Elite Talent Still on the Board for Texas 2022 Recruiting Class
Beyond the surprise of Texas A&M storming to the top of the recruiting rankings in 2022, one could argue that Texas' hold as a top-five team in the mix is a relative surprise.
The Longhorns faded on the field but the vision, branding, and benefit of the doubt remain with Steve Sarkisian and company anyway. The program holds 27 verbal commitments, including six among SI99 recruits, with several weeks left to bolster the class for good come February and the traditional national signing day.
The biggest, literally and figuratively, is Devon Campbell. The SI99 recruit and offensive lineman out of Arlington (Texas) Bowie is a top 25 overall recruit with narrowed choices including rivals UT and Oklahoma. The Texan would add to a historic offensive line class already boasting SI99 recruits and plenty of volume with a half-dozen prospects already signed. Campbell is expected to complete the process the first week of February when recruits can again sign a National Letter of Intent.
But he isn't the only trench talent the Horns and Kyle Flood are still courting.
The assistant coach has long been in on another of the nation's most coveted blockers still on the market in Earnest Greene. The Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout is expected to make a final decision this weekend at the All-American Bowl on Saturday and word is UT will be among the hats on the table. Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State will also be options during the national broadcast for the Californian.
Beyond the big bodies on offense, Texas is also still potentially on the market for a running back. If so, former Florida Gator commitment Terrence Gibbs is still potentially in play following a late official visit in December -- if the numbers work out.
There may be more of a priority level in the secondary, and specifically at safety. Like Greene, Larry Turner-Gooden is planning on making his pick public on Saturday and there is Texas chatter associated with his name. Colorado and Arizona State got late visits from the Californian, who was able to see Austin earlier in the season. Steve Sarkisian and several assistant coaches were in the senior's home late in the contact period.
Then there is the highest-ranked safety in the class among those yet to commit, Jacoby Mathews. The Louisianan is high on many programs' boards and has late visits scheduled to the likes of Florida and LSU, where he was once committed. Alabama, Texas A&M, and others are also in the mix, along with UT.
With Mathews, the Longhorn angles and the relationships fostering them brewed up before he originally committed to LSU, even before some of the current coaches were in Austin for good.
"I met coach Terry Joseph, he played with my head coach," Mathews told Rivals. "I started talking to Coach (Blake) Gideon at Ole Miss and Coach Sark when he was at Alabama. They just kept it going."
Can Texas keep it going?
A top-five class is all but guaranteed at this point, with the nation's top offensive line haul (pending) and one of the best defensive line groups onboard incoming as well, optimism should again be high around the program despite the on-field perception of it late in 2021.
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