Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns wrapped up their first weekend of hosting official visitors today, as they kicked off official season to open up the month of June. The weekend started with a bang, when Mike Roach of 247Sports reported that the nation’s number one recruit and top defensive linemen prospect in Texas Tech commit Jalen Brewster would be taking an official visit over the weekend.
By all accounts, Brewster will be a tough flip from the Red Raiders after committing to to them earlier in process. With that said, that has not stopped Brewster from making the rounds around the country and being wined and dined by some of the top programs in the country.
Brewster was not the only five star prospect on campus over the weekend. Texas also played host to five star Fort Worth (TX) North Crowley cornerback John Meredith, who is fresh off of a visit to see Texas A&M. The Longhorns have been trending positively in Meredith’s recruitment over the past month or so, but the Aggies are not going quietly.
While the Brewster recruitment has been one that Texas has struggled to get its footing in, they are very much in the thick of things for Meredith and have a real shot to win out in the long term. With that said, it is not an open and shut case and their in-state rivals in College Station certainly will make it difficult. It will be interesting to see where things sit with the nation’s top defensive back once the dust settles following his official visits.
Five star prospects were the theme of this weekend, as Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou made his way to Austin along with his four-star teammate Kasi Currie. Texas has been pursuing both of them with a lot of gusto, but the competition is stiff with likes of Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon, Ohio State, and USC in pursuit of both defenders. Both Fakatou and Currie have been to Austin on multiple occasions now, including trips both this spring and last fall. Fakatou still has trips to Oregon and Notre Dame on the docket, while Currie will see the Ducks as well and then will go see Cal.
Jalen Brewster wasn’t the only Texas Tech commit in Austin over the weekend. The Longhorns also played host to Langham Creek (TX) four star linebacker Jhadyn Nelson, who has long been a Texas target. The Longhorns were once a front runner in Nelson’s recruitment prior to him shutting it down in favor of the Red Raiders. That commitment has not tempered Texas’ enthusiasm, as they have continued to work hard in this recruitment in hopes of flipping him. Between Brewster and Nelson, the latter appears to be the more likely candidate to the flip to the Longhorns if you have been reading the tea leaves.
The Longhorns hosted a pair of four star prospects from the state of Alabama in Alabaster (AL) Thompson defensive back Junior Tu’upo and Mobile (AL) Vigor EDGE defender Jabarrius Garror. Garror was previously committed to the in-state Crimson Tide before re-opening his recruitment in March. Garror is coming off a two year stretch of putting up video game production, which includes 42.5 sacks and 88.5 TFLs over those two years and no that isn’t a typo.
Tu’upo is coveted highly by the Texas staff and had a nice visit to Austin over the weekend, but both Alabama and Auburn will host him in the officals in the month of June and will not make things easy. Tu’upo stated that the Longhorns are his leader after leaving campus this weekend, so the target will be firmly on their backs over the next few weeks.
Another name to file away from this weekend’s visitors is Atascocita (TX) three star cornerback Trenton Blaylock. Don’t let the ranking fool you with Blaylock. He’s got the tall, athletic frame that coaches covet at the position along with sub-11.00 sprinting times in track, including running 10.56 in the 100M dash earlier this spring. Blaylock has three older brothers who all played football at the collegiate level, as well as his father playing for multiple years in the NFL. So far he has visited Vanderbilt and Texas, and now he will make trips to Oklahoma and Florida State.
On top of hosting several key targets, the Longhorns also hosted several committed prospects for the 2027 class. Guys like Brock Williams, Cameron Hall, Derwin Fields, Noah Roberts, Kenyon Hemphill-Woods, and JT Geraci were all on campus to help be vocal recruiters over the weekend.
Roberts committed back in early May, and he told reporters after his visit that he is locked in with his commitment.
The first official visit weekend is officially in the books and from the looks of things it went pretty well. Sarkisian and company will tee is back up later this week and run it back again with a fresh list of visitors.
