VYPE
Texas ranks 11th in the country as NFL players per capita
Originally Appeared on VYPE
The phenomenon known as "Friday Night Lights" does not translate to "Saturday Success" or even "Sunday Stardom."
The reasons might surprise you.
Texas is thought to be the epicenter of High School Football nationwide, and it is. Katy, Permian, North Shore, Duncanville, Argyle, Converse Judson, Lake Travis, Westlake, Highland Park… It goes on and on.
These are name brands. If you are in California or Florida, you still know these programs.
But here's the thing… For the number of GREAT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYERS in the state, a shocking number of athletes don't translate to the highest level.
Take the NFL. Where do you think Texas ranks in the country as NFL players per capita? Top 5? Top 10?
Nope. Try 11 th behind the likes of Hawaii, Mississippi, Nebraska and even Nevada.
Wait what?
Hence the argument.
The "Texas High School Football Player" has a ceiling. You heard it here, first.
Having worked for the first national recruiting website for over a decade and covering HS sports as a co-founder of VYPE 12 years ago, I've had some time to develop my theory.
There are tons of Texas kids on the national recruiting lists. There are so many four and five stars, right? Well, the upside is not always there.
The story continues here
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Critical levers Astros can pull as health concerns, deadline pressures grow
Jul 10, 2025, 3:46 pm
Jake Meyers is the latest Astro to be rushed back from injury too soon. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
Houston center fielder Jake Meyers was removed from Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland during pregame warmups because of right calf tightness.
Meyers, who had missed the last two games with a right calf injury, jogged onto the field before the game but soon summoned the training staff, who joined him on the field to tend to him. He remained on the field on one knee as manager Joe Espada joined the group. After a couple minutes, Meyers got up and was helped off the field and to the tunnel in right field by a trainer.
Mauricio Dubón moved from shortstop to center field and Zack Short entered the game to replace Dubón at shortstop.
Meyers is batting .308 with three homers and 21 RBIs this season.
After the game, Meyers met with the media and spoke about the injury. Meyers declined to answer when asked if the latest injury feels worse than the one he sustained Sunday. Wow, that is not a good sign.
Asked if this calf injury feels worse than the one he sustained on Sunday, Jake Meyers looked toward a team spokesman and asked "do I have to answer that?" He did not and then politely ended the interview.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 10, 2025
Lack of imaging strikes again!
The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported on Thursday that the Astros didn't do any imaging on Meyers after the initial injury. You can't make this stuff up. This is exactly the kind of thing that has the Astros return-to-play policy under constant scrutiny.
The All-Star break is right around the corner, why take the risk in playing Meyers after missing just two games with calf discomfort? The guy literally fell to the ground running out to his position before the game started. The people that make these risk vs. reward assessments clearly are making some serious mistakes.
The question remains: will the Astros finally do something about it?