10 Central Texas high school football 2024 preseason player of the year candidates

These 10 players will be vying for the MVP of the region in 2024

Cibolo-Steele quarterback Chad Warner is back for his senior season. He recently committed to play at UTEP. / GridironFootballUSA.com

With the 2024 Texas high school football season fast approaching, SBLive is looking at potential MVP candidates in each of the state’s regions.

Top 100 Texas high school football player countdown: Part 1 (100-51) | Part 2 (50-1)

Before the first games of Week 1 kicking off on Thursday, we’re going region-by-region. We’ve already looked at 10 potential MVP candidates in North Texas along with those in East Texas.

Now, we’ll take a look at the 10 potential candidates in Central Texas who may very well take home regional MVP honors by season’s end when we unveil our all-Central Texas teams and awards.

Without any further ado, here are the 10 preseason player of the year candidates from the Central Texas region:

CENTRAL TEXAS PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES

Names are in alphabetical order

Jax Brown, QB, Pflugerville Weiss, Sr.

Brown produced stellar numbers as a junior in 2023, completing 243-of-370 passes for 3,014 yards and 33 TDs. That was good enough for the New Mexico State commit to be honored as the Co-Offensive MVP in District 12-6A.

Royal Capell/Jalen Cooper, WRs, Cibolo-Steele, Srs.

Capell and Cooper may be the best receiver duo in the state and both produced big numbers last season for the Knights. Capell, an Oklahoma State commit, has more than 1,500 yards receiving and 11 TDs over the past two seasons. Last season, Cooper - an SMU commit - hauled in 68 passes for 1,661 yards with 23 TDs.

Jayden Jackson, RB, Franklin, Sr.

Jackson is back to attempt to rush for 2,000 yards for the third consecutive season. As a junior, he tallied 2,400 yards and 33 TDs for a Lion squad which reached the 3A Division I championship game.

Lorenn ‘Bubba’ Johnson, RB, San Antonio Johnson, Sr.

He definitely has a catchy nickname, plus the rare distinction of having the same last name as the school he totes the rock for. But Lorenn Johnson also has the game to go with it, coming off a year in which he rushed for 1,722 yards and 22 TDs as Johnson - which finished 10-2 - duels with crosstown rival Reagan for supremacy in District 27-6A.

Cole Pryor, RB, San Antonio Reagan, Sr.

Pryor reached the 1,000-yard barrier for the second straight season, when he gained 1,556 yards and 22 TDs in 2023. He also averaged 141 yards per game, and is now poised to help the Rattlers improve on last season’s 11-1 finish.

Elliott Schaper, LB, Austin Westlake, Sr.

Schaper is considered to be the heart-and-soul of the Chaparrals’ defense. The Duke commit was named the District 26-6A Defensive MVP as a junior, logging 108 tackles, nine sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles for a Westlake team that reached the 6A DI semifinals.

Cody Stoever, QB, Wimberley, Sr.

He’s a do-it-all player for the Texans. Over the past two seasons, he has passed for more than 5,400 yards, and just finished a shade below 3,000 in 2023 as Wimberley finished 14-1. Stoever also had 41 TD passes.

Jamarion Vincent, ATH, Waco Connally, Jr.

Vincent is an impact player on both sides of the ball, playing quarterback and corner. He had 840 rushing yards last season for a Cadets’ team that went undefeated in district play and finished 8-4. Meanwhile on defense, Vincent made 20 tackles, intercepted two passes while forcing one fumble and recovering another.

Chad Warner, QB, Cibolo-Steele, Sr.

A UTEP commit, Warner is back to lead Steele to a title. He was named the District 27-6A Offensive MVP last season after throwing for 3,541 yards and 36 TDs, completing 210 of his 306 attempts.

Adrian Wilson, WR, Pflugerville Weiss, Sr.

Wilson, an Arizona State commit, has big plans to take Weiss to the next level in 2024 after the Wolves finished 9-2 in ‘23. As a junior, he caught 60 passes and just cleared the 1,000-yard barrier, finishing with 1,003 yards to go along with 14 TDs.

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2024 Texas high school football preview

Stay with SBLive's preseason coverage in the lead up to the 2024 Texas high school football season and the start of games on Thursday.

• Who are the 25 best teams in Texas, regardless of classification or association? Here are the SBLive Preseason Texas Power 25 rankings, as well as the 20 winningest active coaches.

• Who are the 100 most important high school football players in Texas? We scoured the state and counted down from 100 to 1: Part 1 (100-51) |Part 2 (50-1)

• We're taking a position-by-position look at the top players returning in the Lone Star State this fall, starting with 50 quarterbacks, 70 running backs, 40 wide receivers, 25 tight ends, 25 offensive linemen, 30 cornerbacks, 25 safeties, 45 linebackers and 25 kickers/punters.

• Who are the most underrated teams in the Lone Star State entering the season? We're taking a look by region at the programs poised to out-perform expectations, starting with North Texas, Southeast Texas and Central Texas.

• We examined offseason player movement and the 12 transfers that will have the biggest impact in the fall.

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SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before.For more information, visitsi.com/high-school.

-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveTX