WACO, Texas – On Saturday, nine Texas high school football legends were inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame at Baylor’s Hurd Welcome Center.
Headlining the Class of 2025 were Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, former Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, and UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor — each celebrated for their immense contributions to Texas high school football.
Mahomes, a native of Whitehouse, was honored for his spectacular high school career at Whitehouse High School, where he graduated in 2014.
During his time there, Mahomes amassed over 8,000 passing yards and 90 touchdowns, earning his place as the first player from the 2010s to be inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.
It just so happened that during Traylor’s transformative 15-year tenure at Gilmer High School, his hometown program, Traylor often opposed Mahomes and Whitehouse.
The induction ceremony brought renewed attention to the heated matchups between Traylor’s Gilmer Buckeyes and Mahomes’ Whitehouse Wildcats, particularly during Mahomes’ high school years from 2013 to 2014.
“Yeah, it was not good,” Traylor said. “Gilmer played Whitehouse —(Mahomes) junior year and his senior year. I thought I was going to retire at Gilmer and never see Patrick ever again — and then Charlie Strong hired me the University of Texas — and lo and behold, Patrick is starting quarterback at Texas Tech. Huge fan forever.”
Traylor turned Gilmer into a Texas high school football powerhouse, leading the team to three state championships and achieving an impressive 87% win rate across 201 games.
“Obviously, I was there when they were state championships at Gilmer,” said Mahomes. “It wasn’t too easy for me either. I always have had so much respect for Coach Traylor, not only at Gilmer, but what he’s done at UTSA. One of my buddies I played with at Texas Tech actually is coaching with (Traylor) at UTSA.
“Before every game, we’re always in the QB room and always make sure I still see how UTSA is doing — when Frank Harris was quarterback there, and they were lighting it up, it was fun to watch.”
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