DCTF Magazine to be released soon

It’s now June, and that means that Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine will start hitting the shelves soon. The 59th edition of the 400-page publication is expected to be in stores around June 28.

DCTF most recently released their cover for 2018, and the obvious was selected.

“The 59th annual edition of ‘the bible of Texas Football’ revealed its storied cover on Tuesday featuring new Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher for its latest iconic image,” said the magazine via their website. “The headline tells the whole story: “JIMBO — The Aggies Got Their Guy. Now, The Work Begins.” It’s the first time the Aggies have made the cover of the magazine since 2013.”

The magazine will once again be in all color and will feature the following:

“1. The inside story on new Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and how he landed in College Station, by David Ubben, now of The Athletic
2. A must-read profile of Houston defensive lineman Ed Oliver, told by David Barron of the Houston Chronicle
3. A fascinating feature on a tiny Far West Texas town that was once home to the most dominant team in Texas high school football…only to give up football altogether, written by Greg Tepper
4. Individual team previews of more than 1,400 Texas high school football
5. In-depth analysis of each in-state FBS program’s 2017 team, plus coverage of Texas’ FCS, DII, DIII and JUCO teams
6. Deep-dive conference previews, including which Texas team will duke it out for Big 12 supremacy, A&M’s brawl in the SEC, North Texas’ C-USA title hopes and more
7. The Preseason All-Texas College team, honoring the top college players in the state
8. The annual Super Teams and Top 300, honoring the top recruits in the state
9. The coveted Coverboy spot for every high school classification”

Rockdale’s Jeff Miller was named the 3A coach of the year for leading his team to a state championship.

What gets the most attention is the rankings, which lets us all know who should be playing late in December. Will the Yoemen be included in 2018? Only time will tell, but while you wait, below are my (Josh Pratt’s) preseason rankings that I released earlier this year. Generally, my rankings and DCTF’s are pretty similar in terms of the teams included, with some slight difference here and there. This is somewhat of a unique year as there are a good crop of new schools (4a schools moving down) that are coming into play due to realignment.

Josh Pratt’s 3A DI Preseason Top 20 Rankings

1. Brock - 16 all-district players return from a 14-3 state finalist team.
2. Goliad - 15 all-district players return from a 11-2 state quarterfinalist team
3. Franklin - 19 all-district players return from a 10-3 regional semifinalist team
4. Edna - 8 all-district players return from a 8-5 regional semifinalist team
5. Malakoff - 9 all-district players return from a 9-2 bi-district finalist team
6. Hallettsville - 10 all-district players return from a 9-2 area finalist team
7. Diboll - 8 all-district players return from a 6-4 bi-district finalist team (4a)
8. Atlanta - 8 all-district players return from a 5-6 bi-district finalist team (4a)
9. Woodville - 14 all-district players return from a 9-2 area finalist team
10. Yoakum - 9 all-district players return from a 13-2 state semifinalist team
11. Bushland - 6 all-district players return from a 11-3 state quarterfinalist team (4a)
12. West - 6 all-district players return from a 10-3 regional semifinalist team
13. Wall - 6 all-district players return from a 12-1 regional semifinalist team
14. Whitesboro - 13 all-district players return from a 9-4 regional semifinalist team
15. Rockdale - 8 all-district players return from a 13-3 state championship team
16. Shallowater - 9 all-district players return from a 10-2 Area Finalist team
17. Jefferson - 16 all-district players return from a 10-2 area finalist team
18. Tatum - 1 all-district players return from a 3-8 bi-district finalist team (4a)
19. George West - 19 all-district players return from a 10-2 area finalist team
T20. Hitchcock - 16 all-district players return from a 7-4 area finalist team
T20. East Chambers - 15 all-district players return from a 7-4 area finalist team
T20. West Rusk - 8 all-district players return from a 10-2 regional semifinalist team
T20. Mount Vernon - 12 all-district players return from a 11-1 area finalist team
T20. Jim Ned - 15 all-district players return from a 9-3 area finalist team