Four-star, 2023 WR Braylon James and head coach Bobby Acosta have Del Valle on the rise
As the old song goes, “The stars at night are big and bright…deep in the heart of Texas!” The Lone Star state produces some of the top high school football stars in the country each year, and wide receiver Braylon James of Del Valle High School is no exception.
Out in Travis County, folks live and breathe football. Just roughly seven miles southeast of downtown Austin, one arrives in Del Valle, TX. While this might not be one of the towns you hear a lot about in the coverage of the big in-state powerhouses, that is quickly changing.
Del Valle hires former IMG Academy head coach Bobby Acosta
Del Valle Head Coach Bobby Acosta won a national championship last year as the head coach at IMG Academy.
Just as Ole Miss football created an excitement and energy around the Rebels’ program with the hiring of head coach Lane Kiffin, Del Valle High School did much the same this past spring as they hired former IMG Academy head coach Bobby Acosta to come in and create a new Cardinal culture.
Acosta and his IMG team won a national championship in 2020, going 8-0 and outscoring opponents 381-82 along the way. The most impressive win of the season came in a 41-14 romp over Duncanville in Texas in a battle of the then-top two teams in the country, according to the USA Today Super 25.
In a few shorts months since his arrival as head coach, Coach Acosta already has Del Valle on its way to making a mark on the Texas high school football scene.
Wide receiver Braylon James
One of the stars here in Texas that Acosta will be coaching is Del Valle’s own 6-foot-4, 185-pound, 4-star wide receiver, Braylon James.
James is not only one of the most sought-after wide receivers in the class of 2023 in the state, but also in the nation. He currently is the No. 18 wide receiver and the No. 23 player in the state of Texas for 2023, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
He currently holds over 33 offers from every major Power 5 program in the nation, including: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, California, Colorado, Duke, Kansas, Marshall, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, USC, Utah, UTSA, West Virginia, and Illinois.
His SEC offers include: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee, and A&M.
Recent Texas A&M offer Del Valle WR Braylon James (@braylon_james14). pic.twitter.com/i1J1VNpwMx
— Andrew Hattersley (@AndrewHatts) May 23, 2021
When I came across James’ film — and watched him over the last few months during this off-season — I quickly knew he is a player the Rebs need to get on their radar. With Coach Kiffin’s and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby’s offense, James would be an ideal fit in Oxford.
During his sophomore campaign, James stepped up for his team, notching 42 receptions for 442 yards and 7 touchdowns for the Cardinals. He was a 26-6A second-team all-district selection as a sophomore in 2020, after playing his freshman season at Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point.
Fit in the ‘Sip
Many of the nation’s top coaching eyes have been on James — even more so after his strong showing at the Under Armor camp, this past spring and in 7 v 7 ball.
He has great length and speed, mixed with elite ball skills off the jump that make him a natural playmaker at wideout. He’s got great physicality and is never afraid to go head-to-head with a defender.
James also has great hands and excels on critical downs — a place where a top receiver often sets himself apart. His athleticism and stellar academic record help make him elite. He is a straight-up athlete — not just on the football field but also on the track field as a hurdler for Del Valle.
Leaving Del Valle HS in Austin (TX) Extremely Impressed With WR Braylon James❕
Tremendous Athlete and an Exceptional Student 📚
James Was the First 2023 Receiver Stanford Offered 🌲 @USCScoop pic.twitter.com/BTPtJsB63v
— Scott Schrader (@Scott_Schrader) April 20, 2021
Already an Under Armor All-American, James also sports a 5.161 GPA and is ranked 36th in his class of 878. With his skillset and his smarts, it’s a no-brainer to want to see this young man in the Red and Blue!
Hotty Toddy!
Follow Rebel Walk Director of Recruiting Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo here on Twitter to stay up to date with all the Ole Miss recruiting news.
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Lee Ann serves as the Director of Recruiting for The Rebel Walk. She sees college football the way championship programs do—from inside the personnel room. Every evaluation, every roster move, every recruiting battle tells a bigger story about identity, culture, and how a program is built to win in December, not just July.
With more than 15 years covering the SEC and the national recruiting landscape, Herring-Olvedo has built a reputation as one of the sport’s most respected personnel-driven voices—blending film evaluation, roster construction, and long-term program vision through a true front-office lens. Her coverage of powerhouse brands like Ole Miss Rebels and Kentucky Wildcatshas consistently gone beyond headlines, focusing instead on the blueprint behind winning programs: development, fit, culture, and recruiting strategy.
That foundation was formed early at Brown University, where she worked in player personnel and recruiting while competing as a student-athlete. Inside those recruiting operations rooms, she learned how elite organizations are truly built—through relentless evaluation, relationship building, projection, and trust in the board. Those experiences shaped the way she studies the game today: part scout, part storyteller, part architect.
Her analysis and reporting have appeared across major platforms including ESPN, NFL coverage spaces, USA Today Sports, and Saturday Down South. She also brought her personnel-minded approach to the airwaves as an on-air analyst for the Wake Up 502 College Football Show on Big X Sports Radio 96.1, where she became known for combining film-room detail with a wider understanding of roster identity and program trajectory.
In 2025, covering the rise of Houston Cougars football under Willie Fritz reignited the part of the sport that first drew her into football—the culture, the edge, the belief that a roster can reshape an entire city. That inspiration led to the launch of Coogs 365 Sports, a platform built to cover Houston athletics through a true scouting and recruiting lens while connecting the emotion of the game to the heartbeat of H-Town.
Now, Herring-Olvedo returns to The Rebel Walk where with an even deeper perspective shaped by years inside recruiting circles, national SEC coverage, and hands-on evaluation experience. Her return brings a familiar voice back to Ole Miss coverage—but with an evolved lens rooted in roster architecture, player development, and the modern realities of building championship-caliber football in the NIL and portal era.
For Herring-Olvedo, recruiting has never been about stars beside a name. It is about identifying competitors, projecting growth, and building a locker room capable of sustaining success. Her philosophy mirrors the best front offices in football: stack traits, trust culture, and never stop building.
