​Cedar Hill defensive lineman Jalen Brewster (0) congratulates players from Waxahachie following their loss at Longhorn Stadium in Cedar Hill, Texas, October 17, 2025. Waxahachie shutout Cedar Hill, 35-0. (Tom Fox/Staff Photographer)
Cedar Hill football coach Nick Ward didn’t find out he was losing the nation’s No. 1 recruit until media reports surfaced Saturday night that five-star defensive lineman Jalen Brewster was transferring to Buford (Ga.) for his senior year.Ward still isn’t clear on the exact reason for the transfer.“We didn’t know that he transferred. His dad withdrew him without telling us,” Ward told The Dallas Morning News on Monday. “Dad said it’s nothing against the football program. We had nothing to do with it. It had something to do with some credits. Beyond that, I haven’t even found out from our counselors what really happened.”People close to the situation told the website 247Sports that an issue arose with Brewster’s academic counselors as he worked toward graduating early to enroll at Texas Tech in January. Buford is ranked No. 7 in the nation by MaxPreps this season and is coming off a 15-0 season in 2025.Brewster did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday.On Saturday, he sent a statement to the website Rivals that said, “Transferring to Buford came down to what was best for my future. This move allows me to reach my goal of graduating in December while staying on track academically and athletically. I’m grateful for my time at Cedar Hill and excited for what’s ahead at Buford.”Brewster is the fourth Dallas-area top-10 recruit who won’t be playing high school football in Texas this season. The moves raise the question of whether the University Interscholastic League should relax its transfer rules or go so far as to allow athletes either a one-time transfer without penalty or unlimited transfers.That goes against everything the UIL and Texas High School Coaches Association believe in. But the consequence is that elite recruits are getting ruled ineligible for transferring for athletic purposes, so they are leaving Texas so they will be eligible to play elsewhere. It was already a trend in basketball, as many top players have left the Lone Star State to play for prep schools across the country. The concern is that allowing athletes to play for a school outside of their attendance zone would create an uneven playing field and would lead to the development of “super teams,” with top athletes transferring to the same school to play together. Coaches say Texas would lose the community-based feel of athletics that comes from students growing up together and competing alongside each other from early in school all the way through high school.“We’re very concerned about an appetite by legislators for a transfer portal similar to what we see in college athletics, and with Governor [Greg] Abbott’s desire to create open enrollment across the state of Texas and to give