Florida 5-star safety commit set for Texas official visit

Texas is looking to add some major targets to its top-10 football recruiting class, and none are bigger than five-star McKinney (Texas) safety Xavier Filsaime.

The 6-foot, 185-pounder has been committed to Florida since April, but the Longhorns have not relented in their pursuit of him. Filsaime visited for a game day earlier this season, and now after Florida fired defensive backs coach Corey Raymond, all eyes are on Filsaime about whether he will stick with the Gators.

One of the biggest next steps for Texas is getting him on campus for an official visit, and according to On3’s Gerry Hamilton, that will take place next weekend, December 15-17.

To this point, Filsaime has yet to take an official visit to a program other than Florida, who he visited in June.

Growing buzz around the Longhorns

Even without taking OVs, teams have continued to push for the dynamic playmaker. Georgia is among the other schools who have remained in contact, but much of the buzz has centered around the home-state Longhorns. Last week, Hamilton said there is legitimate momentum behind Texas’ push to flip him.

“At this point, I’m expecting Filsaime to make an official visit to Texas in the next week or 10 days,” Hamilton wrote. “Texas safeties coach Blake Gideon continues daily communication, with added communication from Sarkisian too.”

Hamilton later added: “The Gators staff knows the Longhorns are a real threat, and are expected by McKinney High in the coming days. If I were to put in an On3 RPM as of today, I would lean to Texas. But there is work remaining to be done for the staff.”

Xavier Filsaime Recruiting Profile

Filsaime is the No. 29 overall prospect in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also ranks as the nation’s No. 2 safety and the No. 7 recruit in Texas.

On3’s Scouting and Rankings team writes this about him as a prospect:

“Athletic, physical safety with versatility on the back end. Measured at over 5-foot-11.5, around 180 pounds prior to his junior season. Has average to below average length for the position with a 30.75-inch arm. Turned in very strong track times as a sophomore, with multiple sub-11.0 second marks in the 100 meters, highlighted by a personal best of 10.52 seconds. Primarily worked as a safety as a junior, lining up deep and in the slot. Makes most of his plays as a cover down defender.

… Physical and throws his body around. Shows pop as a striker. Closes quickly when moving forward. Sniffs out quick passes. Plays with some attitude. Has the speed and fluidity to line up on receivers in man coverage. Did not have much ball production as a junior at safety but was a wide receiver as a sophomore, alleviating questions about ball skills. Did not replicate his sophomore track times as a junior. Younger for the class with an April birthday.”