Bralen Taylor

If you followed the game thread last night, you knew I was having big time connection issues inside Gobbler Stadium. Since the updates weren't coming as consistent as they normally would, I wanted to put a bow on the DeWitt County rivalry with a few observations. Cuero won 41-13 and really pulled away in the second half. It was 20-13 at the break. Stud 2019 ATH Jordan Whittington showed why he's regarded as one of the best in Texas in that class, scoring 5 of the 6 Cuero touchdowns. He's got all the tools to be a game breaker at the next level. He did a lot of his work out of the Wildcat, but he did have a handful of catches as well. He's explosive, shifty, strong, smart...like I said, the total package. He's an immediate impact, high end college player. His older brother is a professional body builder, and Jordan has clearly grown from the same genetics as he already possesses a college ready body type. It goes without saying, he was the best player on the field last night. Whittington will visit Texas today and A&M next week.Not too far behind him though was A&M DB commit Jordan Moore from Yoakum. This kid is a fighter, and he's not afraid to stick his nose in there. There's no telling how many more touchdowns Whittington would have scored had it not been for Jordan. With A&M WR coach Aaron Moorehead in attendance, the most impressive thing I saw out of the future Aggie was the intensity and fire he played with the entire game. He battled cramps in the third quarter, and even when the game was well in hand, Moore was playing his tail off. On the Bulldogs' final drive, he laid out on a bad pass and made a ridiculous one handed reception. Down 28 with a minute left, it would have been easy to just watch the ball hit the turf. He's the kind of guy you'd want next to you in a fight. Jordan will be in College Station today with his dad, and he said he wants to see how the Aggies bounce back so that he can take that approach back to his own locker room in Yoakum. I really liked what I saw out him.Jordan's twin brother, Joshua Moore (Nebraska) had an up and down game. There's no denying his athleticism, and he certainly displayed that on a 95 yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter. He made one slick spin move to get out of traffic, and from there, no one in a Cuero shirt got close to him. Outside of that, I thought Josh struggled to find his footing in the game. The Yoakum offense had a tough go of it in the air. Baylor TE commit Bralen Taylor of Cuero didn't do much. He had one grab and one short yardage conversion out of the Wildcat. While he's got a crazy long frame, his body will need a lot of added weight before he's ready for P5 football.

Texas A&M hosted a few highly rated prospects on Friday, sent out multiple offers to new names and appears to be nearing a couple of big-time commitments. Billy Liucci took it all in and shared his end-of-day thoughts on the Aggies' efforts.

College Station will be hosting the annual state championships for 7-on-7 this weekend at Veteran's Park on Harvey Rd just east of Hwy 6. The teams will be divided into small and large school brackets. Division II (small schools) will begin play on Thursday afternoon while the big boys start on Friday. Depending on the bracket, games will either begin at 1 and 2 o'clock each day. Here's a look at the pools and schedule...https://twitter.com/r_brauninger/status/879452412666359808https://twitter.com/r_brauninger/status/879453149593042945In looking at the D1 bracket, I'll be keeping an eye on all Pool E with Deneric Prince and Brian Johnson from Manvel and key target Bobby Brown from Arlington Lamar. Jalen Preston is not expected to make the trip because he's participating in The Opening this weekend. These types of events are built for guys like 2019 QB Grant Gunnell and his shifty WR teammate Chase Lane. The A&M will commits will start play in Pool G against some pretty tough squads that will feature 2019 TE Austin Stogner (Oklahoma) out of Plano Prestonwood. The last commit is in Pool J where Montel Parker and his Dickinson teammates will try to replicate last year's run in this event that included an upset over heavily favored Manvel. Other guys more guys per group to watch for in the big school bracket...Pool A:Clear Brook WR Caleb Chapman 2019 Coppell S Jonathan McGill 2019 Lake Travis WR Garrett Wilson Pool B:Cinco Ranch ATH Brant Kuithe 2019 Lufkin ATH Breylon Garcia 2019 Haslet Eaton RB Titus Swen Georgetown LB Brandon Hawkins (Boise State)Georgetown WR Caden Leggett - had a big Pylon 7v7 National Championship runPool C:Cedar Ridge RB Simi Bakare 2019 Cedar Ridge WR Jaylen Ellis (Baylor)Fort Worth All Saints WR Jaylon Robinson (Oklahoma)Pool D:Mansfield Timberview ATH Jalen Knox (Missouri)Del Valle WR La'Thaniel Washington Del Valle LB Cameron Wilkins Pool E:2019 Hutto QB Chase Griffin Manvel QB Kason Martin (UNT)Arlington Lamar WR Matthew Shaw 2019 Arlington Lamar CB Deshawn Gaddie 2020 Arlington Lamar LB James Douglas Pool F:2019 Katy RB Deondrick Glass 2021 Katy QB Bronson McClelland 2020 Mesquite Poteet RB Seth McGowan Pool G:St Pius WR Bryson Jackson 2019 Beaumont West Brook RB Robert McGrue Pool H:San Angelo Central TE Henry TeeterHouston Lamar RB Ta'Zhawn Henry Pool I:Desoto DB German Green (Michigan)DeSoto RB Kelan Walker (Houston)2019 DeSoto WR La'Vontae Shenault 2020 DeSoto DB Jabbar Muhammad Pool J:2019 Dickinson TE Jalen Wydermyer The Colony DB Jaxon GibbsPool K:Lewisville Hebron QB Clayton Tune (Kansas)Lewisville Hebron DB Verone McKinley III 2019 Lewisville Hebron WR Trejan Bridges 2020 Lewisville Hebron S Darius Snow Klein WR Colton ChelootzPool L:Richmond Foster DB Christian YoungFrisco Wakeland WR Tre Adams Pool M:College Station ATH Marquez Perez 2019 Waxahachie S Demani Richardson Pool N:CyCreek WR Miles Battle Pool O:The Woodlands OL Jake Syptak (plays some TE in 7-on-7) (SMU)The Woodlands WR KeSean CarterPool P:A&M Consolidated ATH Kolby Peel (Ok State)2019 Ft Bend Bush S Jamal Morris 2019 Ft Bend Bush CB Erick Young Houston Lamar should look a lot different this weekend with Anthony Cook, D'Shawn Jamison, and Al'vonte Woodard all expected to be at The Opening. I still think they're a team to beat even without those guys. Their depth is crazy. I'll take a stab at the final 4 this weekend - Manvel, St Pius, Lake Travis, and College Station.While the talent isn't as wide spread in the small school division, there will be some really talented kids competing. Some of those names that jump out are...Cuero TE Bralen Taylor (Baylor)Somerset QB Zadock Dinkelmann (BYU)Carthage RB Keaontay Ingram (Texas)2020 Carthage ATH Kelvontay Dixon Rockdale ATH Jaquayln Crawford 2019 Cuero ATH Jordan Whittington 2019 Stafford WR Jalen Curry 2019 Wellington OL Trevor Roberson - could be a possibility as a TE2020 Melissa RB JaBray Young 2020 Melissa QB Brendon Lewis