GAMES
RANKINGS
Jalen Hurts
H-TOWNFL: From the Houston gridirons to the NFL, who made the cut?
It made me wonder, how many Greater Houston high school athletes made the cut?
You guessed it, 53.
The third largest city in the country could produce its own team. Sort of.
Lets’ dive into the cool facts.
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Who is Houston’s elder statesman in the NFL?
Katy’s Andy Dalton was drafted in 2011 by the Cincinnati Bengals after a brilliant career at TCU. He played there for eight seasons before moving on to Dallas, Chicago and now New Orleans.
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What NFL team has the most Houston-area athletes?
The Los Angeles Chargers have six Houstonians on the roster starting with Clear Lake kicker Dustin Hopkins, Cy Woods DB Bryce Callahan, Elkins LB Kenneth Murray Jr., Katy Taylor DT Otito Ogbonnia, Clements OL Rashawn Slater and Klein Collins RB Isaiah Spiller. They also have a shot at the Super Bowl.
Fans of these guys will have a chance to see them back in H-Town on October 2 when the Chargers play the Texans.
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Who are the Top 5 Highest Paid Houstonians this year?
Jake Matthews, Atlanta, $15,100,000
William Jackson, Washington, $13,800,000
Danielle Hunter, Minnesota, $12,300,000
Emmanuel Ogbah, Miami, $11,350,000
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay, 10,318,000
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Is Houston More Offensive or Defensive?
It’s close. There are 28 defensive players and 25 offensive players.
By Diana Porter
Ed Oliver
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HERE IS THE COMPLETE LIST
Matt Adams, Bears, Hightower, LB
Dorance Armstrong, Cowboys, North Shore, DE
Terrel Bernard, Bills, La Porte, LB
Ross Blacklock, Vikings, Elkins, DL
Michael Brockers, Lions, Chavez, DL
Jordyn Brooks, Seahawks, Stratford, LB
Randy Bullock, Titans, Klein, K
Bryce Callahan, Chargers, Cy Woods, DB
K’Lavon Chaisson, Jaguars, North Shore, DE
Tyrie Cleveland, Broncos, Westfield, WR
Sam Cosmi, Commanders, Atascocita, OL
Andy Dalton, Saints, Katy, QB
Jaelon Darden, Buccaneers, Eisenhower, WR
Austin Deculus, Texans, Cy-Fair, OL
Quandre Diggs, Seahawks, Angleton, DB
Jordan Elliott, Browns, Westside, DL
Mike Evans, Buccaneers, Galveston Ball, WR
Cameron Fleming, Broncos, Cy Creek, OL
D’Onta Foreman, Panthers, Texas City, RB
Kenyon Green, Texans, Atascocita, OL
Dustin Hopkins, Chargers, Clear Lake, K
Xavien Howard, Dolphins, Wheatley, DB
Jerry Hughes, Texans, El Campo, DT
Danielle Hunter, Vikings, Morton Ranch, DE
Jalen Hurts, Eagles, Channelview, QB
Germain Ifedi, Falcons, Westside, DL
William Jackson II, Commanders, Wheatley, DB
Joshua Jones, Cardinals, Bush, OL
Joshua Kalu, Titans, Alief Taylor, DB
CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys, Foster, WR
Walker Little, Panthers, Episcopal, OL
Braden Mann, Jets, Cy-Fair, P
Jake Matthews, Falcons, Elkins, OL
Zyon McCollum, Buccaneers, Galveston Ball, DB
Thomas Morstead, Dolphins, Pearland, P
Kenneth Murray Jr., Chargers, Elkins, LB
Emmanuel Ogbah, Dolphins, Bush, DE
Otito Ogbonnia, Chargers, Katy Taylor, DT
Ed Oliver, Bills, Westfield, DT
Joseph Ossai, Bengals, Oak Ridge, LB
Jalen Pitre, Texans, Stafford, DB
Eric Rowe, Dolphins, Klein, DB
Bravvion Roy, Panthers, Spring, DL
Steven Sims, Steelers, FB Travis, WR
Rashawn Slater, Chargers, Clements, OL
Isaiah Spiller, Chargers, Klein Collins, RB
Grant Stuard, Colts, Oak Ridge, LB
Michael Thomas, Bengals, Nimitz, DB
Kyle Trask, Buccaneers, Manvel, QB
Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins, Episcopal, WR
Trayveon Williams, Bengals, CE King, RB
Antoine Winfield Jr., Buccaneers, The Woodlands, DB
Michael Woods II, Browns, Magnolia, WR
Copy of Elkins' Thompson has grown up with elite mindset
But I had seen that Twitter handle before… back in 2011. His brother, Corey Thompson, graced the cover of VYPE's 2011 Football Preview. He went by @ELITE23_CT and still does. Since then, Corey starred at LB for LSU and played for the Buffalo Bills.
"I hear it all the time," Blake said. "You are only this or that because of your brother. I just stay humble and keep driving. Corey just tells me to have a goal and stay motivated to meet that goal. Then set another goal…
"Honestly, I want to be better than Corey someday."
Corey Thompson
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Here's an interesting fun fact. Did you know that Elkins has four active players in the NFL in DJ Hayden, Ross Blacklock, Kenneth Murray and Jake Matthews. Thompson was No. 5 but is currently a free agent.
What's the special sauce?
"It's all about coach Dennis Brantley," he said. "He puts those goals in our heads early, but he also preaches staying humble and not trying to be a superstar. Just keep your head down and work."
Thompson lives by that mantra and anchors a solid Elkins defense.
"I feel like I'm very rangy and a good ball-hawk," he said. "In today's football with everybody playing in space, you have to be able to open-field tackle. I think that's one of my strengths."
Thompson holds offers from the likes of UIW and Northern Arizona, but has one school in his cross-hairs.
"I really like Southern," he said. "I like the trend of athletes playing at HBCUs. The social justice movement is very important. But really having the opportunity to have offers and have my school paid for is a blessing."
Now that's an elite mindset.