High school football rankings: Oakland tops Tennessee Preseason MaxPreps Top 25

The 2021 high school football season in Tennessee kicks off next week and MaxPreps has your look at the state's top teams. Coming off a 15-0 campaign last fall, Oakland owns the No. 1 spot in our preseason rankings.

The Patriots outscored opponents 591-156 en route to the Division I Class 6A state title last season. The state championship was the program's second in the past three seasons with a combined record of 42-2 during that span.

Oakland is led by 2022 Georgia commit Jordan James, four-star wide receiver Isaiah Horton and three-star running back Antonio Patterson.

Additional defending state champions include McCallie (DII-AAA), Christ Presbyterian Academy (DII-AA), University School of Jackson (DII-A), Summit (DI-5A), Elizabethton (DI-4A), Alcoa (DI-3A), Peabody (DI-2A) and Fayetteville (DI-1A). Seven of those schools appear in the Preseason MaxPreps Top 25.

See the complete list below. Tennessee Preseason MaxPreps Top 25

1. Oakland (Murfreesboro), 15-0 record in 2020

2. Maryville (Maryville), 14-1

3. Christ Presbyterian Academy (Nashville), 11-3

4. McCallie (Chattanooga), 10-3

5. Lipscomb Academy (Nashville), 12-3

6. Elizabethton (Elizabethton), 15-0

7. Ravenwood (Brentwood), 6-5

8. Powell, 8-3

9. Brentwood Academy (Brentwood), 11-1

10. Alcoa, 14-1

11. Summit (Spring Hill), 14-1

12. Christian Brothers (Memphis), 7-4

13. Whitehaven (Memphis), 0-0

14. Peabody (Trenton), 14-0

15. West (Knoxville), 12-2

16. Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville), 6-3

17. Pope John Paul II (Hendersonville), 8-3

18. Independence (Thompson's Station), 7-3

19. South-Doyle (Knoxville), 10-4

20. Germantown, 0-0

21. Beech (Hendersonville), 9-2

22. Riverdale (Murfreesboro), 10-3

23. Henry County (Paris), 10-3

24. Father Ryan (Nashville), 5-4

25. Meigs County (Decatur), 13-1