Texas Football: Top High School Pipelines Over the Last Decade

Lamar (Houston)

Houston Lamar has been producing high level talent for decades as one of the better high school programs in the greater Houston area. From 2010-2019 the University of Texas signed five players from Lamar including three players on the current roster.

Defensive back John Bonney signed with Texas in the class of 2014 as the 32nd rated player in Texas and 253rd nationally according to the 247Sports Composite. After redshirting his freshman season Bonney played in 37 consecutive games for the Horns making 15 starts during his time on the Forty Acres.

Bonney totaled 86 tackles, 13 pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and one interception during his three years for Texas. He was a crucial player in the “lean” years of 2015 and 2016, coming up with 39 tackles and nine pass deflections during the 2016 campaign. Bonney went on to become a graduate transfer at Texas Tech where he had a solid 2018 season as a starter.

Current Vikings defensive back Holton Hill also graduated from Lamar. Hill spent three seasons at Texas from 2015-17, making 20 starts in the 28 games he played in. Hill was a long, physical corner who often struggled with locating the ball in the air but contributed a fair amount during his time at Texas.

Hill finished his career with 122 total tackles, eight pass deflections, and three interceptions, all of which he took back for touchdowns. In the 2017 opener against Maryland, Hill became the first FBS player over the last ten seasons with a pick-six and a blocked field goal return for a touchdown in the same game.

The former 76th ranked national recruit left Texas after three seasons but did go undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. He signed a three-year deal with the Vikings soon thereafter but has had an up and down career thus far as he has dealt with various league policy issues.

The final three players from Houston Lamar all came from the 2018 recruiting class which was coach Tom Herman’s first full cycle. These three individuals were Anthony Cook, D’Shawn Jamison, and Al’vonte Woodard.

Anthony Cook was a highly coveted recruit ranking as the 7th best player in the state and 64th nationally. Cook has had an up and down two seasons thus far on the Forty. He has solid intangibles but has dealt with the issue of keeping his eyes in the backfield.

Cook has played in 25 games with seven starts thus far. He has recorded 42 total tackles, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and one sack. His best game of his career came in 2019 against West Virginia where Cook recorded seven tackles (five solo).

Cook has very high upside, though 2020 seems like the year where he is on the chopping block. He will have a solid chance to compete for a starting role, but with younger guys progressing through the ranks he must show improvement quickly.