USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school football recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond.
Breathe easy. The 2022 High School Football season has finally arrived!
In our first edition of Friday Night Notes for the new campaign, we will touch on a college program that’s rapidly rising up the recruiting rankings. Next, we will examine some of the top quarterbacks from the class of 2023 and ask which, if any of them, might be the next big star to arrive on a national level. Then we’ll take a look at the best of the projected schools as the season begins. Finally, we’ll wrap with other recruiting notes from around the network.
First things first: Another big commitment for Texas backfield
The splashiest recruitment of the week came in Orlando, where the nation’s second-ranked running back made an official commitment. Edgewater (Fla.) RB Cedric Baxter Jr. announced he will be playing for Steve Sarkisian at Texas. Other schools that were in the running included Texas A&M, Miami, Florida and the late-riser UCF. Baxter is coming off a breakout 2021 season, having averaged over eight yards per carry and scoring 22 touchdowns.
Baxter’s commitment is the latest good news for the Longhorns, who stepped over both Ohio State and Georgia by securing his services. Texas is now ranked No. 3 nationally on the strength of its 2023 recruiting class, trailing only Alabama and Notre Dame.