Meet our THSCA Hall of Honor Class of 2025

The 2025 THSCA Hall of Honor Banquet, presented by Balfour, will be Saturday, July 19, 2025 in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Stars at Night Ballroom in San Antonio, Texas. Ticket info available at www.thsca.com/hoh

DON BROOKS

Donald Fain Brooks was born on October 8, 1941, in Crescent, Oklahoma. He attended college at Northwest Oklahoma in Alva and received his Master’s Degree from UTEP. Don was the only member of his family to graduate college, an accomplishment he attributed to his participation in athletics. He started his football coaching career as the head coach at Crescent and Fairview, Oklahoma. Don moved to El Paso in 1969, where he started coaching at Morehead Middle School. He was promoted to Coronado High School in 1974, where he coached under Jack Quarles. In 1977, he became the head football coach, a position he served in for 35 years; winning 229 games during his career including multiple district titles and playoff games. Coach was inducted into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame, West Texas Hall of Fame, Golden T-Bird Hall of Fame, and Top O’ Texas Hall of Fame. He coached in the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game, the inaugural Texas vs. the Nation College All-Star Game, and was the head coach for the Blue Thunder team in the Greater El Paso Football Senior All-Star game. In 2015, Quarles Stadium at Coronado was renamed Quarles-Brooks Stadium, and Coach was given the Key to the City. His coaching experience inspired his son, Scott, to follow into his footsteps. Scott is the Head Football Coach at Canutillo High School. For five years, they were able to go head to head in the “Brooks Bowl” as competing rivalries for the Father/Son title in El Paso. In 2020, ex-football players came together to honor and create the Coach Don Brooks Scholarship Fund. The fund serves to provide ongoing scholastic support to a worthy Coronado football letterman who is going on to college. Scholarships are awarded annually by a selected committee of Ex-Coronado High graduates all of whom played under Coach Brooks and admire him for the positive impacts he has made on each of their lives (https://epcf.org/donbrooks).

Coach was active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was a longtime member of First Baptist Church El Paso. His interests outside of football included attending his children and grandchildren’s activities and games, breeding and raising American Quarter Horses, tending to his yard, and making time for his bulldog Zeus.

Coach Brooks passed away on April 30, 2021. He was a dedicated family man. Don was married to Ellen for 46 years. He is survived by his five children; Scott Brooks (Karen), Shannon Brooks, Kendra Bradley (Charlie), Kara Bills (Matthew), and Kassie Hathorn (Geoff). Don also leaves behind his grandchildren Shaun Hinson, Jordan Martin (Dave), Tyler Brooks (Kelsey), Bo Brooks, Berkley Bradley, Bray Bradley, Barrett Bradley, Logan Hathorn, Henry Cooper Hathorn, and his great grandchildren Bailey Brooks, Samuel Brooks, Ryder Martin and Arlo Martin.

BRAD DAVIS

Brad Davis has been a Texas High School Football Coach for 37 years. Coach Davis started his career in 1986 working for his dad at Frenship ISD. He started as a middle school coach and was promoted to Varsity QB’s Coach in 1989. Brad went on to serve as Frenship’s Offensive Coordinator from 1999-2005, then as Athletic Director and Head Football Coach from 2006-2017. As Frenship’s Head Coach, the Tigers won 80% of their games, with six undefeated District Championships, and eight overall District Championships.

Frenship teams played in the State Semifinals in 2000, 2005, and 2006; the State Quarterfinals in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2012; and the Regional Semifinals in 1999, 2011, and 2013. Brad’s Frenship coaching honors include eight-time “District Coach of the Year”, seven-time “City Coach of the Year”, and seven-time “South Plains Coach of the Year.” In 2009, he was named “Man of the Year” by The Wolfforth Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture; and the Texas Tech Chapter of the National Football Foundation selected him as “Coach of the Year” in 2012 and presented him with the “Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football” Award in April, 2025.

After leaving Frenship in 2017, Coach Davis was hired by Grandview High School as Athletic Director and Head Football Coach. In his first year at Grandview the Zebras won 12 games and advanced to the Class 3A State Quarterfinals. The following year they won the 2018 Class 3A Division 1 State Championship with a record of 14-2. It was Grandview’s first State Title in its 109-year history. Coach Davis was named “District Coach of the Year” and “Johnson County Coach of the Year” both football seasons, and The Harris Ratings awarded him with the Class 3A “Statewide Coach of the Year” after the 2018 State Championship season.

Brad served on the THSCA Board of Directors from 2005-2008 where he was chairman of the Board Policy Committee and later chaired the Football Advisory Committee from 2010-2013. He helped coach the North All-Star Football Team at the 2005 Annual Coaching School Convention in San Antonio, the 2006 ASCO West Texas All-Star Classic in Lubbock, and the South All-Stars at the 2008 Under Armour High School All-America game in Orlando, Florida.

Brad and his wife, Jamie, a retired elementary teacher, have been married 33 years and have two children. Their son, Clay, works as an Account Manager for the Athletic Department at Penn State University. Their daughter, Rachel, will graduate from Physician Assistant School in a few weeks and will be getting married in September.

Brad is joining his father, Bobby Davis, as a member of the THSCA Hall of Honor. Bobby, a longtime and legendary Texas High School Football Coach and leading voice of the Texas High School Coaches Association, was inducted in 1999.

JEFF TRAYLOR

A 1986 graduate of Gilmer High School, Traylor earned both undergraduate (1990) and graduate (2002) degrees in education from Stephen F. Austin while playing football as a walk-on.

Traylor began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Big Sandy HS in 1990-93 before a seven-year stint (1994-2000) at Jacksonville HS. In 2001, Traylor was selected to return to his alma mater, Gilmer HS, as the head coach. Traylor built his hometown program into a prep powerhouse during his 15-year tenure leading the Gilmer Buckeyes.

A four-time Texas High School Coach of the Year, he posted a 175-26 record and led Gilmer to five state championship game appearances, three state titles and 12 district crowns. The Buckeyes turned in a pair of perfect 16-0 seasons, won 10-or-more games 11 times, and registered seven 13-win seasons and three 15-win campaigns during his career.

In 2014, his undefeated Class 4A Division II state championship team boasted one of the most prolific offenses in Texas prep history. Gilmer scored 950 points, the second-most at that time in state history, averaging 59.4 points and 536.1 yards over the 16game season. The defense was equally dominant, allowing only 276 points with five single-digit efforts and two shutouts. Gilmer’s two other state titles under Traylor both came in Class 3A in 2004 (Division II) and 2009 (Division I), before the change in class structure in Texas high school football moved the school into Class 4A. After 15 years on its sidelines, Gilmer renamed Buckeye Stadium to Jeff Traylor Stadium to honor his successful career.

Inducted into the East Texas Coaches Association Hall of Honor in 2019, Traylor received numerous honors during his prep coaching career, including being named Coach of the Decade by the Tyler Morning Telegraph. He is a 12-time District Coach of the Year, four-time East Texas Coach of the Year, and a four-time Ted Jeffries Award winner. He has received the Carl Padilla Coach of the Year, KYKX Coach of the Year, and Old Coach Network Coach of the Year awards twice each. He is being inducted into both the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) Hall of Honor and the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 2025.

In 2015, Traylor moved to the college ranks, taking a position with the University of Texas as the special teams coordinator/tight ends coach. After two seasons with the Longhorns, he completed assistant head coaching stints with both SMU and Arkansas, before being named head coach at the University of Texas – San Antonio in December of 2019.

Traylor has turned around the UTSA football program by instilling his 210 Triangle of Toughness culture, which has led to positive results on and off the field. The Gilmer, Texas, native has led the Roadrunners to a 46-20 record in his first five years at the helm, the most wins and best winning percentage (.697) by a coach in program history. Under his watch, UTSA has recorded the most wins (46) among FBS teams from the state of Texas since 2020.

During the Traylor era, UTSA has captured a pair of conference championships, earned five straight bowl berths with back-to-back bowl wins and made a combined 23 appearances in the three major national polls. He has coached nine All-Americans, three national award finalists, 91 all-conference selections and a pair of NFL Draft picks. He has received two Conference USA Coach of the Year honors and has been a finalist for several national Coach the Year awards. He has been named AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year, San Antonio Sportsman of the Year, and Scout.com Big 12 Recruiter of the Year.

Traylor has more than 30 years of coaching experience, and takes great pride in his Texas high school coaching roots and his continued ties to THSCA coaches across the state. Coach Traylor and his wife, Cari, have three children: Jordan, Jacob and Jaci.

STEVE WARREN

Coach Warren was born in Abilene, Texas in 1961 to Lela and Jim Warren, both students at McMurry University at the time. He was born into what turned out to be a family of teachers and coaches. The day after Steve was born, his Dad took him to a track meet at ACU, and from then on sports was a big part of his life.

Steve graduated from Lockney High School in 1980 and was a multi sport letterman in football, basketball, track and golf. His dad, Jim Warren, was the head coach; and Steve played for him throughout his high school career. "One of my highlights of my high school sports career was playing for my dad. I had pretty much grown up in the fieldhouse and couldn't wait to play for my dad, those were some special times." My mom was a high school English teacher, and was right in the middle of everything me and my brothers participated in no matter what it was. My dad was a member of the THSCA Board of Directors from 1973-75. The THSCA was important to our family and will always be. My youngest brother, Doug, was elected to the THSCA Board as well.

After high school, Steve walked on at Angelo State and was on the football team for the next three years. In 1982, he was offered the opportunity to start coaching in a graduate assistant role and was excited to get his coaching career started. After two years as a defensive assistant at Angelo, Coach Warren had the opportunity to follow one of his coaches from Angelo, Mark Saunders, to Grapevine High School, where he coached the defensive backs and also track for two years. Tom Ritchey was headed to Sweetwater and asked Warren to come as his receivers coach as well as his head track coach. After only one year, Steve had the opportunity to be a head coach at Wall High School and was excited to be in that role at the early age of 24. Two years later, he left to become the defensive coordinator for Coach Flint Risen and the Rockwall Yellowjackets. His life changed forever as his son, Stephen, was born while he was coaching in Rockwall. Three years later and a lot of learning and success, Steve was able to return to West Texas as the head coach at Rotan High School.

Two seasons later, Gary Gaines called, and wanted Coach Warren to come to Abilene High School as his defensive coordinator, where he spent two seasons in that role before being promoted to the head coaching position in the summer of 1994. Warren spent the next 19 years as the head coach of the Abilene Eagles and retired in 2015. While at Abilene High, the Eagles made the playoffs in 1999 for the 1st time in 40 years and made the playoffs 16 times with nine District Championships, a trip to the Semis in 2007, and a State Championship in 2009.

The district championship in 2008 was extra special, as his son, Stephen, was the team's quarterback.

Coach Warren retired as the winningst coach in The Little Southwest Conference History, with an overall record at Abilene High of 175-68. Highlights of his career have included multiple Coach of the Year honors, serving on the THSCA All-Star Selection Committee, coaching the THSCA North All-Star team in 2011, and serving on the THSCA Board of Directors. Coach Warren was elected President of the THSCA for 2013-2014. He was also inducted into the Big Country Hall of Fame in 2019. His overall Coaching Record 190-87.

Coach Warren has two younger brothers: Russ, who works as the WAC Conference Sr Assoc. Commissioner, and Doug, the highly successful head coach of the Wimberley High School Texans. He calls them the two most supportive brothers a brother could have!

Steve has been married to Pam for six years and they enjoy following their nine grandchildren. Family means everything to them!

RODNEY WEBB

Coach Rodney Webb’s coaching career has spanned 36 years, the past 23 years as a Texas High School Head Football Coach and Athletic Director. Coach Webb has a career head coaching record of 179-91, and a playoff record of 33-19. He has led four different programs to the Regional Finals, and three to the State Semifinals.

He is currently entering his third year as the Head Football Coach and Campus Athletic Director at Rockwall-Heath High School. He spent the previous year as the Director of Athletics for the Highland Park ISD. Prior to that, he spent two years at the helm of the Denton Guyer football program, leading the Wildcats to the Class 6A State Finals and a 14-2 record in 2021. The Wildcats went 11-3 in 2020, reaching the 6A State Semifinals. Prior to taking over at Guyer, Coach Webb spent seven seasons as Head Football Coach at Rockwall High School. In his tenure at Rockwall, the Yellowjackets went 60-29. They won more playoff games than in any other seven-year span in over 100 years of Rockwall football, advancing to the Area round or further in each of Webb’s seven seasons, including a run to the 6A State Semifinals in 2019.

He spent the previous five years as the Head Football Coach at Mesquite Horn High School, where he guided the Jaguars to the playoffs every year of his tenure, reaching the State Quarterfinals in 2010. Prior to coming to Horn, Coach Webb served as Head Football Coach and Athletic Director in Royse City for five years, from 2003-2007. During that time, Bulldog Football went 44-16, with trips to the State Semifinals (2004) and State Quarterfinals (2004, 2006).

Coach Webb has had the privilege of coaching seven players who have advanced their careers to the NFL, and he has coached 27 kids who have gone into coaching either at the high school or collegiate level.

Coach Webb played football at Tarleton State University, where he earned All-American and Team MVP honors in 1989. He was inducted into the Tarleton Hall of Fame in 2007. He is a 1986 graduate of North Garland High School. He was also recently inducted into both the Garland Sports Hall of Fame and the Royse City Athletics Hall of Fame.

While at Tarleton, he met and married his wife of 33 years, Fran, who has recently retired from public education. They have one daughter, Dr. Gracy Webb, who is a licensed Physical Therapist currently residing in Waco.

For the past 14 years, Coach Webb has been deeply involved in the Texas High School Coaches’ Association. He served as the President of the THSCA from 2019-2021; the only THSCA President to have served for a span of three terms.

Want to read the entire March 2025 issue of Texas Coach magazine? https://issuu.com/thscacoaches/docs/texas_coach_-_march_2025_-_volume_lxix_no._7?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ