Guyer will begin the season with the eyes of Texas squarely focused on its performance after Dave Campbell’s Texas Football hit stores across the state Thursday.
The 53rd edition of what many consider the authority on Texas high school and college football tabbed Guyer as the No. 1 team in Class 4A.
The pick was just one of several by the magazine that offered up high opinions of Denton-area teams.
Ryan is No. 24 in the Class 5A preseason rankings, while North Texas is picked to finish third in the Sun Belt Conference behind Florida International and Western Kentucky, a performance that would almost certainly require the Mean Green to finish .500 or better for the first time in eight years.
Guyer’s move down to 4A helped make the Wildcats, who are led by junior quarterback Jerrod Heard, the preseason favorites in District 5-4A. The district was named one of the toughest 4A leagues in the state. Lake Dallas was picked to finish third and Denton last.
The magazine has the Raiders winning District 5-5A after moving up from Class 4A, even though the Raiders lost almost all of their star players to graduation. Matt Griffin and Sekou Clark will lead Ryan’s offensive and defensive lines, respectively.
In Class 3A, Argyle is ranked sixth. The Eagles, who advanced to the Class 3A Division II state title game last season, also lost a majority of their stars. Argyle was picked to win 10-3A, while Aubrey was tabbed to finish third under new head coach Mike Segleski.
Sanger was chosen to finish third in 9-3A, while newcomer Krum was picked to finish last.
Pilot Point is picked to finish second in 5-2A (DI) with Ponder coming in last.
Liberty Christian is picked fourth in TAPPS Division I District 1. Calvary is slated for fourth in TAPPS Six-Man Division I District 2.
UNT posted a breakout season under first-year head coach Dan McCarney in 2011, finishing 5-7. The Mean Green’s five wins equaled its total from the previous two seasons combined. UNT posted a 4-4 record in Sun Belt play and finished fifth in the league, its best showing since 2004, when the Mean Green won the last of four straight conference titles.
Punter Will Atterberry was UNT’s lone first-team selection on the magazine’s All-Texas College Team. Linebacker Zach Orr and defensive lineman Brandon McCoy were second-team picks.
Pflugerville Connally’s Dajon Williams, who committed to UNT this week, was an honorable mention selection at quarterback on the magazine’s list of the top 300 recruits in the state. The top 30 quarterbacks were included in the top group. Williams was included in the subsequent group of 15.
