The first day of the early signing period came and left without any real surprises for the Texas Longhorns, which may have been just what the doctor ordered for a Texas fan base that has seen a bit of a rollercoaster ride in assembling the groundwork for their team’s 2020 recruiting class.
On Wednesday, the Texas football program added 16 members to its class, meaning every one of the program’s current commitments signed his letter of intent to officially become a member of the Longhorn program. If there was any reason for concern … and there really wasn’t … those fears were put to rest at about 1:30 p.m. when five-star running back Bijan Robinson signed his LOI at a ceremony at his high school in Arizona. The majority of the class sent in their letters before the clock had even hit 8 a.m., with cornerback Kitan Crawford setting the pace when he faxed his in at 7 a.m.
The 16 commitments for Texas’ 2020 has the Longhorns’ class ranking 21st nationally in the Rivals.com team rankings. But those figures may not tell the whole story of just how much talent there is in this class. In terms of average star rankings, Texas’ class actually ranks No. 6 nationally, behind only recruiting powerhouses Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, LSU and Ohio State. Technically, Oklahoma has the highest-ranked class in the Big 12 right now (No. 17) due in part to the Sooners having 21 commitments, but the Sooners’ average star ranking has them a full 13 spots behind Texas in the national rankings.
What do those numbers mean? It means Texas is off to a great start, but there’s still work to be done in the time leading up to the February signing day to add some key pieces to fill out the class.
Over the course of the day, the Longhorns loaded up with 12 offensive commitments, headlined by a few players who in the offensive backfield.
At quarterback, Texas inked an incredible one-two punch in Hudson Card and Ja'Quinden Jackson, two dual-threat QBs who are among the most talented in the entire country. Card, out of Lake Travis, was UT’s first commitment of the class, giving Texas a verbal pledge back in May of 2018. Other schools, notably Georgia, tried to make a run at the Rivals250 member and Elite11 participant late in the process but Card stayed true to his word in signing with Texas. In Jackson, Texas signs a dynamic athlete at the quarterback position who has is a dominant runner with a cannon for an arm. Jackson led Duncanville to back-to-back state title appearances in 2018 and 2019 but will miss this weekend’s championship game after suffering an ACL tear last week.
Arguably the biggest news of the day … and the most suspenseful … was the signing of Bijan Robinson, the five-star runner out of Tucson (AZ) Salpointe High School. The nation’s top-ranked back, Robinson’s signing wasn’t finalized until 1:30 p.m., giving fans some nervous moments, but there really was never any reason for concern. Despite efforts from the likes of Ohio State, USC and LSU, Robinson had maintained down the stretch that he was solid to Texas (even as recently as Tuesday) and he stuck to his word in signing with the Longhorns on Wednesday.
Wide receivers Troy Omeire and DaJon Harrison both signed early and stuck to their guns despite not having an offensive coordinator or wide receiver coach on the staff. That’s a pretty big testament by those two in their confidence in Tom Herman, the future of the offense and the hires that will eventually be made, although Herman mentioned that there were some concerns with those two that needed to be addressed. Of course, it wasn’t all good news on the wide receiver recruiting front, with former Texas commitment Quentin Johnston peeling off of his pledge this week and signing with TCU on Wednesday. Look for Texas to try to find at least one more receiver in the late signing window.
There was very little suspense along the offensive line, which is exactly the way Herb Hand likes it. All four players committed early, none of them ever looked at any other schools and they all sent their letters of intent in during the morning hours. Jaylen Garth and Andrej Karic will arrive in the summer and work at tackle. Jake Majors and Logan Parr, two early enrollees, were among the earliest commitments for the Longhorns and both will enroll in January to get a head start on their Texas careers.
Athlete Jaden Hullaby, a player who Tom Herman said will likely play several positions on offense before his Texas career is over, is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades player who can help the offense out of the backfield, as an H-back or even at receiver. He could even transition to defense at some point. Hullaby committed to Texas nearly nine full months ago and never once wavered.
The numbers on the defensive side of the ball weren’t as plentiful as on offense, but that side of the ball also has some standout players at all three levels.
Both defensive line signees - Vernon Broughton and Sawyer Goram-Welch – got their letters of intent sent over in the morning. Both will also enroll at Texas in January. Broughton committed to Texas during the summer in a hotly-contested win over Texas A&M and he never looked around. Goram-Welch, UT’s most recent pledge, made his commitment official on Sunday night of this week, not too long after he’d finished up his UT official visit. Look for Texas to try to add one or two prospects to the fold along the defensive front.
Prince Dorbah, the playmaker out of Highland Park, becomes Texas’ only linebacker signee with his morning signature. An all-state and three-time all-district honoree who won two state championships, Dorbah is a terrific edge player that should give new defensive coordinator Chris Ash some versatility and athleticism at the linebacker spot. He’s another who never wavered once he commtted.
In the secondary, Texas inked three players, two who will play at safety and one on the outside. Cornerback Kitan Crawford was the first player in the class to send in his letter of intent, which was a bit of a shock considering he had some brief reservations after the defensive coaching changes were announced a couple weeks ago. The two-time all-district honoree submitted his letter of intent shortly after 7 a.m. Safeties Jerrin Thompson and Xavion Alford, two early enrollees, were also quick to submit their letters on Wednesday morning. Both will be eligible to participate in spring football practices, although Alford will likely be brought along slowly due to a knee injury that forced him to miss most of his senior season.
Add it all up and Texas took step one towards securing yet another extremely impressive recruiting class, one that could wind up ranking in the top 10 nationally for the third consecutive year if the Longhorns can add some key pieces before the February signing day. What this class lacks in quantity, it more than makes up in quality, including one five-star signee and 10 four-star signees.
