An Unexpected SEC Team is Challenging Texas for 5-Star RB Landen Williams-Callis

The Texas Longhorns have been on the receiving end of some bad news on the 2027 recruiting trail this week and will hoping to regain momentum as the offseason comes to an end.

Texas lost out on a five-star wide receiver Monshun Sales, who announced his commitment to Indiana. The Longhorns are also in serious danger of losing No. 1 wide receiver Easton Royal, who was recently predicted by On3's Steve Wiltfong to flip to the LSU Tigers.

However, the Longhorns still appear to be the team to beat for 2027 five-star running back Landen Williams-Callis, but they will have to fight off an aggressive contender in order to land him.

Missouri Continues Battling Texas for Landen Williams-Callis

Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz talks to his team during a timeout during the first quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium Saturday December 27, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

According to Rivals, the Missouri Tigers are making an aggressive push for Williams-Callis in hopes of landing him over Texas.

Williams-Callis recently announced his five finalists as Texas, Texas A&M, Houston, SMU and Missouri. With teams like Oregon, Notre Dame and Ohio State no longer in the running, Missouri's chances of winning the recruitment are higher than they might be otherwise.

While teams like SMU and Houston are certainly on the rise at the Power 4 level, seeing those two programs instead of perennial title contenders should make Mizzou fans feel a bit more confident,

Still, Texas is seen as the favorite for Williams-Callis, who is a product of Randle High School in Richmond, TX. He's already got the Lone Star State ties and clearly views staying in Texas as a possibility.

But the fact Mizzou is the only non-Texas team in his group of finalists shows that Williams-Callis is serious about potentially heading to Columbia.

After all, Missouri and head coach Eli Drinkwitz have had some impressive success at the running back position in recent seasons, something that is expected to continue in 2026.

Though star running back Ahmad Hardy is expected to miss multiple games after recovering from a gunshot wound, he remains the best at his position in the SEC -- and possibly the country -- until further notice when fully healthy.

For Williams-Callis, seeing this kind of success at Mizzou will be hard to ignore. Combine that with a potentially handsome-looking NIL package, the Longhorns will need to remain aggressive in their pursuit of him or risk losing another recruiting battle to an SEC team.

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