Coppell High School's football team is ranked as one of the top 100 in the nation by the RivalsHigh 100 list.

The Coppell Cowboys are ranked as the No. 85 high school football team in the country for the preseason — right in front of No. 86 Denton Ryan.

A big question for this season is if Coach Joe McBride's squad will have as good of a defense as last year since many of his players graduated. The team is expected to have a good defensive backfield because of players David Busby and Jacob Logan.

Jake Larson will take over as quarterback this year for Joe Minden who graduated and is now at Stephen F. Austin. Larson is 6-foot-4 and over 200 pounds, and he has a "good arm and adequate mobility," according to Rivals.

Also, the Cowboys have a very strong kicker, Nick Jordan, who is ranked as the No. 6 overall player for his position in his class by Rivals. He kicked a 65-yard field goal in 55-degree weather this spring at the Kohl's Kicking Camp.

The Cowboys ended their 2010 season with a 13-1 record and a No. 19 national ranking. The team lost by one point to Euless Trinity during the playoffs in a nail-biting game that was determined in the final seconds.