Killeen Shoemaker offensive lineman Troy Pless is still a young player as a member of the 2026 recruiting class, but college coaches are already taking notice of the 6-6, 275-pounder. Pless holds a handful of early offers, including scholarships from Arkansas, Baylor and Texas Tech. Several other programs continue to evaluate the young lineman, including the Texas Longhorns.

Recently, Pless was an invited guest of the UT staff to watch a Texas home game against Louisiana-Monroe. Pless made the short drive down I-35 and said he enjoyed the experience.

“I loved the environment. I loved how the crowd gets hyped,” Pless said. “I loved how all the fans have so much love for Texas. And especially how the coaches show love to you. I got there (early), so all the coaches came up said what’s up.”

Pless initially got to know the Texas coaches when he attended a UT Elite Camp over the summer. The Longhorns haven’t offered yet, but Texas offensive line coach Kyle Flood is paying close attention.

“When I talked to him (at the game), he basically said he just got done watching my film a little bit ago,” Pless said. “They’re going to look at my film, keep evaluating me because they are interested. After the Elite Camp, I wasn’t on their recruiting board because that was my first time going to their camp. They said they liked me, will keep evaluating me more. They’re going to keep recruiting me, keep me on their recruiting board.”

If Texas was to eventually offer, Pless said the Longhorns would receive strong consideration.

“I feel like that would be a great offer for me. They’re number one in national college football right now. That would be a big offer,” Pless said. “They produce good offensive linemen. Like Kelvin Banks, he’s probably a top-five tackle in college football. The guard, number 52 (DJ Campbell), he’s probably a top-five guard. I feel like if they did offer, something that would stick out is them producing good college football players and developing them.”