Texas looking to land two Five-Star Plus+ prospects in Colin Simmons, Micah Hudson
After other recruiting services updated their rankings, the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking now has a total of 25 five-star prospects. Five of those elite players have been rated as a five-star by all four major services, earning Five-Star Plus+ status. Texas is in strong contention for two Five-Star Plus+ prospects in Colin Simmons and Micah Hudson.
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If Steve Sarkisian and company were to pull off the two-fer and land the elite EDGE from Duncanville and the multi-sport star wideout from Lake Belton, it would be the first time Texas landed two Five-Star Plus+ prospects in the same class since On3’s inception.
On3 first released its own internal rankings beginning with the 2021 class, so to earn Five-Star Plus+ status a prospect must have five-star ratings from On3, 247Sports, Rivals, and ESPN.
Texas has landed multiple On3 Industry Ranking five-stars in a class before. Four joined the fold in 2023: Arch Manning, Anthony Hill, Cedric Baxter, and Johntay Cook. Hill was one five-star ranking away from Five-Star Plus+ status. In 2022, DJ Campbell and Kelvin Banks headlined Texas’ seven-man O-line class with their five-star accolades.
Simmons is ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect, the No. 1 EDGE, and the No. 1 player in Texas in the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.
Hudson is ranked as the No. 4 overall prospect, the No. 2 wide receiver, and the No. 2 player from Texas in the On3 Industry Ranking.
Simmons, a 6-foot-2.5, 225-pound EDGE from the Metroplex, is a top-six prospect according to all but one service. He made a recent trip to Austin, and was on campus in March for a major Texas recruiting weekend. Simmons is likely to play in the SEC, and LSU is one of the top contenders with the Longhorns for his services. Texas is currently second in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine behind the Tigers.
Hudson, a 6-foot-0, 190-pound receiver from Temple, is a top-11 prospect according to all but one service. He recently competed at the UIL State Track and Field meet in Austin and has locked in official visits to two schools. Texas Tech is battling Texas for Hudson, and is neck-and-neck with the Longhorns in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.
Signing two top-five prospects has not been done in a while at Texas, nor has signing two top-10 prospects. Plus, Texas is in contention for five-stars Justin Williams, Kobe Black, Dominick McKinley, and Ryan Wingo.
Should Texas add Simmons and Hudson, and those two maintain their current ranking, Sarkisian and his staff would write
another piece of UT recruiting history.
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For a look back at the top duos signed by Texas out of high school, here are the two highest-rated signees from each class since 2014.
2023
On3 Industry Ranking No. 1: Arch Manning
On3 Industry Ranking No. 16: Anthony Hill
2022
On3 Industry Ranking No. 11: DJ Campbell
On3 Industry Ranking No. 22: Kelvin Banks
2021
On3 Industry Ranking No. 12: Ja’Tavion Sanders
On3 Industry Ranking No. 56: Xavier Worthy
2020
On3 Industry Ranking No. 16: Bijan Robinson
On3 Industry Ranking No. 67: Hudson Card
2019
On3 Industry Ranking No. 19: Bru McCoy
On3 Industry Ranking No. 38: Jordan Whittington
2018
On3 Industry Ranking No. 17: BJ Foster
On3 Industry Ranking No. 20: Caden Sterns
2017
On3 Industry Ranking No. 126: Sam Ehlinger
On3 Industry Ranking No. 202: Montrell Estell
2016
On3 Industry Ranking No. 42: Devin Duvernay
On3 Industry Ranking No. 43: Erick Fowler
2015
On3 Industry Ranking No. 25: Malik Jefferson
On3 Industry Ranking No. 87: Chris Warren
2014
On3 Industry Ranking No. 83: Derick Roberson
On3 Industry Ranking No. 88: Jerrod Heard
