Senior receiver Demond Demas was set to have a big year for the Cougar’s varsity football team and contribute to a team that seemed poised for a promising season and an exciting playoff run.

 Instead, he will sit out the season after he was denied eligibility to play football this season by the UIL’s State Executive Committee on Tuesday. This comes as shocking news right before the Cougars were set to have their first football game of the season on Friday.

 Demas is a 5-star wide receiver (ranked 1st in Texas and 2nd in the nation) and is already committed to Texas A&M. He transferred from North Forest High School to Tomball High School in January in a move that was labeled by his old school’s staff as a move for athletic reasons, which is a violation of UIL rules. While Demas and his family have repeatedly made it known the reason for the move was due to safety reasons, the UIL Board unanimously (6-0) ruled in North Forest’s favor.

Now forced to either sit out, return to North Forest, or enroll in a private school, Demas took to Twitter to respond to the decision.

“I wanna thank all the people that have my back and believe in me.  I’m NOT going back to North Forest. I’m staying at Tomball High School for the better environment and better academics,” said Demas. “I know GOD has better plans for me.  #GIGEM”

Twitter was also host to many of the reactions from fans of not only Tomball football, but also Aggie fans who were excited to see their top recruit play and work on his game his senior year. Ryan Brauninger, a recruiting analyst for TexAgs.com, made his opinion on the matter known through the app. 

“Extremely disappointed in the UIL’s decision today, but more than that, I’m gutted for Demond Demas,” Brauninger said. “The kid doesnt deserve this, and it was taken out of his hands and stripped from him.”

As the Cougars look to prepare for the beginning of the 2019 season in which they recently have had such high expectations, they will no doubt have to do some adjusting now that such an important weapon for their offense is no longer available.