Houston Impact Seniors for 2025: Defensive Backs

Nothing says powerhouse programs quite like HTX. While the area produces talent across the field, it's a consistent point that Houston might just be the DBU region of high school football. Every year, Houston area schools empty out their secondaries into Power 4 programs. The 2026 class will look to continue said trend, led by these impact seniors.    Kam Chancellor is the first name that comes to mind when watching Calicut's film. With a long frame, high motor, and great instincts, he is the definition of a star-level strong safety at the high school level. Chace excels at getting downhill in a hurry and firing out of his hips to lay the hammer on ball carriers. He also maintains a sudden but collected ability to strafe and make tackles in space. Additionally, Calicut is solid in man coverage, displaying the strength to knock wideouts off their routes and the vertical speed to recover and defend deep balls. The rising North Shore standout looks ready to contribute on a college field already, as he will choose between Texas, Georgia, and Michigan for his next chapter.      Harmon is a true man-up corner out of Conroe with great twitch and the ability to flip his hips and run at the line of scrimmage. He also demonstrates polished footwork and strong use of the hands to keep defenders outside of him. Harmon does a stellar job of tracking the balls and using his length to knock passes away. A slim but lengthy CB, Harmon plays physical and instinctive at the line and over the middle of the field. He demonstrates patience and technique in the run game as well, constantly shedding blocks to make tackles in the second level. Xavier utilized these attributes to lead the district in pass breakups. Expect steady improvement across the field, and many of those PBUs to turn into INTs in 2025. Harmon recently committed to the Stanford Cardinal.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/XavierHarmon24/status/1868817275681452153 </div></figure>     A dynamite stick in the secondary, Vaughn is a versatile and twitchy ball hawk of a DB who flies around the field on all downs. He demonstrates remarkable ball skills, which helped him account for three interceptions in 2024. He also displays good sideline-to-sideline agility, along with great (10.8 100m) top-end speed. Vaughn may project as a nickel at the next level due to his ability to lock down the creases and get downhill to pick passes off. One thing for sure is that Jaden will expect an elite senior season and to continue to grow into his frame. Vaughn's offers will continue to build upon a list that already includes Northwestern, Utah, and Wyoming.      McMillian is a missile in the secondary, using his blazing 4.4 speed to constantly blow up plays around the line of scrimmage. The instinctive corner flips his hips like a college vet, allowing him to make plays over the middle of the field and run with receivers on deep balls. While QBs definitely shouldn't test McMillian's coverage skills, his greatest strength is his ability to accelerate, break down, and then eject out of his hips, completing tackles with such little wasted movement. The rising senior plays up on you in the pass and run game, putting a hand to a hip or striking chest pads. The national powerhouse Katy Tigers hope McMillian will help lead them to a title in 2025. He currently holds offers from 20+ schools, which include Arkansas, TCU, and Kentucky.      Stewart is a long safety with a ton of range, quick hips, and great athleticism. He is extremely fluid in his backpedaling and change of direction at the top of the secondary. Stewart displays the ability to change direction, put his foot in the ground, and get downhill with minimal wasted movement. His short-area quickness combined with his polished tackling ability make him an extremely desirable free safety at the next level. Carter also possesses the ability to play the ball in the deep part of the field. His man coverage will only get better with raw abilities and athleticism. I expect the recent Utah commit to be one of the national faces of the safety position in 2025.

Nothing says powerhouse programs quite like HTX. While the area produces talent across the field, it's a consistent point that Houston might just be the DBU region of high school football. Every year, Houston area schools empty out their secondaries into Power 4 programs. The 2026 class will look to continue said trend, led by these impact seniors.