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Fort Bend Austin's Luke Chapman
SHIFTING GEARS: FB Austin Football Eyes a Resurgence with Chapman Behind Center
Luke Chapman with first-year Austin head coach Christopher WilsonFarrah Sheeren (VYPE)
Chapman already witnessed that change materialize well before the first kickoff.
“It started in the summer, with all the boys showing up to SAC (Strength, Agility, and Conditioning) camp, getting in the weight room and hitting the speed training hard,” Chapman said. “The coaching staff has been great, and they’ve changed the way we push ourselves. We’re going to be a whole new team this year, and I think we’ll surprise a lot of people.”
Eventually, all that preparation has to surface when it matters most.
“The work shows up in the fourth quarter,” he said. “At the end of the game, you start to feel that exhaustion, but you’re still in a situation where you have to break a tackle or make someone miss. That’s when the training pays off — when you can make that extra push in the big moments.”
The featured standouts of the 2026–27 Austin Bulldogs football team.Farrah Sheeren (VYPE)
Chapman’s move behind center hasn’t required him to abandon the athletic traits that made him effective elsewhere. If anything, the shift has given him more ways to draw on them, blending the instincts of a multi-sport athlete with the understanding he developed from seeing the game through a receiver’s eyes.
“Playing other sports has really helped my mobility,” Chapman said. “Athleticism translates pretty well. I’m also on the baseball team and used to play basketball, so that experience helps me shift and make all those movements feel more routine. Plus, I was a receiver before, which gives me a different sense of how the offense works.”
The same competitive edge Chapman brings to the field carries into the quieter parts of his life, though not always in the ways you might expect.
“I don’t think people would be surprised if they got to know me, but I do like to fish and golf a lot, especially on the weekends,” Chapman said with a smile. “I really love bass fishing and playing 18. I could probably compete in golf, too, if I had the time. It helps me with the mental side of things, getting past those mental blocks and frustrations and just having fun.”
That balance may ultimately be as important as anything Chapman does with the ball. Months of preparation have brought Chapman to a responsibility that demands more of him, both physically and strategically. Now, with Austin looking to turn the page, he gets his opportunity to help write what comes next.
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Alief Elsik's Koi Reed
THE TOTAL PACKAGE: Elsik’s Reed Goes 100 Percent, 100 Percent of the Time
The Class of 2027 standout has learned how to balance it all — and he’s doing it at an elite level.
Reed is currently the No. 2-ranked student in his class, while also making an impact on the football field, competing on the basketball court and playing bass in the orchestra.
His secret? Take it one thing at a time.
“I just schedule it out, keep my mind focused and get plenty of sleep,” Reed said. “That’s my formula to give 100 percent in everything I do.”
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
On the football field, Reed is looking to take his game to another level in 2026. His goals are anything but modest.
“I’m trying to have over 15 sacks and 10 tackles for loss,” Reed said.
That relentless mindset is fueled by the physicality of the game and a deep appreciation for how much he has developed as an athlete. Reed says he’s amazed when he looks back at how much he has grown over the past few years.
He gives the glory to God and embraces the physical gifts he has been given.
“I’m supposed to play this sport with the size I was given,” he said. “It allows me to play the way I want to play. It pushes me to work with the grit and grind that this sport takes.”
Football may be his primary sport, but basketball has become an important part of Reed’s development. The explosiveness, athleticism and footwork he uses on the hardwood translate directly to the football field. And the physicality goes both ways.
“When I need to hit somebody, I just use what I do in football to absorb contact and get to the rim or get a rebound,” Reed said.
But when he’s playing basketball, Reed isn't thinking about football. He’s there to compete — and have fun.
“What I love about basketball is to have fun, go out on the court with the crowd and get some buckets,” he said. “Play the game for what it is. At the end of the day, it’s about having fun.”
Then there’s another side of Reed that might surprise people. He’s a musician.
Reed plays bass in the orchestra, a passion he picked up in middle school when he decided he wanted to learn an instrument. Music has become another outlet and another way to challenge himself.
“I wanted to learn an instrument,” he said. “When I talk to people, I have something to talk about.”
It’s just another example of Reed refusing to limit himself.
A Competitor in the Classroom
The same competitive fire that drives Reed on the football field and basketball court shows up in the classroom.
As the No. 2 student in his class, he takes academics seriously.
“I’m very competitive in the classroom,” Reed said. “It’s the same in sports, but in a classroom.”
He does whatever he can to earn the highest grades possible — completing extra credit, turning assignments in on time and maintaining the same work ethic he brings to the field.