Texas Longhorns Four-Star Commit Reacts to Recruiting Decision

The Texas Longhorns received a much-needed boost to their 2026 recruiting class on Friday afternoon by gaining the commitment of four-star cornerback Samari Matthews. The North Carolina native is ranked as the No. 9 player at his position per On3's Industry Rankings and has expressed his excitement to join the Longhorns on social media.

As Matthews posted a hype video on X after committing to the Longhorns, captioning it with "I'm home." Matthews details his journey with football and the next step in his career by joining the burnt orange and white.

"Now it's time for something new, a new team, a new jersey, a new dream to chase, and while it's hard to choose this chapter, I'm ready," Matthews said.

I’m Home 🤘🏾. @TexasFootball @CoachSark @Mark_Orphey pic.twitter.com/3cSnnQYvv2
— Samari “Smoke” Matthews (@samari_matthews) July 12, 2025

Samari Matthews Adds High-Level Talent to Texas' Secondary

Texas has been building a strength on the back end of the defense with its secondary, which last year allowed 173.8 passing yards per game, ranking as the seventh-lowest passing yards per game allowed in the country. This was also tied for first in college football in interceptions, finishing the season with 22.

Texas loses two big pieces in their secondary with Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba moving on to the NFL. However, the Longhorns are still with two of their best secondary player in All-American safety Michael Taaffe and cornerback Malik Muhammad, who will be the undeniable leaders of the Longhorns' secondary.

Steve Sarkisian has built high-end depth at the defensive back positions, specifically through high school recruiting. Aside from Taaffe and Muhammad, the Longhorns have several players with multiple seasons of experience within Texas's program: Jaylon Guilbeau, Derek Williams Jr., and Jelani McDonald all have more than two seasons on the Forty Acres.

On top of the experience the Longhorns have at defensive back, Texas also has a multitude of exciting young players who could carve out roles on the Longhorns' defense in their first or second seasons. The second-year players in Kobe Black, Wardell Mack, Xavier Filsaime, and Jordan Johnson-Rubell all could take big leaps in the Longhorns program. Texas' secondary also added five-star freshmen Jonah Williams and Kade Phillips, players who could see the field early on in their careers.

The Longhorns' 2026 recruiting class will continue to add to that depth with Matthews, who will join three other secondary commits in the five-star athlete Jermaine Bishop Jr., four-star cornerback Hayward Howard Jr., and three-star safety Yahiem Riley.