Three-star defensive end Garfield Lawrence commits to Houston over Texas

Texas has lost out on another recruit in the 2021 cycle.

Three-star defensive end Garfield Lawrence committed to Houston on Thursday. The Cougars and Longhorns were his final two options after Steve Sarkisian’s staff got into the game late. Before Houston, the 2021 prospect had been committed to Kansas since Nov. 30.

In his commitment tweet, Lawrence thanks coach Jay Valai, who was hired by Houston as the cornerbacks’ coach. Valai coached the same position during his time on Tom Herman’s tenure but was not retained by Sarkisian when he took over.

Lawrence ranks as the No. 772 player nationally and No. 108 within the state of Texas. At his position, he ranks as the No. 49 strong-side defensive end. If he were to have committed to Texas, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski would have molded him into his outside linebacker position.

After making a trip to Austin on Jan. 23,  Lawrence made his way down to Houston two days later. He “loved every second of it” and eventually led to his commitment to the Cougars.

After much thought and prayer I’m excited to announce that I will be spending the next 4 years and continuing my academic and football career at the University of Houston🔴⚪️!! I want to thank coach early and coach Valai and coach Belk and @UHCougarFB staff pic.twitter.com/vUlNQ3JkB9

— Garfield🇯🇲🙏🏾 (@garfield151015) January 28, 2021

Ray Thornton and Ovie Oghoufo are two graduate transfers from LSU and Notre Dame respectively who have transferred into the program at the same position. Texas has been trying to aquire talent on the defensive line as it was one of the thinnest positions when Sarkisian arrived.