By all accounts, the Texas Longhorns had a successful recruiting weekend, hosting a handful of top targets for official visits. On Sunday afternoon, successful was an understatement, with 5-star defensive end Richard Wesley announcing that he had given the Texas Longhorns a commitment.

Out of Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon, Wesley reclassified from the 2027 to the 2026 class earlier this year. He’s the No. 1-ranked defensive end in the entire country, and instantly becomes the Longhorns’ highest-rated commitment.

Early in his recruitment, observers felt Wesley would most likely stay out West but that began to change when he took an unofficial visit to Texas in the spring. The Longhorns made a strong move on that visit, but Wesley would later give a short-lived commitment to Oregon. A few weeks after that announcement, he reopened his recruitment and Texas was squarely back in the mix. He took his official visit to Texas over the weekend and announced on social media on Sunday that he had committed to Texas.

“When I came up here, I was excited, hoping for good things,” Wesley told Orangebloods.com. “I feel like one of the really main points that caught my eye about Texas, they’re in the SEC, and second, the education standpoint. Their academics are really good. Football is not forever. I feel like after I’m done with the league, I’ll still have a good degree and still have a successful career after football.”

Wesley said the feelings of committing to Texas actually started to hit him midway through the visit. With everything Texas has to offer on the field combined with opportunities after football, he said he felt comfortable enough to tell the UT coaches on Sunday morning that he wanted to be a Longhorn.

“It really hit me when I was chilling with my parents and everybody. It was really last night. The whole night before, I was making pros and cons. I had no cons about (Texas),” Wesley said. “I feel like it’s sort of a move I have to make as a young man. I’m from the West, not from the South. Most of the Texas team South, so it’s kind of a culture shock to take that step. But need that culture shock to really grow as a person. That’s when I realized this is going to be home.

“I told (the coaches) this morning. We sat down, Sark kind of froze for a little bit. He was happy. Especially the edge coach, LaAllan Clark, he was kind of lost for words. I’m his first commit in this class.”

What a big first commitment it is for Clark, who has quickly solidified himself as an elite recruiter in his short time in Austin.

Though Wesley was committed to Oregon at one point, he says this one is different and he has no intentions of looking around at other programs.

“My recruitment is 100 percent, 1,000 percent shut down. I’m going here in January,” Wesley said. “It feels good. Feels good. It was kind of hard letting all the other coaches know that have recruited me. I had great bonds with them … but in the end, I had to do what’s best for me. It is for sure a sigh of relief, I don’t have to go on visits, sit on long calls, now I just have to prepare for going to Texas in January.”

At 6-5 and 250 pounds, Wesley checks in at No. 6 on the Rivals100. He holds scholarship offers from just about every major program in America and his announcement gives a Texas recruiting class that had been picking up steam a major shot in the arm. The addition of Wesley suddenly has Texas sitting at No. 13 in the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings.