Longhorns add commitment from 4-star DB Joshua Eaton

Two weeks ago, the Longhorns were sitting at one defensive back pledge, and people were wondering how the rest of the class in that position group might fill out. After a wave of commitments, including another today, Texas is sitting at five commitments and the Longhorns are likely done with their secondary recruiting in 2020.

Aldine MacArthur cornerback Joshua Eaton, a player who has been on UT’s radar for some time, announced moments ago that he had added his name to the Texas commitment list. Eaton joins recent DB commitments from Xavion Alford, Jerrin Thompson and Ethan Pouncey to go along with a June commitment from Kitan Crawford.

In landing Eaton, Texas not only gets a pledge from yet another terrific prospect, the Longhorns win a recruiting battle that swung back and forth in recent months. Early in the process, Texas appeared to be the clear leader for the 6-2, 185-pound Eaton but Texas A&M surged this summer, to the point that Eaton was expected to give the Aggies a commitment in early August. Eaton would eventually take a Texas unofficial visit on July 31 and wound up delaying his scheduled announcement date, which began to set the wheels in motion for Texas to win out in this one.

“It was a great visit like always,” Eaton said following his most recent visit. “They were basically just seeing where my head is on my decision. I had a great time.”

A four-star prospect, Eaton had originally planned to take his time with the recruiting process and not have a decision until close to the February National Signing Day. He would wind up releasing a top five of Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama in mid-June before ultimately turning things into a two-team race between the Longhorns and Aggies.

A long, athletic corner, Eaton shows good ball skills on both sides of the ball in high school, he has an ability to turn and run with receivers downfield while also showing a knack for diagnosing plays near the line of scrimmage. At Texas, his size, speed and athleticism will give the staff some flexibility with how he’s used in a league like the Big 12, where coverage abilities are a must.

Eaton becomes the Longhorns’ 18th overall commitment and is Texas’ seventh 2020 pledge in the month of August. He joins a Texas class that added commitments from Jerrin Thompson, Princely Umanmielen, Xavion Alford and Quentin Johnston last week.