REVEALED – The cover of Dave Campbell’s 2026 Texas Football Summer Magazine

Everything is West Texas. That also includes Dave Campbell’s cover Texas football.

Dave Campbell’s Texas football on Monday unveiled the cover of its Summer 2026 issue – the 67th annual “Bible of Texas Football” – featuring the brain trust of Texas Tech’s remarkable rise to national prominence: head coach Joey McGuire, Board of Regents Chairman Cody Campbell, athletic director Kirby Hocutt, general manager James Blanchard and star linebacker Ben Roberts.

Following its first true conference championship since 1955 and its first appearance in the College Football Playoff, the Texas Tech collective appears on the cover against a neon oil field under the headline “RED RAIDER INC.: Inside The Modern College Football Machine.” This is the second time McGuire has been on the magazine’s cover, after sharing the cover with UTSA coach Jeff Traylor in 2022. It’s Texas Tech’s first solo cover since 2016, when quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Kliff Kingsbury appeared on the front page. And it’s a piece of history for Campbell and Hocutt, who became the first administrators to ever appear on the cover of the magazine.

The image was captured by Lubbock-based photographer Gabby Hutter, and the cover was conceived and designed by Lubbock-based creative agency Jackalope Creative.

“We know the power we wield in determining the cover of Dave Campbell’s Texas football” said Editor-in-Chief Greg Tepper. “This year it felt right to spotlight the people behind the most fascinating story in college football. Texas Tech’s rise from mid-major to national power has challenged assumptions about what is possible in the modern era, and no program has more boldly embraced the changing landscape of college athletics. This is a story about ambition, innovation and the pursuit of relevance at the highest level of college football, and it felt worth capturing on our cover.”

For the eleventh year in a row, the magazine has a second gatefold cover, and it is historic in many ways. Richmond Randle running back Landen Williams-Callis – the most exciting player in high school football in Texas – graces the magazine’s secondary cover after lighting the Lone Star State on fire the past two seasons. Wearing his 2024 state championship trophy and sunglasses, Williams-Callis appears under the headline “THE LEGEND BEGINS: Williams-Callis Landing.” He becomes the first solo high school football player to appear on a cover of Dave Campbell’s Texas football since Midland Lee’s Cedric Benson in 2000.

The cover was conceived and photographed by Houston-based photographer Harrison Arceneaux, with design assistance from Lubbock-based creative agency Jackalope Creative.

“The best covers tell the story of a moment in Texas football, and Landen Williams-Callis is that moment,” said editor-in-chief Greg Tepper. “He is one of those rare players whose highlights extend beyond his own community and capture the imagination of fans across the state. With ‘The Legend Begins’ we wanted to celebrate not only what he has already accomplished, but also the sense that perhaps something greater lies ahead.”

The 400-page, full-color annual covers Texas football – from high school to recruiting, to college and the pros – as only Dave Campbell’s Texas football can. In the magazine, readers will find:

• A behind-closed-doors look at how the Texas Tech football machine works – from concept to execution to excellence – and how the best is yet to come in Lubbock, written by Texas footballis Mike Craven
• An illuminating article on Richmond superstar Randle, running back Landen Williams-Callis, and how the most exciting man in Texas high school football is – for better or worse – emblematic of the modern superstar experience, written by Texas footballby Carter Yates
• The seventh annual 40 Under 40, spotlighting the best young coaches from across the state
• In-depth analysis of all 50 Texas college football teams – from multi-page previews for every FBS program to full breakdowns of FCS, Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior colleges
• Conference previews with a new look with breakdowns of the SEC, Big 12, ACC, American, Conference USA, plus the return of a Mountain West preview and – yes, really! – the inaugural Pac-12 preview.
• Individual previews for more than 1,500 Texas high school football teams
• The Preseason All-Texas College Team, honoring the top returning college players in the state
• The annual Super Teams and Top 300 rankings, highlighting the best high school players in Texas
• The all-new RISING Ultimate 50, which ranks the 50 most valuable prospects in Texas high school football, regardless of classification and position.
• The coveted Coverboy award for every high school classification

GET YOUR COPY

Would you like your copy of Texas football as quickly as possible? Become a Dave Campbell’s Texas football Insider!

• Two magazines – the Summer 2026 Edition and the 2026 Recruitment Edition (released in December) – emailed directly to you
• One year of access to our revamped streaming platform 2,000 live Texas High School events – including more than 600 live Texas High School football games and more than 150 live Texas High School playoff games
• A year of exclusive online content on TexasFootball.com, including digital archives of all 67 editions of Texas footballcomprehensive previews of every Texas High School Football team, exclusive podcasts, never-before-seen recruiting analysis, expert insights throughout the year and more

WHEN YOU CAN GET THE MAGAZINE

Subscribers will receive their magazine in mid-June. The magazine should be available on shelves across Texas in late June or early July.

MEDIA REQUESTS

For interviews with editor-in-chief Greg Tepper, contact [email protected]. To download high-resolution images of the cover, click here.

About Texas Sports by Dave Campbell

Dave Campbell’s Texas Sports is the definitive voice of Texas high school football and sports culture. As the exclusive trademark licensee of the UIL, we are a trusted institution for athletes, coaches and fans across the state. Over the next year, we will formally transition from Sports In Action to Dave Campbell’s Texas Sports, unifying our coverage of high school and college athletics under one iconic and forward-looking brand. We deliver comprehensive content across print, digital, social and streaming throughout the year through our annual publication, Dave Campbell’s Texas football and our platforms – TexasFootball.com and TexanLive.com. While the name evolves, our mission remains the same: to elevate the teams, athletes and communities that make Texas sports legendary.