School Spotlight: Longview High School (Longview, TX)

Longview High School is a 5A classification by the University Interscholastic League. The school is located just north of Interstate-20 in a town called Longview, Texas. The football powerhouse has marked themselves as one of the best programs in the East Texas area. The High School is on their 114th year as a school. The current school and Lobo Stadium was built in 1977. For the new year, “team chemistry is the first order of business”, Coach King said. Spring ball is an important time to find what the team looks like and who will start on both sides of the football. The goal every year for the Lobos is to win it all. Longview’s most recent state title came in 2018 beating West Brook High School in the state championship.

Coach John King started his coaching career in the state of Louisiana before coming to Texas to coach the Lobos in 2000. He was in charge of the offensive line and the offensive coordinator before being promoted to Head Coach in 2004. Coach Oscar Wilson is the Assistant Head Coach and running backs coach. He has been on the Longview coaching staff for 44 years. The Defensive Coordinator is Coach John Berry, he is currently on his second term at Longview. Berry made a stop at Gladewater High School before coming back to the Lobos in 2020. Coach Chris Vallery has had the keys to the great offenses for Longview since 2010. The whole coaching staff is very valuable for the team top to bottom.  

Here are some of the returners for the Lobos this upcoming season.

RB Taylor Tatum is a 6’0 205 pound returning senior for Longview this fall. A very quick kid that has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He also has the homerun speed to make big plays. He is an all-state running back from this past season. The running back broke the single season touchdown record in school history. Holds offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Texas A&M, and others.

DB Willie Nelson is a 5’10 170 pound returning senior for the Lobos. The dynamic defensive back can play both cornerback and safety at a high level. Nelson is your ball hawking defensive back that is hard to test at any given moment of the game. Nelson is currently committed to Oklahoma State.

S Daedrion “Buddha” Garrett is a 6’0 195 pound returning senior for the defense. The defensive back flies all over the field making booming tackles in open space. He will be a three year starter at Longview. Holds offers from Arkansas State, Texas State, others.

DB Chase Smith is a 5’10 190 pound speedster that is another returning senior for this loaded class at Longview. He is another ball hawking player on this defense that has sideline to sideline speed to make any tackle. Smith had over 100 tackles for the team this past season. His recruiting is starting to heat up picking up an offer from Texas Southern recently.

DL Billy Smith is 6’1 225 pound returning senior that “really goes under the radar”- Coach King. He is an explosive kid that loves to disrupt any play in the backfield. Smith was a first team all-state player this past season for the Lobos. A very valuable prospect on the defensive front for the team for this upcoming season.