© Peter Casey-Imagn Images
High school football has always held a unique sway with our country. Games played under the Friday night lights carry all sorts of regional bragging rights and have generations of history behind them. And when high schools are lucky enough, a future NFL star is born in that particular district and changes everything from 2-4 years at a time.
Here we look at the 14 most insane high school football players who later went on to become stars in the NFL. But this list is sort of handcuffed by the fact that YouTube highlight reels of high school football players are a relatively recent phenomenon, at least when compared to the long history of high school football in our nation.
14 Most Insane High School Football Players Who Became NFL Stars
So you will notice that all of the greatest high school football players listed below date back to Reggie Bush on the oldest end.
That by no means implies that there weren’t insanely great H.S. football players before Reggie it is more that the highlights don’t exist and it makes for less compelling content. What I wouldn’t give to see high school highlight reels of Bo Jackson!
1. Jadeveon Clowney: South Pointe High School, SC
Former South Carolina Gamecocks star Jadeveon Clowney was an absolute freak of an athlete in high school. His ESPN 300 recruiting score was a 95 and he was the #1 overall recruit in the class of 2011.
Growing up in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Clowney opted to stay in-state with USC after he only entertained offers from South Carolina, Alabama, and Clemson. The defensive end from South Pointe High School was simply too much for anyone else under the Friday night lights. His explosive power was unmatched and it’s often said he might be one of the handful of high school football players who could’ve made the jump to the pros without college.
One thing I love about Jadeveon Clowney’s high school football highlights, and really everyone on this list, is how you don’t need arrows or circles to show you where to watch. They are giants among children.
2. Amon-Ra St. Brown: Mater Dei High School, CA
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has been a star since he hit the league. He finished his rookie NFL season with 912 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns (most yards of a non-1st Round pick) and then went on to earn Pro Bowl selections the past 3 seasons in a row and First-team All-Pro honors in 2023 and 2023.
Before he was drafted by the Leos in the 4th round of the 2021 NFL Draft he was a USC Trojan wide receiver from 2018–2020 where he finished with 2,270 receiving yards in 3 seasons and 16 receiving touchdowns. His ENTIRE THREE YEARS IN COLLEGE barely compares to just his Senior Year at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.
During Amon-Ra St. Brown’s Senior Year of HS he had 20 touchdowns, 1,320 receiving yards, and 72 receptions. The younger brother of Equanimeous St. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown received offers from Alabama, Auburn, Cal, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, and the list goes on and on. But it was the USC Trojans who landed the 5* recruit who was ranked 35th overall in the ESPN 300 for the Class of 2018.
3. Myles Garrett: Martin High School, TX
One of the most legendary high school football recruits of all time if for no reason other than a picture where his TOWERING over everyone else on the field and looks like a grown man talking to children. But who needs a picture when we have highlights of Martin High School DE Myles Garrett pushing around players all over Texas like they were dolls?
Myles Garrett was the #4 overall high school football recruit in the class of 2014 according to the ESPN 300 that year and he ultimately signed with Texas A&M but not before he did silly, silly things for James Martin High School in Arlington.
Watching Garrett’s high school FB mixtape you can’t help but wonder how many quarterbacks quit the game forever after playing him. He has 19.5 sacks as a senior! He was also the named the best HSFB player in the Dallas metro area… The rest was history, he became the #1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, won the 2023 NFL DPOY award, is a 4x First-team All-Pro selection and 6x Pro Bowler.
4. Derrick Henry: Yulee High School, FL
Derrick Henry, the pride of Yulee, Florida which is really best known for having a Whataburger as you drive through to Amelia Island / Fernandina Beach, was truly a man amongst children when it came to high school football. There has been a stat thrown around a lot lately about Derrick Henry and his high school football days: at the start of his 10th year in the NFL, Henry still has not reached the number of rushing yards he had during 4 years in high school.
As one of his generation’s best running backs (2,027 yards in 2020!!), Derrick Henry came into the 2025-26 NFL season with 11,423 rushing yards over 9 seasons. He has 12,124 rushing yards in 4 years of high school including 153 touchdowns.
There was simply no stopping Derrick Henry during his Yulee High School Football days. Watch that highlight reel above. Opposing defenses would throw everything they had at him and he’d bowl them over like a tank knocking down a brick wall. He was truly that dude.
5. Micah Parsons: Harrisburg High School, PA
Micah Parsons was the #7 overall recruit in the 2018 class, signed with Penn State, and went on to be drafted 12th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and then win the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. He was a 5* recruit to Penn State with a 91 overall Scout Grade and really was a man amongst boys back in high school.
Parsons played high school football for Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He had offers from Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Miami, and more. As a senior at Harrisburg High School Micah Parsons had 1,239 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns as well as another 99 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. His 4.66 40-yard dash in high school was incredible for a teenager.
6. Terrelle Pryor: Jeannette High School, PA
The 4th overall recruit in the 2008 high school football recruiting class, former Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor had a ’93’ scout grade from the ESPN 300 and was the #1 ranked quarterback in the class but numbers don’t do anything to describe just how incredible he was in high school. He ran a 4.4 40-yard dash as a freshman at Jeannette High School in Pennsylvania. A 4.4 40 as a freshman!
During his high school football career, Pryor was twice named as the ‘Pennsylvania Player of the Year.’ He earned the offensive Player of the Year and the MVP of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on his way to Ohio State, and he was the first high school football player in the state of Pennsylvania to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 4,000 yards.
In his senior year he accounted for 860 points at quarterback. Let that sink in. How on God’s green earth did Penn State let him slip away to Ohio State and not keep him in Pennsylvania?! In the NFL, he was a ‘star’ mostly because he came into the NFL as a star from his Ohio State days but his NFL career never fully materialized even though he was in the league from 2011 through 2019.
7. Lamar Jackson: Boynton Beach High School, FL
Lamar Jackson was a superhuman athlete from his earliest days and is said to have been able to throw a football 20 yards by the time he was was just 8 years old. While at Boynton Beach High School in Florida, Lamar Jackson received offers to play football in college for Nebraska, Florida, Auburn, Mississippi State, Clemson, FSU, Georgia, and others but ultimately went to Louisville where he was molded into the deal threat QB he is today.
Lamar didn’t even start playing high school football until his junior year but in two years he threw the ball for 2,263 yards and 31 touchdowns and then rushed for another 1,624 yards and 22 touchdowns. ESPN had him rated as a 3* recruit while Rivals had him rated as 4* but they clearly missed the read on a once-in-a-lifetime talent.
8. Adrian Peterson: Palestine High School, TX
Adrian Peterson has always been a 1-of-1 athlete. From Palestine, Texas, both of his parents were college athletes. In high school, Peterson was a three sport athlete: football, basketball, and track and he wasn’t eligible to play football for Palestine H.S. until his junior year but made up for lost time with just two seasons of varsity football.
As a high school junior, Adrian Peterson rushed for 2,051 yards on 246 carries and 22 touchdowns. In his senior season, Peterson rushed for 2,960 yards, averaging 11.7 yards per carry, and ran the ball in for 32 touchdowns.
He was a 5* recruit by Rivals and Scout and ultimately went to Oklahoma, was a stud, got drafted 7th overall in 2007, and seems like a lock to be inducted one day into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Before all that though he was running through high schoolers like they were ants.
9. Jalen Hurts: Channelview High School, TX
Jalen Hurts played high school football for Channelview High School where his father was the coach and able to help mold him into the Super Bowl champion he is today. Hurts has always been an alien on the football field but in high school the talent gap between him and the competition was insane.
As a senior for Channelview HS in Texas, Jalen Hurts threw the ball for 2,384 yards and had 26 touchdown passes while also rushing for 1,391 yards and an additional 25 touchdowns. For those keeping score at home, that 51 touchdowns that went through Jalen his senior year alone.
In high school, Jalen Hurts was also a powerlifter and at an early age worked on building the muscular foundation that has him where he is today. He was heavily recruited to Alabama by Lane Kiffin who saw something special in Jalen who was a 4* QB with an ESPN Scout Grade of just 80, making him the 13th best QB prospect in the nation. Suffice it to say he has become Nick Saban’s best QB in the NFL after winning Super Bowl LIX and earning MVP honors.
10. Leonard Fournette: Saint Augustine High School, LA
Leonard Fournette played his high school football for Saint Augustine High School in New Orleans so LSU always seemed like a lock for him even though he received offers from FSU, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, and others. With a 95 scouting grade from ESPN back in 2014, he was the #1 overall recruit in his class and based on those highlights above it’s easy to see why.
Fournette lived up to the hype from his high school football days and then some. Before college though, Leonard Fournette had 7,619 rushing yards and 88 rushing touchdowns in high school including 2,500+ yards and 30 touchdowns as a freshman! His senior year he had 1,792 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns as well as 745 receiving yards and 6 more receiving TDs. He was a freak!
11. Kyler Murray: Allen High School, TX
Former Allen High School quarterback Kyler Murray out of Allen, Texas was destined for greatness since his HS days. Not for nothing, Allen High School has the 8th largest high school football stadium in the country and packs in 18,000+ under the Friday night lights so Kyler Murray went to college at Texas A&M fully prepared to play in front of large crowds.
In high school, Kyler Murray was the #1 quarterback recruit in the 2015 class according to ESPN, the 3rd overall recruit in the state of Texas, and the 15th overall recruit in the nation. He was named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year in 2014 and twice named Mr. Texas Football.
While he was quarterback at Allen High School, they won three straight state championships and Kyler was a perfect 43-0 during his time there as starting quarterback. However, he missed one start during his time so his undefeated streak was technically just 42-0 even though he was 43-0 as a starter. In 3 seasons, Murray had 10,386 passing yards and threw 117 touchdowns including 54 in his senior year. He also rushed for 4,139 yards and another 69 rushing TDs.
12. Reggie Bush: Helix High School, CA
Reggie Bush was somehow briefly overshadowed in high school football because against all odds, he played with Alex Smith at Helix High School in La Mesa, California and Alex went on to become a 2004 Heisman Finalist along with Reggie Bush and was then drafted #1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Reggie was at USC of course and would enter the NFL in the 2006 NFL Draft as the #2 overall pick after winning the 2005 Heisman but going back to high school football, Reggie was a 5* recruit and the #1 running back recruit in the nation according to Rivals back in 2003.
Bush had 4,995 career rushing yards in high school including 1,691 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior which was an average of 12.1 yards/carry. Incredible numbers.
13. Patrick Mahomes: Whitehouse High School, TX
It is kind of wild to think about how many former high school football players from Texas could say they once played against the future 3x Super Bowl MVP.
Despite having 4,619 passing yards, 50 touchdowns, and 940 rushing yards in his senior year, after having 3,839 passing yards and 46 touchdowns as a junior, Patrick Mahomes only had an ESPN Scouting Grade of ’78’ which is hilarious in hindsight. Whiff of the century?
Patty received offers from Oklahoma State, Rice, and Texas Tech and opted to become a Red Raider. The rest is history!
14. Trevor Lawrence: Cartersville High School, GA
Trevor Lawrence was a dual sport athlete (football and basketball) at Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Georgia. In high school, he was a 5* recruit with a 94 grade by ESPN, the #1 QB prospect and the #2 recruit overall in the country.
In 2017, Trevor set the Georgia state record for passing yards with 3904 and passing TDs with 51, breaking Deshaun Watson’s record in the process, who he would replace at Clemson. In high school, Trevor won two state championships and 4 regional titles. He finished his high school football days with 13m902 passing yards and 161 touchdowns. He only fumbled the ball once in all of high school, one time during his senior year.