Some states across the country are two weeks into high school football’s 2026season while others are weeks away from getting started. Regardless of start date, the vast majority of states will be in action this weekend. To celebrate the start of the prep football calendar, 247Sports released our Preseason Players of the Year by state along with our Preseason All-America Team.
In conjunction with state-by-state Preseason Player of the Year and our Preseason All-America Team, the 247Sports scouting team, plus a panel of 247Sports experts, voted on Preseason National Player of the Year honors.
Richmond (Texas) Randle running back Landen Williams-Callis earned the most votes, followed by Alabama five-star quarterback commit Elijah Haven, Tennessee five-star running back commit David Gabriel Georges and Ohio State five-star edge rusher DJ Jacobs.
All four finalists have put up monster production previously and appear set to do so again as seniors, while leading their respective teams to state title contention. However, the level of production for Williams-Callis is simply on a different tier as nation’s No. 3 RB prospect closes in on a plethora of statewide career rushing records.
The Texas commit, who slots in at No. 38 in the 2027 Top247 rankings, enters the 2026 season with 7,554 rushing yards and 125 rushing touchdowns on 756 carries. Those totals lead all 2027 running backs and put him 67th in career rushing yards per the NFHS record book with his senior season still to play.
What makes the absurd production of Williams-Callis even more impressive is that the four-star has not had to carry an especially heavy workload relative to other running backs at the top of the national leaderboard. Williams-Callis has carried the ball less than 20 times in 32 of his 45 high school games. If he can continue operating at this level of efficiency as a senior, there is a strong possibility Williams-Callis can break into the national top 10 in career rushing yards on the least amount of carries per game inside that top group.
If Williams-Callis rushes for 3,828 yards as a senior, the Texas commit will break recent Texas Tech four-star enrollee Kaegan Ash’s TXHSFB career rushing yards record. Breaking that record would cement Williams-Callis No. 2 all-time in career rushing yards behind future Hall of Famer Derek Henry’s frankly ridiculous mark of 12,144 rushing yards.
Beyond the chase towards the top of every statewide and national rushing leaderboard, Williams-Callis has a chance to lead upstart Houston-area powerhouse Richmond Randle to its third straight Texas state championship game, with the Lions looking for their 2nd title in the program’s fifth season of varsity competition.
Williams-Callis is on the smaller side, believed to hover around 5-foot-7.5, 190 pounds but more than makes up for his diminutive stature with 10.59-second 100-meter-dash speed, wicked agility, natural contact balance accentuated by his lower center of gravity, and football intelligence one could expect from a prospect with three relatives who played in the NFL. One of those relatives, former Oregon State star Jacquizz Rodgers, was similarly a high school hero at running back who broke records and led his school to an improbable state title before playing eight years in the NFL verified at a shade under 5-foot-6.
Richmond Randle opens the 2026 season Friday with a rematch of the past two 5A Division II state title games as they take on Dallas South Oak Cliff at Prairie View A&M’s Panther Stadium. After moving up to class 5A Division I this offseason, Randle could face storied Dallas prospect factory DeSoto in an eventual title game if both teams return to AT&T Stadium.
247Sports national scouting analyst Gabe Brooks has the scouting report on Williams-Callis:
– Ultra-productive back who boasts high-volume durability and explosive big-play juice.
– Often plays at a different speed than everybody else on the field.
– Initial acceleration and top-end gear sit toward the top of 2027 RB class. Supports football speed with 10.4 and 21.8 track speed.
– Sees lanes ahead of time and knows how to change speeds to effectively use blocks.
– Natural low center of gravity helps shrug off glancing contact and play larger than on-paper dimensions.
– May never be a true banger because of lack of size, but excellent natural pad level and tightly-wound build make for consistently effective interior runner.
– Not a ton of pass-catching reps but enough for valuable context (60-plus receptions in first three varsity seasons).
– One of the highest-floor prospects in the 2027 class, regardless of position. Projects as a high-major impact player who should become a legitimate pro prospect.
