Texas 5-Star Target John Meredith Involved in Controversial Eligibility Ruling

The Texas Longhorns are still in the process of building their 2027 recruiting class, and likely near the top of their list of priority targets is five-star cornerback John Meredith III.

However, ahead of his expected commitment announcement later this summer, Meredith is finding himself suddenly involved in some major eligibility headlines as he prepares to wrap up his high school career.

Meredith has been ruled ineligible to play varsity football for North Crowley High School next season after a 5-2 vote in the District 11-6A executive committee in Fort Worth ruled that he only transferred into the program from Euless Trinity due to athletic reasons, per reports from Greg Riddle ofThe Dallas Morning News.

Not all hope is lost yet, as Meredith can appeal the ruling and still become eligible, but there's a reality where he will have to at least attempt to transfer to another program or sit out his entire senior season before heading off to play college football. Riddle points out that these rulings can be tough for the committee to overturn, potentially leaving Meredith in a tricky position.

What This All Means for Texas

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on prior to a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It's hard to imagine that this latest development will have any impact on Texas' recruitment of Meredith III or any of the other teams in the mix for him. Along with the Longhorns, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Miami, Notre Dame and Alabama are his finalists, though it's expected his decision will come down to either Texas or Texas A&M.

In a scenario where he does end up sitting out a year, he will certainly still be training and growing to insure he's in the kind of physical shape necessary to play in the SEC or elsewhere. This makes finding a new team before the 2026 high school season a potential priority for Meredith.

But if Meredith doesn't end up joining a new program, missing his last year of high school football won't exactly help his final stage of development before college, though you can bet that almost all of the coaching staffs recruiting him would make an exception, including Texas.

What John Meredith III Said About Eligibility Ruling

Though Meredith's time with North Crowley appears to be over, he doesn't seem to worried that everything will work itself out.

“It’s fine. It’s nothing too serious," Meredith told Rivals. "We still have another appeal to go through, but it’s all in God’s hands. I’m not worried at all.”

The North Crowley football program will certainly need to hold similar optimism as they prepare to potentially lose one of the best high school players in the country.

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