Takeaways from Keelon Russell, Jerry Meyer III, Texas recruits in action

TEXAS — Rivals National Recruiting Analyst Marshall Levenson was on the sidelines for a pair of marquee games featuring several of Texas’ top recruits in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 classes. Included in that group are several blue-chippers, including players committed to Alabama, Texas A&M, SMU, and more.

Here are seven takeaways from the live in-person evaluations:

After a monster offseason that saw Keelon Russell advance not only into five-star status, but into the top-10 in the class, a big senior season was expected. His biggest test of the fall came early as Duncanville faced perennial national powerhouse Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances. Russell started off strong with a first drive score on a quick strike to three-star WR Ayson Theus. From there, the game was fairly quiet for some time, heading to half trailing 9-7. But late in the third quarter, now down 16-7, Russell had had enough of the slow play and started to take over the game.

For the first time in the game, he showed off his abilities as a runner and charged into the end zone through the chest of hard hitting four-star safety Jireh Edwards. He did not stop there as on the next drive, the Alabama commit unleashed the best throw I have seen this season with a back foot, 60-plus yard heave right on target to Theus for their second scoring connection of the night, taking a 21-16 lead. After going down again, Russell gathered his offense and led what would be a game winning drive, capped with a strike to. a wide open four-star TE Zachery Turner.

Facing one of the best rosters in the country and down several scores, Russell stayed calm and when it mattered most, he delivered. He showed mobility, arm strength, accuracy, and most important, high football IQ.

Before moving from Las Vegas to just south of Dallas, the new four-star Jerry Meyer III threw for 2,711 yards and a whopping 58 touchdowns as a freshman, completing 67-percent of his passes. He has now started out fast as a sophomore with 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns in his first three games. I was on hand to watch him put together a 422-yard, five touchdown performance, winning 37-34 over a very talented Forney squad.

Meyer, the No. 71 overall prospect in the initial 2027 rankings plays with a moxie and a confidence that is very apparent. From a technical standpoint, he anticipates very well and delivers an accurate, catchable ball. He was dishing out passes from as short as screens and check downs all the way to 93-yard connections on go routes down the sideline.

While he is not a dual threat passer, he does navigate the pocket well and maintains a strong passing ability on the run. Pressure never affected the sophomore as he led a game winning drive late in the fourth quarter.

On the receiving end of many of Meyers’ passes was 2026 wide receiver Kohen Brown. The junior wide receiver had everything going right as he finished with six receptions for 247 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a near 50-yard rushing touchdown called back due to penalty. A strong route runner with a well put together frame, it was tough for defenders to knock Brown off his route. And even harder to bring him down once he had the ball in his hands.

He was on the receiving end of the previously mentioned 93-yard connection, a red zone rollout designed just for him, and his biggest play of the day coming on the eventual game winning score which he split defenders in the middle of the field, hauling in a perfect pass from Meyer and trucking ahead into the end zone.

If there was any level of struggle in Meyers’ performance on Thursday night, it came at the hands of Kelvion Riggins, a Texas A&M commit. The 6-foot, 200 pound linebacker was a major issue for the Waxahachie offensive line as he was pressuring the backfield from every angle. Riggins showed a real ability to bend the edge as a pass rusher as well as the ability to blitz the gaps from the inside linebacker position.

Riggins told me after the game that the Aggies plan to use him coming off the edge when he first arrives in College Station. They feel that is where he can make the most impact early in his career. While he is undersized for what the typical SEC edge rusher looks like, his bend and pursuit effort will make him a tough block.

One week after running for 189 yards and four touchdowns, the Rivals250 running back Javian Osborne went for 168 yards and another three touchdowns. Osborne had quite an impressive performance as it was not just free yards he was gaining. He showed excellent vision, great burst, contact balance, and at times, real physicality and pop behind his pads.

One of Duncanville’s top weapons on offense is Zachery Turner, who is slightly smaller than a traditional tight end and is more of a ‘tweener currently. Regardless, he plays the tight end and H-back role perfectly. When Russell needed to dish the ball out, Turner was almost always available. He has strong, reliable hands, making him a trustworthy target in crucial situations. Turner also flashed a strong run-after-catch, often fighting for yards and securing first downs.

With verified 4.8 speed at 200-plus pounds, Turner has proven he can be a weapon in a vertical passing attack. I anticipate he will eventually play in a high octane college offensive system.

The Duncanville vs. St. Frances game is a mix of loaded rosters of four and five star prospects, but it was three-star SMU commit Tyren Polley that had one of the biggest impacts in the game. At just 5-foot-10, and 185 pounds, Polley was continously getting off blocks and putting his body in the mix to make tackles and affect passing lanes.

His biggest play of the game came on a tip drill interception that ended a promising St. Frances drive. Polley is not a picture perfect prospect, but he was surely one of the top performing players in the nationally ranked bout.