DeSoto QB says 16-0 season is possible; star WR talks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning

DESOTO — Monday was just the first day of practice, but DeSoto junior quarterback DJ Bailey made a bold prediction.

“I feel like we should be able to be 16-0,” Bailey said. “This team is capable of being great. We’ve got a lot of leaders on our team.”

Bailey isn’t the only one who thinks DeSoto can win its first state title since 2016.

“If the dominoes fall right and we go Division II, I definitely feel like we can win it,” said four-star senior receiver Johntay Cook II, who is committed to Texas. “The talent at DeSoto is scary.”

When new DeSoto four-star running back Tre Wisner was asked if this team can win state, he was just as confident as his teammates.

“Yes sir. For sure,” he said. “We’ve got one of the scariest duos from the running back to the wide receiver with me and Johntay,” he said.

After losing to Duncanville in the Class 6A Division I Region II final the last two years, the chances of DeSoto being in the Division II playoff bracket will depend on if Waxahachie or Skyline make the playoffs. DeSoto has the fourth-largest enrollment in District 11-6A, behind Duncanville, Waxahachie and Skyline, and Duncanville expected to be a powerhouse as usual and to claim one of the two Division I playoff berths.

Could this be the year that DeSoto beats Duncanville for the first time since 2016? DeSoto has six of the Dallas area’s top 100 recruits, a group led by Cook — the top-ranked wide receiver in the state — and Wisner, a transfer from Waco Connally who is committed to Texas.

“I feel like we can always beat Duncanville. It’s just how we come out on that Friday night whenever we play them,” Cook said.

Cook had a couple of spectacular catches early in practice, leaping high to catch a bullet from Bailey that took Cook just out of bounds past the end zone and then hauling in a long pass down the sideline. He had high praise for Bailey, who missed much of last season with a broken left hand but was making 40-yard throws look effortless Monday.

“I honestly feel like I have the best quarterback in the state. DJ is legit,” Cook said.

Bailey said he is fully healthy and is focused on one thing.

“The only thing I’m worried about is being a leader,” he said. “I’m trying to get these guys to be a state championship team.”

Greatness awaits at UT: Once he gets to Texas next year, Cook is excited about the chance to play with two quarterbacks who were ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the nation in their recruiting class.

Former Southlake Carroll star Quinn Ewers is already at UT after skipping his senior year of high school, spending one year at Ohio State and then transferring to Texas. He was given the highest recruiting score possible — 1.0000 — by 247Sports coming out of high school.

Five-star quarterback Arch Manning from Isidore Newman High School in Louisiana is the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2023 and has committed to Texas. The nephew of Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning has the second-highest recruiting score possible, 0.9999.

“That’s a blessing to get to play with two of the best high school quarterbacks ever,” Cook said. “My dad tells me all the time I’m probably not going to have to do anything besides catch the ball, because the ball placement is going to be so great.”

Waiting on DEC clearance: DeSoto coach Claude Mathis expects Cedric Harden Jr. to be used at wide receiver and to play some quarterback for DeSoto after transferring from Cedar Hill. But Harden, who started at quarterback for Cedar Hill last year, first must be declared eligible.

“He’s still got to be cleared by the DEC (district executive committee),” Mathis said. “I don’t see any issues with that. He’s here. He lives in DeSoto, so there should be no problems.”

Harden is rated the 92nd-best recruit in the Dallas area in the Class of 2023.

On Twitter: @DMNGregRiddle

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