Texas Longhorns Battling Ohio State, Michigan for Another Top Defensive Lineman

The top-ranked defensive lineman will announce his commitment this week.

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns, who already have three of the top-30 ranked defensive lineman of the 2026 recruiting cycle, have a chance to add another one this week.

Damari Simeon, a New Jersey native, will announce his commitment on June 27, per On3 Recruits posted on X.

Simeon has narrowed his list down to four schools: Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, and Texas. Penn State, made the biggest push for the top-end talent, as they offered him in July of 2024.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leads warm ups prior to the Cotton Bowl Classic College Football Playoff semifinal game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 10, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Recruiting publications have not found a middle ground for the ranking of the highly sought after recruit. 247Sports has him as their 44th ranked defensive lineman, and 26th in their composite rankings.

On3 on the other hand, has Simeon ranked as the seventh best defensive line recruit in the 2026 cycle.

🚨NEWS🚨 4-star DL Damari Simeon will announce between Penn State, Ohio State, Texas and Michigan on June 27👀

Simeon is the No. 7 DL in the 2026 On300.

Read: https://t.co/lFXOdRLLwx pic.twitter.com/fnvoLgH8mh

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) June 23, 2025

Chad Simmons of On3 talked with Simeon and asked what was most important to him when choosing a school, the top-ranked recruit had this to say:

“The most important factors to me and my family for deciding on a school are academics, player development, the coaches and program tradition, I have to get a feel for everything in person, no matter how much research you do, seeing everything in person gives you the best feeling about the school and the program," Simeon told Simmons. "I try to look for things that differentiate a school from the others and what the school can provide that others can’t."

Simeon has been on his official visits for his top-four. He went to Michigan to start the month, before heading to Penn State. He spent the weekend of June 13 at the Forty Acres before rounding out his visits with a stop in Columbus last weekend.

The Texas Longhorns have been on quite a run recently gathering top defensive line recruits for the 2026 cycle. Will Kenny Baker keep the momentum going, or will Simeon look for somewhere like Ohio State who is yet to get a defensive line commit for the cycle?

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