TEXAS, USA — The College Football Playoff has expanded from four to 12 teams for the first time this season and will feature on-campus playoff games.
Two Texas schools made the 12-team playoff and are both in the slate for the first round: No. 11 seeded SMU heading to State College to take on No. 6 seed Penn State, and No. 5 seed Texas hosting No. 12 seed Clemson.
With the biggest playoff field we've ever seen in college football, the spotlight will be brighter than ever before – fit for stars to add to their legacies or for new stars to arise. The Associated Press compiled a list of the top five players on each playoff team, with positions and hometowns. In cases where the athlete's hometown state or country is different from where he played high school football, the state where their high school is located is listed as well.
Texas led the way with 13 people on the list who are either from the state or played high school football. Georgia had six, and Virginia and California both had five.
Eight of those 13 came from the DFW metroplex. Here is a breakdown (*DFW-based players will be denoted in bold*):
Arizona State
- Keith Abney II, DB, Dallas, Texas*
- Xavier Guillory, WR, Spokane, Washington
- Sam Leavitt, QB, West Linn, Oregon
- Cam Skattebo, RB, Rio Linda, California
- Clayton Smith, DL, Queen City, Texas
Boise State
- Cameron Camper, WR, Lancaster, Texas*
- Ahmad Hassanein, DE, Cairo, Egypt; Loara HS, Anaheim, California
- Ashton Jeanty, RB, Jacksonville, Florida; Lone Star HS, Frisco, Texas*
- Matt Lauter, TE, San Diego, California
- Maddux Madsen, QB, American Fork, Utah
Clemson
- Barrett Carter, LB, Suwanee, Georgia
- Cade Klubnik, QB, Austin, Texas
- Phil Mafah, RB, Loganville, Georgia
- T.J. Parker, DE, Phenix City, Alabama
- Antonio Williams, WR, Irmo, South Carolina
Georgia
- Carson Beck, QB, Jacksonville, Florida
- Trevor Etienne, RB, Jennings, Louisiana
- Malaki Starks, DB, Jefferson, Georgia
- Jalon Walker, LB, Salisbury, North Carolina
- Mykel Williams, DL, Columbus, Georgia
Indiana
- Aiden Fisher, LB, Fredericksburg, Viriginia
- Mikail Kamara, DL, Ashburn, Virginia
- Ty Son Lawton, RB, Staten Island, New York
- Kurtis Rourke, QB, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
- Elijah Sarratt, WR, Stafford, Virginia
Notre Dame
- Howard Cross III, DL, Paramus, New Jersey
- Riley Leonard, QB, Fairhope, Alabama
- Jeremiyah Love, RB, St. Louis, Missouri
- Rylie Mills, DL, Lake Bluff, Illinois
- Xavier Watts, DB, Omaha, Nebraska
Ohio State
- Caleb Downs, DB, Hoschton, Georgia
- Emeka Egbuka, WR, Steilacoom, Washington
- Will Howard, QB, West Chester, Pennsylvania
- Jack Sawyer, DE, Pickerington, Ohio
- Jeremiah Smith, WR, Miami Gardens, Florida
Oregon
- Dillon Gabriel, QB, Mililani, Hawaii
- Derrick Harmon, DL, Detroit, Michigan
- Jordan James, RB, Nashville, Tennesee
- Jabbar Muhammad, DB, DeSoto, Texas*
- Matayo Uiagalelei, LB, Bellflower, California
Penn State
- Drew Allar, QB, Medina, Ohio
- Kaytron Allen, RB, Norfolk, Virginia
- Abdul Carter, DE, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Nicholas Singleton, RB, Shillington, Pennsylvania
- Tyler Warren, TE, Mechanicsville, Virginia
SMU
- Kevin Jennings, QB, Oak Cliff, Texas*
- Justin Osborne, OL, Flower Mound, Texas*
- Collin Rogers, K, Prattville, Alabama
- Brashard Smith, RB, Richmond Heights, Florida
- Kobe Wilson, LB, Snellville, Georgia
Tennessee
- Nico Iamaleava, QB, Long Beach, California
- Jermod McCoy, DB, Whitehouse, Texas
- James Pearce Jr., DL, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Dylan Sampson, RB, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Dont’e Thornton Jr., WR, Baltimore, Maryland
Texas
- Kelvin Banks Jr., OL, Humble, Texas
- Jahdae Barron, DB, Austin, Texas
- Quinn Ewers, QB, Southlake, Texas*
- Gunnar Helm, TE, Englewood, Colorado
- Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Denton, Texas*
ESPN released its top 50 ranking of players in the College Football Playoff. Here's how the Dallas players fared:
- Ashton Jeanty (No. 1)
- Anthony Hill Jr. (No. 9)
- Kevin Jennings (No. 30)
- Isaiah Nwokobia (No. 40)
