For the second time in less than a one-week span, the Texas Longhorns have added a tight end commitment to their 2023 recruiting class.
Will Randle, out of Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, committed to Texas during his official visit, giving the Longhorns their seventh overall pledge in the 2023 class.
The 6-4, 230-pound Randle had taken multiple unofficial visits to Texas prior to this weekend’s official visit and had been trending UT’s way for a while. With Texas being the only official visit on Randle’s calendar, this one showed signs of wrapping up quickly once Randle made it back to Austin. Before he ever left town, Randle gave the Texas staff a verbal commitment, joining Spencer Shannon as tight end commitments for the Longhorns in this class.
Randle catches passes at Isidore Newman from none other than Arch Manning, the nation’s top-ranked recruit. That’s certainly an added bonus, but Texas tight ends coach Jeff Banks has done a good job of recruiting Randle on his own, making him a priority ever since UT offered roughly one year ago.
“His route running is good. He goes in and out breaks well, and he hasn't even reached his top speed (yet). He's a three-sport athlete,” Isidore Newman head coach Nelson Stewart told OB earlier this year. “As much as Arch, (Will) has redefined our offense. And you know, obviously we build things off Arch, but the structure of what we do and how we do it is go to Will Randle. I can't say enough good things about him.”
A three-year varsity player for Isidore Newman, Randle shows on film a strong ability as a receiver, usually lining up in the slot. He’s able to stretch the field vertically with surprising speed and also shows strong run-after-the-catch ability.
After landing three defensive players to start off the 2022 class, the UT staff has now secured four consecutive commitments on the offensive side of the ball – Randle, Shannon, wide receiver Ryan Niblett and running back Tre Wisner.
Randle is ranked as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and is the nation’s No. 20-ranked tight end prospect.
Prior to committing to Texas, Randle had picked up offers from programs like Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Michigan State, Tennessee and Virginia, among others.