How good is Kaliq Lockett, star Texas high school football WR? 'If you get the ball to him, he's going to score'

Sachse High School 5-star to announce college decision Wednesday at noon central between Texas, Alabama, LSU, Florida State and Texas A&M

Sachse (Texas) 5-star wide receiver Kaliq Lockett on a visit to University of Texas. / Via Kaliq Lockett, Twitter/X

Mark "Red" Behrens gets asked about the best receiver he's ever coached and where 5-star phenom Kaliq Lockett fits among them often enough that the longtime Sachse High School (Texas) head coach doesn't beat around the bush.

He likens Lockett to all-NFL wideout Devin Duvernay, who prepped at the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb Northeast of Garland from 2012-15 and left the school with 36 TDs, nearly 3,000 receiving yards and the longest kickoff return in school history (109 yards).

What, if anything, can Duvernay's ball skills and mastery of the position as a Texas high school football star foretell for Lockett?

"(Kaliq's) not as fast as Devin was," Behrens said, "but he does so many other things well, that the result is the same."

Lockett, the nation's No. 2 wide receiver and No. 12 overall prospect (247 Sports), is set to announce his commitment on Wednesday, his mother's birthday. It now appears that announcement will come at noon central time and that Lockett has already informed his school of choice.

"Recruitment is 100% closed," Lockett said in a post to Twitter/X, "see y'all at Sachse High School at 12."

Calling Lockett's announcement much-awaited would be an understatement.

He's the No. 2 rated pass-catcher (behind Duncanville's Dakorien Moore, an Oregon commit) in a state that consistently produces some of the best wideouts in football.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound 5-star will announce a choice between a list that includes Texas, Alabama, Florida State, LSU and Texas A&M. He took officials to all five in June. The decision can be watched on 247 Sports' YouTube channel.

Lockett told On3's Steve Wiltfong this week he's looking for "an extension of my family" where he can go for three years and develop into a first round NFL Draft pick.

That would seem to favor Texas, where Duvernay developed into a third round draft pick in 2020, or Texas A&M — both around three and a half hours by car from Sachse.

The word Behrens uses to describe Lockett is one probably thrown around as a colloquialism more than any other in his own locker room: Different.

"Obviously there are some physical features and ultimately if you get the ball to him, he’s going to score," Behrens said. "His body control is unbelievable."

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And for a coach readying for a fall camp that will include a quarterback battle between unproven arms, having a sure-handed presence out wide gives him at least a little peace of mind.

"He makes the quarterback right quite often," Behrens said.

As a junior, Lockett turned in 59 catches, 1,300 receiving yards and 13 TDs while helping Sachse go 8-3 and an opening round (6A Division I bi-district) playoff exit.

That pencils out to around 120 yards and a touchdown per game, which means those in attendance on Friday nights had a good shot at seeing him do something great. For his teammates, witnessing his jaw-dropping ball skills is a daily occurrence.

Senior linebacker Vashon Brunswick II put it this way: "He's a guy that when I see the ball going to him, I just know it's going to be a big play."

What's impressed Behrens most watching Lockett, a three-year varsity contributor, go from a productive, yet wide-eyed freshman, to an experienced upperclassman shouldering the lion's share of the passing game?

For an athlete that's been a "pretty finished product" from a young age, Behrens has charted his maturation as a leader.

"His biggest thing has been his mental growth, the hardening of the mental part of it," Behrens said. "When he was younger somebody might be able to get into him a little bit and cause him to question himself a little bit. Now he’s got it figured out that if he plays hard, good things will happen. It’s the maturity process that’s happened."

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx