Noah Mikhail is one of the country’s top overall prospects in the 2025 recruiting cycle. Prior to this weekend, the talented linebacker had taken two visits to the UT campus with his 7-on-7 team, but he’d never had a chance to get an in-depth look at the Longhorn program. That changed on Friday and Saturday, when Mikhail made his way to Austin for an unofficial visit, where he had a chance to get some quality time with the Texas coaching staff.
“I was able to sit down with coach (Jeff) Choate and talk with him some more,” Mikhail said. “I got to meet coach (Steve) Sarkisian on the field. Just being able to build those relationships is key for me.”
With Choate, on Friday, Mikhail was able to go through the Texas defensive scheme and philosophy and Mikhail was able to see first-hand how he could fit in.
“With coach Choate, I was learning the schemes of what they do, he was giving me a breakdown of what his philosophy is,” Mikhail said. “A lot of what they do, they need fast, athletic linebackers. I think I fit into that system well.”
Out of La Verne (CA) Bonita, Mikhail is planning to hit some other college games later this fall. He’s expecting to be at Ohio State when the Buckeyes host Penn State. He’ll be at UCLA-USC in November and may be at Alabama when the Tide hosts LSU.
Ranked No. 84 on the Rivals100, Mikhail is the nation’s No. 2-ranked inside linebacker prospect. He holds about 35 scholarship offers but says there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
“Overall, there’s always things you can still get better at,” Mikhail said. “The thing I do pretty well is tackling in space. My strengths are my athleticism, versatility, ability to guard, cover, come down and hit. I think I have a lot of those aspects. I just need to keep working on my overall game.”
With so many offers, it’s too early for Mikhail to have a list of favorites. At this point, it’s more about building bonds and doing as much research as possible, including on the University of Texas.
“I want to keep building the relationship there and see where that takes me,” Mikhail said.
