Tag: Texas football recruiting

On3 Sports releases its 2025 five-star update with 32 players included

Several Texas targets are included in the five-star update.

One five-star update is out as we enter a critical time in the 2025 recruiting cycle. Several players with elite acclaim are considering Texas.

On3 Sports shared its five-star update with a few familiar names for those who follow the Texas Longhorns in recruiting.

The list of notable names includes wide receivers Dakorien Moore, Kaliq Lockett, and Jaime Ffrench, top athlete Michael Terry, impactful offensive linemen Michael Fasusi and Ty Haywood and defensive backs Devin Sanchez, Jonah Williams and Dorian Brew.

Several of the above names could choose elsewhere, but the Longhorns could be in position to win out with multiple players on the list.

Texas is no stranger to adding several five-stars having signed 10 of 247Sports’ composite five-stars over the last three seasons. The Longhorns signed four composite five-stars in each of the last two recruiting classes.

Texas’ list of composite five-star additions includes the following players.

  • Arch Manning, quarterback, No. 1 overall in 2023 class
  • DJ Campbell, guard, No. 10 overall in 2022 class
  • Anthony Hill Jr, linebacker, No. 18 overall in 2023 class
  • Colin Simmons, edge, No. 18 overall in 2024 class
  • CJ Baxter, running back, No. 22 overall in 2023 class
  • Johntay Cook, wide receiver, No. 29 overall in 2023 class
  • Brandon Baker, offensive tackle, No. 32 overall in 2024 class
  • Kelvin Banks Jr, offensive tackle, No. 33 overall in 2022 class
  • Kobe Black, cornerback, No. 34 overall in 2024 class
  • Xavier Filsaime, safety, No. 37 overall in 2024 class

The Longhorns’ recruiting class rankings might not be that different from those under the past coaching regime, but make no mistake: Head coach Steve Sarkisian is getting elite players at premium positions rather than securing high rankings by adding a high volume of four-stars.

Sarkisian will look to close on a few more talented recruits in the 2025 class.

Exploring how many five-star WR Texas will land in 2025 recruiting class

We look realistically at Texas’ five star receiving targets.

Texas is trending for three five-star wide receiver targets. Some indicate the Longhorns are in the lead for two if not all three.

The players under consideration are Dakorien Moore, Kaliq Lockett and Jaime Ffrench. All are among the top five receivers and Top 20 overall players in the country according to On3 Sports.

Moore, the nation’s top receiver and No. 3 overall player according to On3 Sports, has long been considered a natural fit at Texas. Playing alongside former Duncanville teammates in edge Colin Simmons and defensive tackle Alex January and another former Duncanville player in offensive tackle Cam Williams would seem to make the decision easier.

There’s a good chance Texas will sign a five-star receiver. It’s what they have done since Steve Sarkisian took over as head coach regardless of who is the wide receivers coach. The Longhorns have signed a receiver with a five-star rating from at least one recruiting site in three of Sarkisian’s four classes. That number includes Xavier Worthy (On3), Johntay Cook (247Sports composite) and Ryan Wingo (247Sports).

Receivers are drawn to Sarkisian’s scheme, which is perhaps the best in college football right now. It makes sense that at least one of the players should choose the Longhorns, and my guess would be Dakorien Moore who has seemed fond of Texas for awhile.

The flip side is that NIL changes the nature of recruiting. For example, Jaime Ffrench is set to visit Tennessee who has done well at recruiting top players since the beginning of the NIL era. Texas will push to get all three and would certainly become a stronger title contender if they made it happen. Even so, other teams could potentially offer more NIL deals, playing time and targets to one player than the Longhorns will be able to offer to all three.

The reality is, teams like Tennessee, Texas A&M and Ohio State can go all in on one player, like the Volunteers did to get starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava while nearly everyone else recruited Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Texas’ title pitch will still be strong.

If all three were to choose the Longhorns, the wide receiver depth chart would feature five players with a five-star rating in Johntay Cook, Ryan Wingo, Dakorien Moore, Kaliq Lockett and Jaime Ffrench. Add in players like DeAndre Moore, Ryan Niblett and Matthew Golden, who I expect to return for 2025, and it would be tempting to run a whole lot of empty formation with five receivers.

It’s likely some teams are going to zero in on Lockett and Ffrench and pitch building their team around either receiver. That said, should multiple five-star receivers choose the Longhorns, NFL scouts’ eyes should be glued to Austin.

Texas should sign one five-star pass catcher. We’ll see if it adds more.

Texas is trending for five-star WR Jaime Ffrench

A recruiting prediction was entered in favor of Texas to land five-star WR Jaime Ffrench on Wednesday.

The Texas Longhorns might be the new leader for another five-star wide receiver. Jaime Ffrench joins Dakorien Moore as an elite receiver that could be leaning toward Texas.

Ffrench received an On3 RPM prediction from Inside Texas’ Justin Wells on Wednesday to choose the Longhorns. His impact could be immediate and unmistakable for his next team.

According to On3 Sports’ industry rankings, Ffrench is one of 32 players to receive a five-star designation. He ranks No. 19 overall.

Should he choose Texas alongside the nation’s No. 3 overall player in Dakorien Moore then its likely the Longhorns haven’t come close to their offensive ceiling for head coach Steve Sarkisian’s tenure in Austin.

The Longhorns have played the long game and won with five-star talents like left tackle Kelvin Banks, right guard DJ Campbell, edge rusher Colin Simmons, quarterback Arch Manning, defensive back Xavier Filsaime and wide receiver Ryan Wingo.

The current coaching staff’s confidence in winning recruitments by waiting on players who have later decisions has paid off in Sarkisian era. They will look to continue that trend in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Discussing key players Texas has brought over from Dallas-Fort Worth

Texas is getting much of its five-star talent from the Dallas area.

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.

Looking at game changers Texas has added in Steve Sarkisian era

It’s not how many four-stars, but how many true game-changers that make a winning team.

Having a roster of blue chip players doesn’t win championships. Having around eight game-altering players does. It’s why Texas is now winning at a level it hasn’t in over a decade.

The Texas football program has long been known for recruiting good players. For years, outsiders remarked on the Longhorns’ failure to consistently win at a high level over the head coaching tenures of Charlie Strong and Tom Herman. Those teams didn’t have enough players who could take control of games. Sarkisian’s teams have that.

Game changers have changed the course of the program. Sarkisian’s first of many such players was his only 2021 recruit, Xavier Worthy. As a freshman, Worthy put up 62 receptions, 981 yards and 12 touchdowns. Alone, Worthy wasn’t enough to alter game results, but he did make games interesting.

The next offseason, Texas added two five-star offensive linemen. One of them was left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. who went on to a freshman All-American season in 2022. He’s on track to be selected in the first round of a future NFL draft like Xavier Worthy was this offseason.

By the 2022 season, the Longhorns had cultivated or brought in more game changers, but not enough to win a conference title. Linebacker Jaylan Ford and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders became players of that caliber, but you need more than four players taking over games.

In the 2023 offseason, Texas added a couple more stars in wide receiver Adonai Mitchell and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. Mitchell went for 11 touchdown receptions while Hill added 67 total tackles and five sacks in limited playing time. Edge rusher Ethan Burke added 5.5 sacks, while interior defensive linemen Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat became All-Americans and early round draft picks. Game changers.

This offseason has seen Texas add five Top 50 portal players in wide receiver Isaiah Bond (Alabama), edge rusher Trey Moore (UTSA), three-year starting safety Andrew Mukuba (Clemson), tight end Amari Niblack (Alabama) and wide receiver Matthew Golden (Houston).

Texas’ 2024 recruiting class added five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo and a five-star edge rusher and two-time Texas state championship defensive MVP in Colin Simmons. More potential game changers.

We can point to moments where T’Vondre Sweat, Jonathon Brooks, Adonai Mitchell, Xavier Worthy, Ja’Tavion Sanders, wide receiver Jordan Whittington, defensive back Jahdae Barron and perhaps starting quarterback Quinn Ewers altered the course of games. It took all those contributing players to make it to the College Football Playoff.

Five-star or borderline five-star pedigree certainly magnifies the play of big game players. It’s what makes adding players like Anthony Hill Jr., Johntay Cook, Malik Muhammad, Colin Simmons, Ryan Wingo and potential future Longhorn Dakorien Moore so important. Malik Muhammad is primed to break out this season.

Texas is winning recruitments of the five-star skill players it wasn’t getting in the past two coaching regimes. Interestingly, five of the above six are Dallas-Fort Worth area prospects. That alone speaks to how much better recruiting has been since Sarkisian took over.

We have yet to mention running backs where Texas has produced two NFL draft picks in back to back offseasons. The four drafted running backs included fourth string running back Keilan Robinson who was selected in the fifth round this offseason. One or both of five-star running back Cedric Baxter Jr. and home run threat Jaydon Blue could become household names like Jonathon Brooks did last season.

Texas needs around eight players to prove capable of taking control of games in 2024 if it wants to compete for a national title. This group looks to have several players who can take over games. We’ll begin to find out how many they will have when the team kicks off against Colorado State on Aug. 31 at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Nation’s No. 1 WR and five-star Dakorien Moore trends to Texas

Will Arch Manning be throwing to three five-star receivers next year, or two?

Five-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore has decommitted from the LSU Tigers. The nation’s No. 1 receiver now trends to a new team. Continue reading “Nation’s No. 1 WR and five-star Dakorien Moore trends to Texas”

2025 OL prospect Jackson Christian commits to Texas

Texas finds a 6-foot-5, 309-pound lineman in the 2025 class.

The Texas Longhorns have added a big human to their 2025 recruiting class. Port Neches Groves offensive lineman Jackson Christian has committed to Texas.

The three-star recruit meets offensive line coach Kyle Flood’s criteria for frame on the offensive line. At 6-foot-5 and weighing over 300 pounds, Christian possesses the requisite size to move defensive fronts at the next level. Now he will look to develop the skill necessary to make an impact down the line in his college career.

Christian has high stakes experience after contributing to Port Neches Groves’ state championship victory over South Oak Cliff last season. Whether or not it is part of the recruiting criteria, playing for a title at any level could prove valuable down the road.

The offensive lineman’s highlight reel is impressive. The clips show Christian taking opponents out of the play. He will look to do more of that at the next level.

Christian ranks as the No. 30 interior offensive lineman in the country in 247Sports’ composite rankings.

Four-star California WR Marcus Harris includes Texas in Top 5 schools

The No. 1 WR in California named Texas one of his top five schools.

Texas is in the hunt for the best wide receiver in California. Four-star wideout Marcus Harris named the Longhorns one of his top five schools.

The Mater Dei talent continues Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian’s push to bring the best players from California to Austin. The recruiting strategy has helped the Longhorns capitalize on national brand power rather than rely solely on in-state players.

Harris is a jump ball target with the speed to separate from opposing defensive backs. He’s not afraid to use his frame to impose on opposition. He plays bigger than his 5-foot-11 and 180 pound measurements would indicate. Harris’ knack for high pointing the football and finding the end zone make him a good addition to his next team.

Harris appears to have an affinity for SEC football. He is set to choose between SEC powerhouses Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, a new SEC addition in Texas and a lone Big Ten program in Oregon.

Four-star RB Rickey Stewart commits to Texas

Texas recruiting is starting to pick up as another elite running back chooses the Longhorns.

The Texas Longhorns’ 2025 recruiting class is starting to pick up steam. The Longhorns added yet another elite running back after leading the way in recruiting at the position the last couple of seasons.

Running backs coach Tashard Choice earned a commitment from Chapel Hill (TX) running back Rickey Stewart on Saturday. He ranks as the No. 20 overall running back and No. 247 overall player in the 247Sports composite, but those rankings might too heavily weigh the smaller school competition Stewart played against.

Stewart saw offers from Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee and Ole Miss among others after an impressive early start to his career. In his sophomore and junior seasons combined, Stewart ran for 5,117 yards, 68 touchdowns and around 10 yards per carry.

He would add another elite recruit to Texas running back coach Tashard Choice’s resume. Choice has brought his fair share of blue chippers to Austin including five-star back CJ Baxter and elite recruits in Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark.

Texas will look to build momentum off the strong recruiting start.

Texas lands commitment from Westlake K Spencer Barnett

Texas might have found its kicker of the future.

The Texas Longhorns earned a commitment from Austin Westlake kicker Spencer Barnett on Friday. It might be more significant than you would expect.

Barnett showed above average ability at the high school level. The Austin native has already booted a 59-yard field goal in his time at Westlake high school. What would be impressive for an NFL kicker is the case for the high school player.

There’s more to being a kicker than making long range kicks. Consistency in shorter field goals would prove more valuable over the course of a season. Nevertheless, Barnett’s power will be a useful tool on the football field.

As Texas heads to a more competitive conference, its margin for error will decrease. Having a top kicker becomes an even higher priority for the team. The Longhorns hope they have found their kicker of the future.

Texas will look for continued success on the recruiting trail over the summer.