“The magic you are looking for is in the work you’re attempting to avoid.” Dipen Parmar

It’s College Football Season Eve. Currently enjoying a mild 90 degree afternoon here in the desert. It’ll be borderline cool by next Wednesday, and the lows will dip into the 50’s by the end of the week. I’m sure another heat wave or two will come along before we say goodbye to peak summer temps for the year, but this will be a welcomed break.

Just in time for the tailgates to drop, the Coleman flat tops to get hot, and the fans to pack parking lots across the land. Ice chests full to the brim with cans and bottles. Tables presenting plates of cookies, brownies, chips, and crockpot cheese dip. Kids running around with a football wishing they were Jeremiah Smith. Smart dressed Dads talk shop while flipping burgers, trendy Moms chat about carpools and tv shows while shooing away pesky flies, and fans in general all take in the college football tailgate experience in their own way.

On this evening, those exact things are happening at High Schools across the country. Lone Peak hosts Orem, Corner Canyon is in Florida taking on West Broward, and Salesi Moa and Fremont travel to Davis. Boise St commit Tradon Bessinger for Davis threw five touchdowns in their season opening win over Brighton, so let’s see what he will do at home against the number one player in the state.

Speaking of number one players–two top players committed earlier this week.

• Savion Hiter the running back at out of Louisa County Virginia chose Michigan over Tennessee on 8/19/25. The number one running back in the 2026 Class will certainly boost the Wolverine offense. At 5’11 200 he reminds me of a former #20 for Michigan, Mike Hart. Good luck in Ann Arbor Savion
• Bralan Womack, the number one Safety in all the land out of Hartfield Academy in Mississippi chose Auburn over Ohio St and A&M.

Darius Gray, the number one player in Virginia is making his decision today, and once he does that will solidify where all top recruits in each state will play next season. I’ve compiled the list of all of them below.

The Number ONE high school football player from each state 2026 Class:

• Salesi Moa ATH Utah
  • (Tennessee)
• Faizon Brandon QB North Carolina
  • (Tennessee)
• Keison Hendeson QB Texas
  • (Houston)
• Tristan Keys WR Mississippi
  • (LSU)
• Lamar Brown DL Louisiana
  • (LSU)
• Jett Washington S Nevada
  • (Oregon)
• Isaac Chukwurah DL Delaware
  • (Penn St)
• Marek Jin IOL New Hampshire
  • (Boston College)
• Beck Haswell ATH Wyoming
  • (Wyoming)
• Tayveon Wilson WR West Virginia
  • (Clemson)
• Moses Sparks IOL New Mexico
  • (Utah)
• Hudson Parliament IOL South Dakota
  • (Iowa)
• Zion Elee EDGE Maryland
  • (Maryland)
• Carter Gooden DL Massachusetts
  • (UCLA)
• Keenyi Pepe OT Florida
  • (USC)
• Luke Wafle EDGE New Jersey
  • (USC)
• Xavier Griffin LB Georgia
  • (Alabama)
• Danny Beale DL Arkansas
  • (Oklahoma St)
• Jackson Cantwell OT Missouri
  • (Miami)
• Jett Thomalla QB Nebraska
  • (Alabama)
• Jared Curtis QB Tennessee
  • (Georgia)
• Tony Cumberland DL Oregon
  • (Oregon)
• Cederion Morgan WR Alabama
  • (Alabama)
• Derek Coleman-Brusa DL Washington
  • (Washington)
• Tajh Overton DL Oklahoma
  • (Oklahoma St)
• Ryder Lyons QB California
  • (BYU)
• Evan Jackson TE Iowa
  • (Texas A&M)
• Joey O’Brien S Pennsylvania
  • (Notre Dame)
• Roman Voss ATH Minnesota
  • (Minnesota)
• Carter Meadows EDGE District of Columbia
  • (Michigan)
• Mason Leak EDGE Connecticut
  • (Boston College)
• Ian Bremer TE Kansas
  • (Notre Dame)
• Messiah Hampton WR New York
  • (Oregon)
• Telanoa Ili LB Hawaii
  • (USC)
• Jarvis Strickland OT Kentucky
  • (Louisville)
• Victor Singleton CB Ohio
  • (Texas A&M)
• Matt Ludwig TE Montana
  • (Michigan)
• Kevin Obot OT Idaho
  • (Utah)
• Deuce Alailefaleula DL Alaska
  • (Boise St)
• J’Zavien Currence S South Carolina
  • (South Carolina)
• Tait Reynolds QB Arizona
  • (Clemson)
• CJ Sadler ATH Michigan
  • (North Carolina)
• Tufanua Ionatana Uma-Cais DL Colorado
  • (Washington)
• Mack Sutter TE Illinois
  • (Alabama)
• Jerquaden Guilfor WR Indiana
  • (Ohio St)
• Gavin Meier OT Wisconsin
  • (Minnesota)
• Darius Gray IOL Virginia
  • Chose (South Carolina) over LSU, Ohio St, and Tennessee just moments ago live on his Instagram account.

States w/o a top football recruit:

• Maine
• Vermont
• North Dakota
• Rhode Island

Just some fun with the top high school football talent in the country. Almost every state is represented with a top player. #1 QB out of California to BYU? That’s a huge get for the Cougars down the road in Provo. And Oklahoma St getting two state’s top player (both DL) will be exciting for Cowboys fans in the future, and the Big12 in general. Ok St may struggle mightily in this present season, but the future looks bright, especially on the defensive line.

Alabama leads all teams with four commits followed by Oregon and USC with three. Utah nabbed two top players. Good luck to all the young men.

Let’s enjoy the weekend and work hard to find the magic.

Find the humor and keep on Movin’

Whit W.