Ranking high school football's 10 most important players to watch in 2026 national championship race
TL;DR
The article ranks the top 10 high school football players to watch for the 2026 national championship race. These players are expected to significantly impact their teams' performances this fall.
Key points
- Ranking of top 10 high school football players
- Focus on players impacting 2026 national championship
- Analysis follows spring top 25 team rankings
- Coaching changes may influence upcoming season
Ranking high school football's 10 most important players to watch in 2026 national championship race originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
We've taken a look this week at where the best high school football teams in the country rank in our spring top 25 as the current semester approaches its conclusion.
And we followed that up by taking a look at how some of the biggest coaching changes around the country could impact the upcoming season.
Now, it's time zero in on 10 of the top players that have the potential to impact the national title race this fall.
This isn't just a list of top-ranked recruits, although each of these players is a highly-regarded athlete that is projected to play at the next level. Rather, this is an attempt to look at 10 players from national championship contenders that are key to their team's pursuit of a title when the high school football season gets under way in August.
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No. 10 RB Landen Williams-Callis, Randle [Richmond, TX] Lions
Randle is ranked No. 23 in SN's spring top 25, and while they aren't likely to get all the way to the top of the list, Williams-Callis will be the likely reason if they do.
Williams-Callis was SN's Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 3,502 yards and 59 touchdowns, leading his Lions to a runner-up finish in the Texas UIL Class 5A Division II playoffs. He is the top-ranked running back in the Lone Star State's Class of 2027.
© Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
No. 9 QB CJ Cypher, Carrollton [GA] Trojans
Cypher led Carrollton all the way to Georgia's GHSA Class 6A state championship game a year ago, even directing the Trojans to a 34-14 win over No. 1 Grayson in the quarterfinals.
Did we mention he was just a freshman?
Yes, Cypher had a debut season that won't soon be forgotten, throwing for 2,178 yards and 26 touchdowns along the way with just three interceptions. He displayed a level of poise beyond his years playing in Georgia's top classification that allowed the Trojans to climb into contention for the national title, losing to the eventual champion Buford in that 6A title game by a score of 28-21.
Carrollton checks in at No. 13 in SN's spring top 25 so they won't have to climb as far this year if they get on another heater. And they'll have plenty of big-game opportunities to make an impact on the national scene.
No. 8 OT Mark Matthews, St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders
Wait, an offensive lineman?
You better believe it. Matthews is the No. 3 overall prospect in the Class of 2027, and at 6-foot-5.5, 300 pounds, he's big enough to dominate his space while remaining nimble enough to play the crucial left tackle position.
So while Matthews position isn't going to generate the flashy stats that grab headlines, he's quietly one of the most dominant players on the field on any given night. And his ability to hold his own and play to the whistle without needing any support allows the Raiders to expand their playbook on offense.
More importantly, he'll be protecting a new quarterback who will need time to adjust to the Raiders' system. That will likely be transfer James Perrone, a South Florida commit who makes the move to Fort Lauderdale after throwing for 3,231 yards with 33 touchdowns and five interceptions in a Southridge Spartans' uniform a year ago.
No. 7 CB Raylaun Henry, St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers
Henry is the top-ranked prospect in St. Frances Academy's senior class, and the 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback is a game changer. For a team that plays a national schedule and regularly goes head-to-head with some of the top offenses in the country, Henry is able to handle his own side of the field in man coverage, allowing the Panthers to distribute their defensive assets across the field.
Of course, that means many teams avoid him altogether helping to reduce the field, but that doesn't mean Henry doesn't show up on the stat sheet. His speed allows him to get back into plays that go away from him and assist in coverage schemes across the field. His extra gear in pursuit is almost like having an extra safety on the field when he's not locking down receivers on his side of the field.
The Panthers are known for their aggressive, physical defense, and to be sure, there are other stars on that side of the ball like EDGE Anthony Sweeney, S Jernard Albright, S Elijah Butler, and DL Jayden Travers among others. But it's Henry's range that separates him from your average lockdown corner that's used to being on their own island but not necessarily making plays outside of their primary area of responsibility.
No. 6 CB Hayden Stepp, Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas, NV] Gaels
Stepp is a big corner (6-3.5, 185 pounds) – the rare talent who excels in both coverage and run support. That's a huge asset for a Bishop Gorman squad that prides itself on playing an elite schedule, including games against both Mater Dei and St. John Bosco again this fall.
Other players may have put up gaudier statistics than Stepp did a year ago – both Jett Washington and Pesi Jr. Silva snagged four interceptions while Stepp didn't record any – but it's due in part because opposing offensive coordinators avoid him at all costs. That increases the opportunities for those other players to come up with the turnovers while Stepp's shutting down his half of the field and limiting the opponent's playbook.
For a program that measures its success in national titles, that's a massive advantage when you're going up against the likes of those other national powerhouses from California and beyond.
No. 5 WR Eric McFarland III, IMG Academy [Bradenton, FL] Ascenders
Yes, SN's current No. 1 IMG Academy is loaded as usual, and McFarland isn't even the highest-ranked recruit on the team's roster. There are 11 Ascenders ranked on 247sports.com's Class of 2027 prospects for the state of Florida, and EDGE Zyron Forstall is ranked No. 2 at the time of this writing while McFarland checks in at No. 4.
But McFarland's game-breaking abilities at receiver garner the most attention as he caught 29 passes for 595 yards and 11 touchdowns in just nine games a year ago. That translates to a 20.5 yards per catch average with 37.93 percent of his catches ending in a trip to the end zone. He's the biggest playmaker on an offense that has plenty of weapons returning including his fellow receivers Osani Gayles (20 rec.-492 yards, 24.6 avg., 5 CDs) and Zion White (10 rec.-165 yards, 2 TDs).
© Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
No. 4 QB Koa Malau'ulu, St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves
Things went swimmingly for Malau'ulu and the Braves' offense for nine games last year as the team raced out to a 9-0 start and appeared poised to make a run at California's CIF Open Division state championship – not to mention SN's national title as well.
But in what turned out to be their final two games of the season, St. John Bosco was out-dueled, 36-31, by Mater Dei before sinking like a stone in an atmospheric river that dumped torrents of rain on Bellflower while the Braves fell to a 2-8 Orange Lutheran squad in a 20-19 loss. That came after St. John Bosco had won their regular season meeting, 48-0, and it will go down as one of the biggest upsets in California playoff history.
The feeling here is that these Braves know they have some unfinished business. Malau'ulu had a solid sophomore campaign, throwing for 2,361 yards with 33 touchdowns and five interceptions, but in the wet conditions against Orange Lutheran, he managed just 71 yards on 10-of-22 passing with a touchdown and a critical interception.
Bosco is loaded with higher-rated prospects in both their senior and junior classes, including safeties Jailen Hill and Isala Aisa Wily-Ava, IOL Elisha Mueller, S Brandon Nash, EDGE Elijah Tuua, and WR Darren Tubbs among others. But Malau'ulu's struggles on a rainy night in Southern California last fall showed just how valuable he is to his team's prospects, and in a Trinity League loaded with powerful defenses, he can't afford any off nights in 2026.
No. 3 QB DJ Hunter, Buford [GA] Wolves
Hunter is one of six Wolves ranked on 247sports.com's list of 2027 recruits in the state of Georgia, but he's only the third-ranked member among his teammates. Linebackers Ethan Houser and Brayden Watson are ranked even higher, and certainly, they are key to the Wolves' chances of defending their 2025 state and national championships.
But you could arguably lose one of the team's top defenders and maintain that Buford is deep enough to plug somebody else in and still be an elite defense. Hunter, on the other hand, is stepping in as the primary starter at the most important position after Dayton Raiola's graduation, and his experience last year was limited – 230 yards passing on just 16-of-24 attempts with three touchdowns.
We're about to find out just how good Hunter is, and he'll have to be at his best to keep these Wolves on top.
No. 2 S Jaden Walk-Green, Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies
Walk-Green isn't the most-coveted recruit out there, but it would be hard to find a player who has a better knack for making big plays when they're needed or affecting the game is as many phases as he does.
Walk-Green's primary position is safety where he turned in a season for the ages with 10 interceptions returned for 291 yards and five touchdowns, and he scored a sixth touchdown on a fumble return. Throw in a blocked field goal while we're at it, and a team-leading 125 tackles to boot while chipping in as a kick returner (5-168 yards, 33.6 avg.) and recording a 55-yard punt return average on three attempts (165 yards).
Heck, Walk-Green was so prolific last year that his five "pick sixes" were actually "pick sevens" because he also served as the team's kicker. He connected on 63-of-65 PATs, and four of five field goals.
He was named California's Defensive Player of the Year for his efforts, but that doesn't even begin to capture all the ways in which Walk-Green can impact a game.
No. 1 RB David Gabriel Georges, Baylor School [Chattanooga, TN] Red Raiders
The Baylor School is getting a lot of attention these days for being the school where Marshall Manning will eventually star as quarterback. Manning is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, nephew to former New York Giants Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, grandson to New Orleans Saints Ring of Honor member Archie Manning, and cousin to current Texas Longhorns' starting quarterback Arch Manning.
And, somehow, he's not the biggest name on campus at the moment, an honor that goes to RB David Gabriel Georges who's the No. 2 running back in the national Class of 2027. Gabriel Georges is an explosive force who ran for 1,756 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2025 in just 12 games while averaging more than 11 yards per carry.
He ultimately led the Red Raiders to Tennessee's TSSAA Division II Class AAA state title a year ago over fellow unbeaten Brentwood Academy in a 28-24 win in the championship game. Baylor was unranked headed into the 2025 campaign, but they're currently sitting in the No. 12 spot in SN's Spring Top 25 – prime position to potentially launch a run at a national title if some of the contenders above them stumble early in the season.
They play a tough schedule that will put them in the spotlight, and if Gabriel Georges replicates his numbers from a year ago, it could be a huge season in Chattanooga.
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Q&A
Who are the top 10 high school football players for the 2026 championship?
The article highlights 10 key players who are anticipated to influence the national championship race in 2026.
What factors determine the ranking of high school football players?
Player rankings typically consider performance metrics, potential impact on their teams, and overall talent level.
How do coaching changes affect high school football teams?
Coaching changes can significantly impact team dynamics, strategies, and player development, influencing overall performance.
When does the high school football season start for 2026?
The high school football season generally begins in late summer, with specific dates varying by state.
