WR Jonah Wilson - "I always wanted a Texas offer"
New Texas Longhorns wide receivers coach Brennan Marion is looking to add some elite talent to a room that already features guys like Xavier Worthy, and he’ll have a deep talent pool from within the state of Texas to pull from in the 2023 class. One player that has caught Marion’s attention is Jonah Wilson, who picked up an offer from Texas in late January.
Wilson, out of Spring Dekaney, received the Texas offer after Marion had a chance to see him during the January evaluation period.
“Coach Marion, when he came to see me, I want to say it was about two or three days before they offered,” Wilson said. “He was saying the head coach was going to offer me. I was really excited about getting it. I always wanted a Texas offer.”
Wilson is keeping an open mind at this stage of his recruitment but does admit he’s always had an eye on the Longhorns.
“It’s just something about the Longhorns,” he said. “That burnt orange. I always liked when Vince Young was playing, I always watched his highlights.”
Wilson says he wants to take all of his official visits before deciding. He may take some in June and some next fall but doesn’t have a firm timeline for those trips. Texas will likely get one of his five officials, he said.
“I feel like they will get one of the official visits, being in state and one that I might want to go to,” Wilson said. “They’ll definitely get one.”
Other schools that Wilson said will be strong contenders for his official visits include Ohio State, LSU and Houston. The Buckeyes were another January offer that caught his attention.
“That was very exciting. I know it’s very rare for us in Texas to get one of those offers,” Wilson said. “I was just blessed to get that one.”
Wilson and Marion have a strong relationship dating back to Marion’s time at Pittsburgh. Marion offered Wilson at his previous stop and then was quick to re-offer when he got to Austin and Wilson said he can easily relate to UT’s new receivers coach.
“He offered me at Pitt. I feel like he’s still young, so I can really relate to him more,” Wilson said. “He loves me hard, is somebody I need in my life.”
As a junior for Dekaney, Wilson caught 34 passes for 469 yards and 8 touchdowns. His talents have helped him garner close to 15 total scholarship offers, but Wilson said he feels he still has plenty of room to grow.
“I feel like my best thing is winning 50/50 balls. I’m confident knowing one-on-one, you can’t mess with me. There are a lot of things to improve on - route running, speed, yards after the catch. There are always going to be things to improve on.”