There were fireworks on the University of Texas campus to begin the month. They just weren’t when Texas fans would have liked.
The Longhorns kicked off their SEC era with a Pitbull concert and a firework show. But they were unable to put on a similarly flashy display on the recruiting trail during Fourth of July weekend, which is one of the most important commitment windows on the recruiting calendar.
Five-star in-state receiver Dakorien Moore, a purported long-time Texas lean? He picked Oregon, which fans saw as a major dagger (Moore would have been UT’s highest-rated wide receiver signee ever).
Top 100 in-state linebacker target Riley Pettijohn? He landed with Ohio State.
Priority in-state DT target Zion Williams? He’s headed to LSU.
This is not to say there haven’t been wins by Texas, including a July 6 pickup of four-star cornerback Kade Phillips. But those high-profile losses are confusing considering Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns signed elite classes the last three years, are coming off a season in which it made the College Football Playoff, enjoyed a historic 2024 NFL Draft, plays an SEC schedule this fall and has its quarterback of the future already on campus in Arch Manning. Why is Texas, at No. 22 nationally in the 2025 team rankings and 10th in the SEC, not recruiting better?
We caught up with Horns247 expert Hank South for the skinny on Texas’ underwhelming recruiting efforts.
Texas is losing NIL battles
That’s a weird sentence to write, because Texas is arguably the program that benefits the most from NIL in the entire country. The Longhorns have an active collective and have outspent almost everyone the last few seasons in key head-to-head battles.
However, per South, the Longhorns are being more selective in picking…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/texas-2025-recruiting-efforts-a-bust-so-far-but-experts-are-wary-of-counting-out-steve-sarkisians-longhorns/
Author : Chris Hummer
Publish date : 2024-07-09 14:36:04
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