While the Cowboys aren’t playing in this year’s Super Bowl, the Dallas area will still have plenty of representation on the NFL’s biggest stage.
The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks feature various former D-FW high school standouts on their rosters. On conference championship weekend, Rockwall’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba and The Colony’s Christian Gonzalez made big plays to help their teams punch their Super Bowl tickets.
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Below, we’ll look back at the high school careers of NFL players suiting up in Super Bowl LX:
New England Patriots
CB Charles Woods, Kimball
High School Sports
Charles Woods played all over the field at Kimball in 2017, but was primarily a defensive back/receiver. He recorded 453 receiving yards as a senior. He also took snaps at quarterback, throwing 22 passes.
CB Christian Gonzalez, The Colony
Christian Gonzalez was a two-way athlete at The Colony in 2019, lining up at receiver and defensive back. Offensively, he registered over 1,000 career yards and 14 touchdowns while recording 46 tackles and three interceptions.
S Craig Woodson, South Grand Prairie
Craig Woodson was named a unanimous all-district selection as a senior, recording 96 tackles and two interceptions. He also had two blocked field goals and scored four touchdowns.
S Kobee Minor, Lake Dallas
Kobee Minor was a former first-team all-district selection at Lake Dallas, where he earned a three-star rating as a recruit in the Class of 2020. He recorded 97 tackles in his junior season and posted nine total interceptions throughout high school.
DL Milton Williams, Crowley
Milton Williams registered over 300 tackles, 22 sacks and four touchdowns at Crowley before enrolling at Louisiana Tech. Williams was underrecruited out of high school, with his only other offers coming from Tulsa, New Mexico and Stephen F. Austin.
Seattle Seahawks
DL Byron Murphy II, DeSoto
Byron Murphy II was an all-state defensive lineman at D-FW powerhouse DeSoto and played varsity all four years in high school. As a senior, he recorded 79 tackles and 14 sacks when he emerged as a four-star prospect in 2019.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rockwall
Alongside Frisco Lone Star’s Marvin Mims Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba had one of the best seasons for a receiver in Texas high school football history in 2019. He ended the year with 2,094 yards receiving and 35 touchdowns at Rockwall. He finished his high school career second all-time in receiving yards, falling just 21 yards shy of record-holder Jordan Shipley.
CB Riq Woolen, Fort Worth Arlington Heights
Tariq Woolen played receiver in high school at Fort Worth Arlington Heights. As a senior, he recorded 536 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2016 and was named first-team all-district before transitioning to defensive back during his sophomore year of college at UTSA.
Honorable Mention:
TE Elijah Arroyo, Frisco Independence (Injured)
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.