Nose tackle Aaron Davis of Dawson is going to Navy. Shown with his high school coach, Eric Wells, Davis said he chose Navy because of excellent benefits and his desire to "do something honorable."

By Anna-Megan Raley
It's no surprise that players from both of the Pearland ISD high schools - Pearland and Dawson - were recruited and signed by big college football programs.

Both high school teams enjoyed playoff berths last season, and both have very talented athletes whose playing careers will now extend past high school graduation.

Two Dawson players have committed to play for Coack Kevin Sumlin at the University of Houston:

Running back Xavier Brown (5-11, 190, 4.5) helped Dawson reach the state semifinals in only his second season of varsity football. He was a second-team All-Brazoria County selection of TheFacts.com after he carried the ball 141 times for 842 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 11 for 185 yards. He's a member of the Chronicle's Houston 100 and had been given three stars by Rivals and two stars by ESPN and Scout.

Quarterback Darian Lazard (6-1, 170, 4.56) was named the Houston Chronicle All-Greater Houston First Team quarterback, district offensive MVP and an all-district player. He's a member of the Houston Chronicle and Waco Tribune Texas Top 100 teams and was named TexasPrepInsider's All-Greater Houston First Team quarterback. He completed 150 of 276 passes for 2,297 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions and carried 254 times for 1,306 yards and 19 touchdowns. He led his team to a 12-3 record and state semifinals, where it lost to eventual champion Lake Travis. He's ranked as the No. 80 player in Texas (and No. 51 athlete in nation) by Rivals, No. 120 player in Texas by Scout. He was given three stars by Rivals and ESPN and two stars by Scout.

Four other Dawson players have committments as well - nose tackle Aaron Davis (6-0, 270) to Navy, cornerback David Farris (5-10, 160) to Southern Methodist, safety Jordan Rose (5-10, 180) to Southern and offensive lineman Johnathan Preston (6-2, 270) to Southern.

Dawson has had only two seasons as a varsity program and coach Eric Wells credits hard work and good coaches for his players' success. He's proud to have six members of his first senior class moving on to the next level.

"It's probably one of the most exciting firsts we've had at Dawson," he said. "I'm excited about going over to Robertson (Stadium) to watch some of them."

As for Pearland High School, offensive lineman Ian Gray (6-8, 325) committed to play at Rice and says he's expecting good things under Owls coach David Bailiff. Gray, who also played some basketball, mentions his need to stay in Texas to be near his family and for its warm weather.

Check out a video with Gray and the rest of Rice's local recruits.

MK Bower of RiceOwls.com says Gray will require some development, but that the Owls usually redshirt offensive linemen to prepare them anyway. It's Gray's long arms and large size that appealed to Bailiff and his staff.