Players from Texas in Monday’s Ohio State-Notre Dame CFP National Championship Game

SAN ANTONIO – Nearly a week and a half ago, the Texas Longhorns were on the verge of making the College Football Playoff National Championship Game a Lone Star-studded affair.

The Horns, however, did not take advantage of a partisan crowd at the Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas, against the Ohio State Buckeyes, one of the best college football teams NIL money could buy.

While this year’s Ohio State-Notre Dame title game is between two Midwestern stalwarts, take heart: both teams have Texans who have made lasting impacts on their 2024 seasons.

Let’s dive into the Texas natives who could be national champions on Monday night.

Ohio State

Freshman long snapper Morrow Evans (Bellaire, Texas/Episcopal High School)

Listed on the Buckeyes roster as a preferred walk-on, Morrow Evans is one of four long snappers on the team.

Don’t get it twisted, though. Evans is not just any long snapper.

He was selected to compete in the 2024 All-American Bowl here in San Antonio.

Junior kicker Jayden Fielding (League City, Texas/IMG Academy)

Jayden Fielding hasn’t had his number called often this season at Ohio State, the eighth-highest scoring offense in the country.

While he has only made 11 of 15 field goal attempts, Fielding has connected on all 69 of his extra point tries.

Considering the Buckeyes' defensive-minded opponent, the national championship could hinge on Fielding’s foot.

Senior offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (Cypress, Texas/Episcopal High School)

Donovan Jackson would probably want nothing more than to end his college career on top of the college football universe.

Jackson, a three-year starter on the Buckeyes' offensive line, had the difficulty duty of moving from a guard position to left tackle early in the season.

Jackson was also high school teammates with current teammate Morrow Evans, who had nothing but nice things to say about him before joining Jackson in Columbus, Ohio.

Freshman running back James Peoples (San Antonio, Texas/Veterans Memorial High School)

James Peoples will be the only San Antonio native on either sideline for Monday night’s game.

In 2022, Peoples ran for over 2,000 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns for the Veterans Memorial Patriots. During his senior season in 2023, injuries held Peoples to just seven games on the field, but he still ran for 1,374 yards and 16 more touchdowns.

The freshman is a part of one of the most prolific running back rooms in America. Peoples' 197 rushing yards is third-best on the team behind TreVeyon Henderson (967 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns) and Quinshon Judkins (960 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns).

Freshman linebacker Payton Pierce (Lucas, Texas/Lovejoy High School)

Pierce has played sparingly on defense in 2024, but he had a decorated high school career at Lovejoy High School.

He racked up 181 tackles during his 14-game senior season, including an eye-popping 40 tackles for loss.

Sophomore cornerback Calvin Simpson-Hunt (Waxahachie, Texas/Waxahachie High School)

As a freshman, Calvin Simpson-Hunt saw time as a special team player when the Buckeyes made an unexpected trip back to North Texas for last year’s Cotton Bowl Classic.

Simpson-Hunt is also part of a unique bit of trivia during this year’s 12-team playoff.

His alma mater, Waxahachie High School, boasted three players who were on teams that qualified for the College Football Playoff: Simpson-Hunt, Arizona State’s Keith Abney II and SMU’s Jaelyn Davis.

All three of them also happen to be cornerbacks.

Notre Dame

Sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (Austin, Texas/Westlake High School)

Comparing Ohio State’s passing game to Notre Dame’s passing game is a nonstarter. Entering Monday’s game, the Buckeyes' passing attack is simply better. One thousand and sixty-two yards better, to be exact.

However, when Notre Dame needed a big play late to keep pace with Penn State in the College Football Playoff National Semifinal Game, quarterback Riley Leonard turned to the sophomore from Austin.

While Greathouse is the Fighting Irish’s top receiver at 464 receiving yards, his clutch touchdown in the Orange Bowl was only his second receiving touchdown of the season.

Freshman cornerback Leonard Moore (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock High School)

Notre Dame appears to have another good one out of Central Texas.

Moore has burst onto the scene and become one of the top defensive backs in the country. Five media organizations, including ESPN and The Athletic, have named Moore as a first-team freshman All-American.

In an ironic twist, University of Texas at Austin professor Dr. Leonard Moore, who is Moore’s father, received his PhD from Ohio State, but his father’s allegiance won’t likely be with his alma mater on Monday night.

Junior running back Jadarian Price (Denison, Texas/Denison High School)

Don’t sleep on Jadarian Price.

Leonard and starter Jeremiyah Love account for much of the attention and nearly 2,000 yards on the ground this season (1,988), but Price is no slouch, either.

The junior has 733 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 6.3 yards per carry.

Sophomore wide receiver KK Smith (Frisco, Texas/Reedy High School)

Smith, whose birth name is Kaleb but his friends call him “KK,” played in six regular season games this season after injuries kept him out of action as a freshman.

Smith reportedly injured his clavicle during a practice in November that has also limited his availability for the rest of this season.

Freshman defensive lineman Loghan Thomas (originally from Ohio but also lived in Katy, Texas/Paetow High School)

Thomas has done a lot of moving around in recent years.

The Ohio native moved down to Katy and spent three productive years playing at Paetow High School. His time in the Greater Houston area also included capturing a UIL Class 5A Division I state title at Paetow in 2021.

Thomas transferred back to Ohio to play his senior season at St. Edward High School, which is in Lakewood.

Thomas then helped St. Edward, where he was teammates with current Ohio State offensive linemen/brothers Deontae Armstrong and Devontae Armstrong, to its own state title in 2023.

Now Thomas is in South Bend, Indiana, with a chance at capturing college football’s biggest prize.

Freshman running back Kedren Young (Lufkin, Texas/Lufkin High School)

The insanely-deep running back corps at Notre Dame also includes Kedren Young, a Lufkin native.

Young, who has run for just 116 yards and a touchdown this season, was also James Peoples' teammate on the East Team at last year’s All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

Kickoff between Ohio State and Notre Dame for the CFP National Championship Game is set for 6:30 p.m. central on Monday from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia and will be televised on ESPN.