Tausili Akana continues to take his time with the recruiting process, but things picked up a bit this weekend with Akana taking his first official visit. The Lehigh (UT) Skyridge High product made his way to Austin for the weekend and said it was a terrific experience overall, including watching Texas nearly take down Alabama.

“Overall I loved it. I had a good time,” Akana said. “The game, the outcome wasn’t what was expected. But I don’t think it was a loss for Texas. They still balled out.”

Up next, Akana will take a visit to LSU. He also has trips scheduled to Oklahoma and Texas A&M. With those visits still on the schedule, Akana is keeping an open mind but he did say that the weekend visit elevates the Longhorns’ chances.

“I would definitely say that they moved up a lot,” Akana said.

A Rivals100 member, Akana is one of a handful of remaining priority targets for the Longhorns in the 2023 class. The Texas staff stressed that fact this weekend and let Akana know he’d fit in well with what the staff is building in Austin.

“Mainly they were just saying there’s no other place like it. I witnessed it on Saturday,” Akana said.

The game itself was a tremendous experience, Akana said, but he was also impressed with the play of the Texas defense.

“I would definitely say the game (was a highlight), just how the defense was flying around. That’s my type of defense, all 11 running to the ball.”

Akana said he’ll probably wait until December before making a commitment. He was hosted on his Texas visit by linebacker Jaylan Ford.