For the most part, things have gone as expected for the Longhorns on the first day of the early signing period. Of all of the UT commitments that were expected to sign today have done so, and now one player who was expected to pick the Longhorns out of a group of six finalists has made it official in giving Texas a commitment.

New Orleans Holy Cross defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell - who had a final list of Arizona State, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Texas, Northwestern and Virginia – committed to Texas a moment ago.

A one-time Northwestern pledge, Sorrell opened up his recruitment in late October. Once he was officially on the market, the Texas staff presented him with a scholarship offer and the Longhorns immediately moved up his list.

“It’s a very good school football-wise and I’m very excited about it,” Sorrell said shortly after getting the Texas offer. “I know it’s a really good school. Ever since I was younger, you’d always hear about them and them being a really good school with a lot of tradition.”

The 6-4, 263-pound Sorrell is also a solid student and Texas’ academic reputation was something that helped the Longhorns’ cause.

“(Academics) are definitely very important to me,” Sorrell told Orangebloods.com. “I understand you have to have a life after football. Obviously, I know the McCombs Business School is a really good business school, so I know that would set me up.”

Texas defensive line coaches Oscar Giles and Mark Hagen had been in touch with Sorrell leading up to his commitment. They’ve told him they like his versatility and feel he could help the Longhorns as a player who could line up both on the edge and on the interior of UT’s defensive line. That versatility should make him a valuable commodity for Texas, said Rivals.com recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman.

“Sorrell has a broad frame and is a hybrid defensive lineman capable of finding a fit in multiple defensive fronts and can play on the interior or out on the edge. He’s done both for Holy Cross and as a senior, had a wildly productive season pressuring quarterbacks and causing disruption in the backfield from multiple positions,” Spiegelman said.

A three-star prospect, Sorrell becomes the Longhorns’ 19th commitment in the 2021 class and is Texas’ 18th signee. Only cornerback Ishmael Ibraheem has yet to sign his letter of intent.

As a junior, Sorrell logged 44 tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble. As a senior in 2020, he recorded 53 total tackles, 24 solo stops to go with 14 tackles for loss, five sacks and a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Texas’ recruiting class currently ranks 18th nationally. Sorrell is the Longhorns’ third true defensive line signee, joining Jordon Thomas and Byron Murphy. Ja’Tavion Sanders could also wind up on playing along the defensive line.