussion for the No. 1 prospect in the Lone Star State in that junior group.
My Coverage
Cibolo Steele RB Jonathan Hatton Jr
- 16 carries, 179 yards, 1 TD
I actually thought Liberty Hill did a nice job in the first half of getting Hatton to stop his feet in the backfield and muddying the picture. The middle of the Cibolo Steele offensive line was having trouble creating movement against Michigan pledge DT Alister Vallejo, so Hatton wasn't getting much momentum as he hit the line of scrimmage. It's also worth noting that I was told before the game that Hatton hadn't played much at all in the last two weeks or so before the season, as the coaching staff just wanted him to be as healthy and fresh as possible before they kicked off their 2025 campaign. The future Aggie began knocking the rust off in the second half, though, and his quality began to shine through. Three consecutive 15+ yard runs were capped off by the 94-yarder in the link above to put the game on ice.
