Texas Football Releases List of State’s Top 10 QBs of All Time

LEWISVILLE, TX — Dave Campbell’s Texas Football has published its list of the state’s 10 greatest high school quarterbacks of all time.

Unfortunately for West Texas fans, the only QB from our area that made the list was Sweetwater’s “Slingin” Sammy Baugh at No. 10.

The rest of the list includes:

• No. 9 Drew Brees, Austin Westlake

• No. 8 Tommy Kramer, San Antonio Lee

• No. 7 Chase Daniel, Southlake Carroll

• No. 6 Reggie McNeal, Lufkin

• No. 5 Travis Quintanilla, Refugio

• No. 4 Matthew Stafford, Highland Park

• No. 3 Graham Harrell, Ennis

• No. 2 Garrett Gilbert, Lake Travis

• No. 1 Kyler Murray, Allen

Though Harrell didn't play in our area, he was born in Brownwood and spent part of his childhood in Big Lake when his father, Sam, coached the Reagan County Owls from 1990 to 1993. Graham Harrell is currently the offensive coordinator and QB coach at Abilene Christian University.

Only 11-man QBs were considered, so legendary six-man players like Richland Springs’ Tyler Ethridge — whose 230 passing touchdowns are a national record — didn’t have a chance to be recognized.

Though Odessa Permian has won six state titles and is one of the state’s best-known programs, the Panthers didn’t get a QB on the list. Stoney Case, who quarterbacked the 1989 state-title team and later played in the NFL, would have likely been Mojo’s representative.

San Angelo had three state champions over the years — the 1943 San Angelo Bobcats, the 1950 Blackshear Leopards and the 1966 Central Bobcats — but none of its QBs had enough sustained success to earn a spot. Mickey Rathbone was the QB for the 1943 Bobcats, while James Norton led the 1950 Leopards and Gary Mullins quarterbacked the 1966 Bobcats.

Recency bias aside, Wall’s Landon York has no doubt etched his place into our area’s list of its best QBs. The last two seasons, he threw for 7,786 yards and 107 TDs while leading the Hawks to a 29-2 record and their first state title in 2025.

The other Concho Valley schools that have won 11-man state titles are Sonora (1966, 1968, 1970, 1971 and 2000) and Mason (2011 and 2018). Those teams obviously had great players at QB, but they were probably best defined by their rushing attacks — Sonora’s Ed Lee Renfro (1966-68) and Mason’s David Mora (2010-11) were each two of the best running backs in state history.

Also representing West Texas state champions is Midland Lee, which had a three-year reign from 1998-2000, though running back Cedric Benson is the best-remembered player from that team.

To get a look at each of the QBs on Texas Football’s Top 10 list — along with honorable-mention players like Houston Madison’s Vince Young and Whitehouse’s Patrick Mahomes — check out the story here.