All roads lead to Fort Worth, and in 2023, to the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football.

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football revealed the cover of its 2023 summer edition on Monday — the 64th annual “Bible of Texas Football” — featuring TCU coach Sonny Dykes.

Fresh off a run to the College Football Playoff national championship, Dykes appears on the cover under the headline “SON RISE: TCU's Sonny Dykes takes his place in the spotlight.” It's the first time since 2012 that TCU has been featured in the main cover image, when Dykes' predecessor Gary Patterson earned the spot. It's also a unique bit of family history — Dykes joins his father, 1990 coverboy Spike Dykes, as the only father-son duo to ever appear on the prestigious cover.

The image was shot by Dallas-based photographer Zerb Mellish, shooting his first summer edition cover.

"Putting together the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football is a privilege and a burden, because you've got to get it right,' managing editor Greg Tepper said. "Our number one goal is to capture the most compelling story in the state that year. And what is more compelling than the meteoric rise of TCU under still-very-new coach Sonny Dykes? A dyed-in-the-wool Texan, stepping out of the shadows of coaching legends to become the first to lead a Texas team to the CFP national championship? That's cover worthy, without a doubt."

For the eighth straight year, the magazine features a second “gatefold” cover, and this one feels like a long time coming — Duncanville coach Reginald Samples, the 8th-winningest  coach in Texas high school football history and the godfather of Black coaches, graces the secondary cover after finally capturing that elusive state championship. The enigmatic, revered and often polarizing Samples appears under the headline of "AT LAST: The rise, fall and rise of Reginald Samples." The image was shot by Gunter-based photographer Becca Egger, shooting her second summer edition cover.

"There are few characters in Texas high school football as compelling as Reginald Samples," Tepper said. "The wins are only part of the story. From his repeated heartbreaks and near-misses at that elusive state championship, to his polarizing place in the Texas high school football world, to his influence on Black coaches across the Lone Star State, his long-awaited ascent to the mountaintop is an opportunity to tell his story, and feature him on the gatefold cover of the magazine."

The 400-page all-color annual magazine covers football in Texas — from high school to recruiting to college to the pros — as nobody else can. Inside the magazine, readers will find:

• An insider’s look at TCU's Sonny Dykes, and how he emerged from the background of his effervescent father, his iconic predecessor and own personal struggles to reach the heights of college football, written by Texas Football's Mike Craven
• A dive into the life and times of Duncanville coach Reginald Samples, one of Texas high school football's most compelling and polarizing figures, after his long-awaited first state championship, written by Texas Football's Greg Tepper.
• The fourth annual 40 Under 40, spotlighting the best young coaches in Texas
• In-depth analysis of every Texas college football team — all 47 of them — from five-page spreads for each FBS program to insightful previews of each junior college squad, and everything inbetween
• Deep-dive conference previews, including the new-look Big 12 before Texas and Oklahoma's bolt to the SEC; the revamped AAC, which could shake out for any number of Lone Star State squads; a pressure-packed year for Texas A&M, which could vault them to the top of their conference; Sam Houston's ascent into Conference USA, with plenty of foes waiting for them; Texas State's new look under G.J. Kinne and how quickly it could contend in the Sun Belt; and more
• Individual team previews of more than 1,500 Texas high school football squads
• The Preseason All-Texas College team, honoring the top college players in the state
• The annual Super Teams and Top 300, honoring the top recruits in the state
• The coveted Coverboy spot for every high school classification

GET YOUR COPY

Want your copy of Texas Football as soon as possible? Become a Dave Campbell's Texas Football Insider!

• Three magazines — the 2023 summer edition, the 2023 recruiting edition (coming in December), and our annual Texas Basketball magazine — mailed to you before they hit newsstands
• A year's worth of exclusive online content at TexasFootball.com including digital archives of all 64 editions of Texas Football, expanded previews of every Texas high school football team, exclusive podcasts, never-before-seen recruiting analysis, expert insights year-round and more
• NEW: A year of access to Dave Campbell's Texan Live, our streaming platform with more than 1,300 live Texas high school events — including more than 400 live Texas high school football games, and more than 100 live Texas high school football playoff games

SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO SECURE YOUR COPY OF THE MAGAZINE.

WHEN YOU CAN GET THE MAGAZINE

Subscribers will begin to receive their magazine in late June. The magazine should be available on shelves across Texas beginning July 4.

MEDIA REQUESTS

To request interviews with Managing Editor Greg Tepper, please contact greg.tepper@texasfootball.com. To download high-resolution images of the cover, click here.

About Sports In Action, LLC

Sports In Action, LLC owns the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football media brand. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football is a registered trademark of Sports In Action, LLC. Sports In Action, LLC is a Texas-based Limited Liability Corporation and is based in Lewisville, TX.