Texas Longhorns Depth Chart After Surprise Addition of John Meredith III

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian delivered some surprising news at SEC Media Days on Thursday in Tampa.

Sarkisian announced that 2027 five-star cornerback and Texas commit John Meredith III has reclassified to 2026, allowing him to join the team's roster for the upcoming season.

The move makes sense for Meredith, who was ruled inelgible for his senior year of high school due to controversial transfer restrictions. But now, his addition to the Texas defense is set to shake up what the secondary looks like under new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp next season.

John Meredith III Will Have to Work His Way Up Depth Chart

Considering that Meredith is just now joining the team and didn't participate in spring practice, he will have to quickly get up to speed from both a scheme and conditioning perspective if he wants to carve out a consistent role next season.

That said, Meredith was the No. 1 cornerback in the 2027 class for a reason, and should have no trouble showing why.

Here's what we project the new cornerback depth chart to look like for Texas in a best-case scenario for Meredith:

CB1 - Bo Mascoe

CB2 - Kade Phillips

STAR - Graceson Littleton

CB3 - Kobe Black

CB4 - Samari Matthews

CB5 - John Meredith III

STAR 2 - Wardell Mack

CB6 - Warren Roberson

It's worth noting that this depth chart is the best-case scenario for Meredith and assumes he will impress the coaching staff in order to earn his way into the rotation by mid-season, but there's also the likelihood of some freshman growing pains. After all, he's supposed to be starting his senior year of high school, not playing significant snaps in the SEC.

Despite the hype that surrounds him, fans shouldn't expect for Meredith to come out of nowhere and be able to take the starting job at boundary corner from either Mascoe or Phillips. But once he's gotten a year of experience under his belt, the 2027 season could feature Meredith as the team's top overall cornerback.

The non-conference slate will be big for Meredith. There's no reason to think why he wouldn't get playing time in the season opener against Texas State and then again two weeks later vs. UTSA, though Texas will have to handle busy early in order to allow Meredith and others a chance to see the field.

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