North Texas wasn’t always a fertile recruiting ground for Texas. If the last three recruiting cycles are any indication, it is now.
The Longhorns have landed commitments from a handful of five-star or borderline five-star players from that region over the last three recruiting classes. Among them are Anthony Hill Jr. (Denton), Colin Simmons (Duncanville), Johntay Cook (Desoto), Malik Muhammad (South Oak Cliff), Devon Campbell Jr. (Arlington) and Xavier Filsaime (McKinney).
Many of the Longhorns’ key players from a season ago came from areas in or close to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. To his credit, former head coach Tom Herman also prioritized the region late in his tenure.
Jake Majors (Prosper) enters his fourth year as a starter at center. First round NFL defensive tackle Byron Murphy (Desoto) and now Carolina Panthers tight end JaTavion Sanders (Denton) depart Austin this offseason.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian’s national recruiting approach has benefitted the Longhorns, but his focus on the now fertile Dallas area is paying dividends. We’ll monitor whether or not that continues with the 2025 recruiting class.