Texas now on Omari Abor's radar after his visit last Friday
Texas has kind of been an afterthought for Rivals100 defensive end Omari Abor throughout most of the recruiting process. That may have changed after last weekend, when the Duncanville standout made his way to Austin for an unofficial visit to UT on Friday.
“The visit was great, especially towards the end when I talked to coach Steve Sarkisian,” Abor said.
The 6-4, 270-pound Abor said he’s not completely sure where things stand with Texas coming out of the visit, but the Longhorns are at least drawing consideration. Abor said he’ll take some time, think things over and discuss everything with his parents to gain some clarity. Whatever eventually happens, the UT visit definitely helped UT’s chances and Abor said he liked what he heard from the Texas staff.
“Of course, of course, especially talking to Steve Sarkisian,” Abor said when asked if the visit elevated Texas’ chances. “Him just telling me my position, about life, different things like that that I really liked. Most likely I’d play like a hybrid, outside backer. Rushing and then dropping back at times. They call it a Buck, so I'd be playing the Buck.”
One element that was not discussed at length on the visit but could ultimately weigh in UT’s favor is the news of Texas eventually joining the SEC. The final details of that move – mostly when it will take place – are still up in the air, but Abor said it’s a factor he’ll consider.
“It changes. At first I was like, it doesn’t have anything to do with me, they said 2025. But it could be in like a year or year so I'm thinking like maybe Texas might be the one,” Abor said. “Now I’ve really got to have a talk with my parents about the whole situation.”
Texas had never really been a factor for Abor prior to last weekend’s visit. Interestingly, it was another highly-rated prospect (Harold Perkins) who helped get him to Austin for the visit, even though Perkins was unable to attend.
“It really started with boy Perkins, just talking to him. We were on a game and he was just telling me he might go to Texas this week. I said but I'm all down for it, I like Texas also,” Abor said. “He ended up telling me he’s not going but I said ‘Okay, I’m still going to go because I want to go.’ I'm actually glad I came.”
Abor said he plans to return to the Forty Acres for a game in the fall, but he’s unsure of when that will take place because he’ll have to work that trip around his school and football commitments.
In June, Abor took official visits to Ohio State, Alabama and LSU. He also took an unofficial visit to Oklahoma. That leaves Abor two official visits to take in the fall. One will go to a Pac-12 school and the other could come down to one of two in-state programs.
“I know for sure I'm going to USC for a visit. It was going to be Oklahoma when they play Nebraska, but they stopped talking to me so I'm kind of deciding if I want to go to Oklahoma or not. Most likely, it might be Texas or Texas A&M depending on how I feel,” Abor said.
During his visit to Texas on Friday, the UT staff stressed to Abor that he could be a vital part of the Longhorns’ 2022 recruiting class. The coaches also sold him on how he’d be used and how Texas could set him up for life after football.
“Of course they didn't say ‘Oh we need you a lot.’ But at the end of day, the way he was describing the whole situation with the SEC, how he’s going to play his d-ends, the outside backer, all that. It sounds really good,” Abor said. “Plus he was just explaining everything about life. I really, really liked it.”