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Transfers Kelden Ryan, Legend Howell dueling for starting QB job at state champion DeSoto

Ryan, a Virginia Tech pledge, accounted for nearly 3,000 yards of total offense at Fort Worth All Saints last year.

DESOTO — With less than three weeks to go before it opens the season at home against Georgia Class 5A state runner-up Creekside on Aug. 31, DeSoto hasn’t decided on a starting quarterback, coach Claude Mathis said Monday.

The two players competing for that job — three-star Virginia Tech pledge Kelden Ryan and junior Legend Howell — said that the competition is only making them better after both transferred from private schools to back-to-back UIL Class 6A Division II state champion DeSoto.

“It’s great,” said Ryan, who played at Fort Worth All Saints as a junior after spending his first two years of high school at Keller Central. “He is really talented, he is a great quarterback, a great guy. We’ve been pushing each other ever since we got here to be the best quarterbacks we can both be.”

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As DeSoto opened practice Monday night, Ryan comes in with the higher pedigree, rated the third-best quarterback in the Dallas area and the 54th-best QB in the nation in the Class of 2025 after he accounted for 31 touchdowns and 2,896 yards of total offense for All Saints in 2023. He considers himself a passer first, but he showed last season that he’s a superb runner by rushing for 786 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

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Howell, a transfer from Bishop Lynch who doesn’t have an offer yet, has a similar skill set and said his strengths are “being able to stay in the pocket, and I need to, I can take off.” He played on the varsity as a freshman at Bishop Lynch and has thrown for nearly 3,000 yards in his first two years of high school.

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“I believe both bring a smart IQ,” said DeSoto four-star running back Deondrae “Tiger” Riden Jr., who is committed to Texas A&M. “They’re smart players and make smart plays, smart throws.”

After averaging 53.4 points per game last year, DeSoto has to replace first-team all-area quarterback DJ Bailey, a Sam Houston State signee who threw for 3,304 yards and 44 touchdowns as a senior to lead DeSoto to a 15-0 record and No. 5 national ranking (per MaxPreps). But DeSoto’s offense may be even better now that Riden said he is fully healthy after an injury plagued junior year that saw him run for 1,023 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 7.5 yards per carry.

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“We’re going to be an explosive offense like every other year, but I believe this year I see something that’s different,” Riden said. “I see speed, power.”

DeSoto also returns first-team all-area wide receiver Daylon Singleton, a four-star SMU pledge who was a MaxPreps second-team junior All-American and had 56 receptions for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. Ethan “Boobie” Feaster, a freshman All-American at wide receiver last year, is one of the most heavily recruited players in the nation with 45 offers — a list that includes defending national champion Michigan and 2021 and 2022 national champion Georgia.

And then there is Syracuse pledge Byron Washington, who is listed at 6-8, 380 pounds and is one of the most overpowering offensive linemen in the state. During one drill Monday, Washington drove the player across from him several yards down the field.

DeSoto will be trying to become the fifth Dallas-area football team to win at least three consecutive state titles, with Celina, Southlake Carroll, Highland Park and Allen on that list already. Ryan, Howell, Riden and star outside linebacker Keylan Abrams said they are all glad DeSoto decided to remain in 6A instead of moving down to 5A Division I, where its shrinking enrollment fell for February’s realignment.

“We want to play the best of the best,” Ryan said. “We want to have the best competition, leave no doubt and just stay hungry.”

Abrams, named a MaxPreps preseason first-team All-American on Monday, is coming off a monstrous junior season in which he set a school record with 23.5 sacks. The TCU pledge has lofty goals for his senior year, including another 20-sack season.

“I want to be the same person I was last year, but even better,” he said. “We’re ready to go back for a three-peat.”

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