Texas Football: Five-Star DL Alfred Collins Choses Longhorns

Alfred Collins has made his decision.

The five-star defensive end from Bastrop Cedar Creek High School picked Texas during a ceremony at his school on Wednesday.

He chose the Longhorns over Alabama, Oklahoma and Baylor with the Sooners and Crimson Tide being the other two top choices.

Collins was by far the biggest recruiting target left on the board for the Longhorns after early signing day. He was an all-state and All-Central Texas selection during his senior season. He recorded 86 tackles, 35 for loss and eight sacks during his senior season.

From right down the road in Bastrop, Texas the No. 2 strong-side defensive end in the 2020 class according to 247 Sports is the first five-star defensive lineman signee for Texas since Malcom Brown in 2012.

“With Alfred, it seems like we’ve been recruiting him for forever,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said. “It’s been about two-and-a-half years. He’s from right here in Bastrop. His mom played basketball here at UT for Coach (Jody) Conradt. His dad has got a great job here in Austin. All of the boxes were checked a long time ago from a character and work-ethic standpoint. When you turn the film on, this is a guy who just continues to get better. He’s so long, and strong, but extremely athletic. He’s a starter on their basketball team and a guy that’s going to do everything right. He’s going to give his teammates everything he’s got every time he steps on the field.”

Collins was highly-coveted recruit since early on in his high school career but rose up the rankings in the past few months thanks to a particularly dominant senior campaign.

The Longhorns were long considered to be the clubhouse leader for Collins' services. His mother played basketball at the University of Texas and the campus is less than 45 minutes from his home. However, Oklahoma made Collins a strong priority with head coach Lincoln Riley seen at a Cedar Creek game earlier this year to recruit him in person.

Landing Collins is a major testament to defensive line coach Oscar Giles, Tom Herman and director of recruiting Brian Carrington, all of which played a role in Collins' recruiting amid a period of uncertainty regarding the staff after several changes.