Report: Texas Longhorns Back Off Pursuit of Recruit Amid Controversy
AUSTIN -- Even as they depart to the NFL, Xavier Worthy and Jonathon Brooks are speaking loudly about a recent Texas Longhorns recruiting target without saying or writing a word.
Brooks and Worthy both took to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday to share a news article about Carter Mannon, a local Austin area football player from Lake Travis that had peanuts put in his locker this past season despite having a serious allergy.
While he wasn't officially named in the story, Mannon's teammate and Texas recruiting target Gus Cordova is being widely accused of being the suspect behind the disturbing "prank." Already fielding offers from programs like Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Texas A&M and others, the Longhorns are now reportedly "backing off" in the recruitment of the defensive lineman.
Per reports from Anwar Richardson of OrangeBloods, Texas has stopped recruiting Cordova. As rumors continued to swirl about Cordova's involvement, the coaching staff made the decision to pull out.
"I was told by multiple sources that Texas is no longer recruiting Lake Travis defensive lineman Gus Cordova. Steve Sarkisian and his staff were unaware of the allegations surrounding Cordova before offering him a scholarship," Richardson tweeted. "Since being made aware, Texas has backed off."
The Longhorns have built a strong culture in just three years under Sarkisian. It's anyone's guess how the staff found out about the incident, but Brooks and Worthy's clear awareness of the situation makes it a possibility that they made coaches aware of the rumors.
While it should be emphasized that Cordova isn't mentioned in the news story and is innocent until proving guilty, these latest reports and the fact that his star ratings have been removed from 247Sports' player database is telling about his involvement as a suspect in a "prank" that could have turned fatal.
“A couple of teammates on his varsity football team were asking about his allergy to peanuts and asked if it could kill him,” the victim's mother, Shawna Mannon, told KXAN. “He said 'Yes, it absolutely could.'"
The players involved were reportedly disciplined by being benched but didn't face criminal charges.
“These boys were handed minimal consequences,” Shawna Mannon told the school board on Nov. 16. “Since this incident, my son has faced backlash and retaliation almost daily.”
