Georgetown running back Jett Walker (28) at practice, Aug. 12, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Now that high school football is beginning this week around the state, these 24 players are the best the Austin and its surrounding towns have to offer — the American-Statesman’s Central Texas preseason team.
Defending Class 6A Division II state champion Vandegrift leads our preseason team with four players selected while Westlake, the No. 1-ranked team in our annual top 10 preseason countdown, has three. In all, 15 Austin-area schools are represented on this year’s squad. The final 2025 All-Central Texas team will be published after the season, in January.
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Scroll down below to view are our selections for the entire 2025 preseason team.
2025 Central Texas preseason football team
Offensive player of the year: Jett Walker
Georgetown’s 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior was a punishing runner as a junior last year, averaging more than 10 yards per carry for a team that won 10 games. He was responsible for 37 of Georgetown’s 47 rushing touchdowns. He has a bullish style but also deceptive speed. He’s committed to West Virginia.
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Liberty Hill Panthers defensive end Alister Vallejo (56) sacks Rouse Raiders quarterback London Morgan (1) during the third quarter at the non-district Class 5A football game on Friday, Sept 6, 2024, at Liberty Hill Panther Stadium in Liberty Hill, TX.
John Gutierrez/Special to American-Statesman
Defensive player of the year: Alister Vallejo
Vandegrift quarterback Miles Teodecki (12) prepares to snap the ball during the Class 6A Division II regional final playoff game against San Antonio Harlan at UFCU Stadium on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 in San Marcos, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Starring on a team that’s better known for offense, the Liberty Hill linebacker has been a wrecking ball for the Panthers’ defense. He committed to Michigan last month and received at least nine other FBS offers before picking the Wolverines.
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Offense
QB: Miles Teodecki, Vandegrift. MVP of the 6A DII title game, the Kansas State pledge passed for 3,290 yards and 48 touchdowns as a junior.
RB: Vann Hopping, Lake Travis. The Princeton pledge rushed for 1,527 yards and 29 TDs last year as a junior.
RB: Jett Walker, Georgetown. The West Virginia commit led the Austin area in rushing last year with 2,348 yards, averaging 195 yards a game.
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WR: Dallas Crescenzo, Bastrop. The junior transfer from Lake Worth, Fla. already has offers from Florida State, Arizona State, Pitt, TCU and UCLA.
WR: Drew Norrell, Westwood. Caught 69 passes for 1,007 yards and 6 TDS as a sophomore, for an average of 14.6 yards a catch.
WR: Cooper Reid, Dripping Springs. The all-district pick in 26-6A had 62 catches for 1,006 yards and 16 TDs.
OL: Parker Cecil, Vandegrift. Graded out at 96% and was 25-6A’s offensive lineman of the year last season.
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OL: Will Hesse, Westlake. The all-district pick out of 26-6A graded out at 93% and had 80 pancake blocks.
OL: Jayden Mack, Hutto. With 47 pancake blocks, the 25-6A all-district pick graded out at 92% and had 47 pancake blocks.
OL: Jerald Mays, Weiss. The Texas Tech commit had 33 pancake blocks last year and didn’t allow a sack all season.
OL: Jacob Slaughter, Cedar Park. The 270-pound tackle graded out at 93% with 23 pancake blocks and didn’t all a sack all season.
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K: Nolan Bartley, Westlake. Connected on 7 of 11 field goal tries last year as well as 75 PATs.
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Defense
DL: Brooks Bouffard, Cedar Park. The 8-5A DI defensive lineman of the year had 58 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 14 pressures.
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DL: Carter Buck, Lake Travis. The TCU-bound senior DE had 78 tackles, 17 TFL and 6 sacks last season.
DL: Maddox Flynt, Westlake. A two-time all-district pick, the TCU-bound senior had 65 tackles, 10 TFL and 4 sacks for the Class 6A DI state finalists.
DL: Alister Vallejo, Liberty Hill. Voted 11-5A DII’s top defensive lineman last year, the future Michigan Wolverine had 64 tackles and 9 sacks.
MORE: 100 Austin-area high school football players to watch in 2025
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LB: Parker Davis, Vandegrift. Had 84 tackles and 6 sacks for the Vipers, who won their final 14 games on the way to the state title.
LB: Kale Meadors, Thorndale. Finished 2024 with 167 tackles and 6 TFL. Of those 167 tackles, 86 were solo stops.
LB: CJ Mooring, Vandegrift. Had 99 tackles (68 solo), 4 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries for the state champs.
DB: Antione Baker, LBJ. The heart of the Jags’ defense is a two-time all-district pick who had 83 tackles, 11 TFL, 3 sacks and 3 picks.
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DB: Jorian Gunn, Weiss. A two-time all-district pick in 12-5A DI, he had 76 tackles, 5 TFLÂ and 3 interceptions, including one pick-six.
DB: Tate Langford, Lampasas. The dynamic safety had 109 tackles, 3 interceptions and 6 pass breakups for a 10-3 team.
DB: Yaheim Riley, Anderson. A two-time defensive MVP for LBJ before transferring, the Texas commit had 80 tackles and 3 picks last year.
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P: Kishan Ware, Pflugerville. Versatile Panther was an all-district punter in 11-5A DII and also was a second-team LB with 73 tackles.