Texas nearing a top-10 recruiting class after latest 5-star commitment

Texas has been slowly but steadily climbing the On3 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings since early June.

The Longhorns came into the summer with just three commitments — one of whom has since parted ways with the program. Texas hosted a huge number of visitors in June though, and it paid off with 15 commitments between June 1 and early September, when they beat out Oklahoma for four-star EDGE Zina Umeozulu.

Sandwiched in between was a massive decision in the Longhorns’ favor, with Five-Star Plus+ EDGE Colin Simmons choosing Texas over LSU. And on Sunday, Steve Sarkisian and Co. added a second five-star to their board when Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive tackle Brandon Baker pledged for the Longhorns.

His decision moved Texas to No. 11 nationally in the team rankings and No. 8 in the SEC.

“I feel like they’re on the up-and up, and the O-line development is like no other honestly,” Baker told On3’s Chad Simmons. “What Coach Flood is doing and what Coach Sarkisian is doing with the offense is special.”

Longhorns have a couple major targets still in play

Even with 18 commitments now in the fold, Texas still has its eyes on a couple of five-stars and other big names to close out the cycle.

At the top of the list are five-star St. Louis (Mo.) wide receiver Ryan Wingo and five-star Waco (Texas) Connally cornerback Kobe Black.

The Longhorns have been trending for nearly the entire summer for Black, and that doesn’t appear to have changed.

“Black sits on top of the Longhorns’ 2024 recruiting board and there’s plenty of reason to believe that the Longhorns have carved out a sizable lead,” On3’s Sam Spiegelman wrote last week. “However, LSU and especially Texas A&M continue to chip away. Black maintains that he is going to hold this decision out until December, but it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see a mid-season decision.”

As for Wingo, he was back in Austin last weekend before watching Missouri play in St. Louis on Saturday. He will take an official visit to Colorado next weekend, but the Longhorns hold the lead in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM).

“Missouri has definitely lost some momentum here, and Texas has that,” On3’s Chad Simmons said earlier this week. “We’ll see what Colorado can do after having him on campus in January. I feel pretty confident in saying that Texas is definitely the team to beat heading into this weekend, but recruiting can change very quickly and Missouri is off to a good start this year.”