Texas Longhorns Land Commitment of Coveted Four-Star CB Prospect

The Texas Longhorns' 2026 recruiting class has had its fair share of misses in the past couple of days along the recruiting trail, but today it was a different story as the Longhorns just received the commitment of one of the top remaining uncommitted cornerback prospects from the 2026 class.

As Hayes Fawcett of Rivals posted on X that four-star cornerback Samari Matthews has committed to the Longhorns' 2026 recruiting class. Matthews picked the Longhorns over the South Carolina Gamecocks, Florida State Seminoles, and Miami Hurricanes.

The North Carolina native is touted as the No. 9-ranked cornerback in the 2026 class per On3's Industry Rankings class, as well as the No. 6 from the state of North Carolina and the No. 75-ranked player nationally.

BREAKING: Four-Star CB Samari Matthews has Committed to Texas, he tells me for @rivals

The 6’1 195 CB from Charlotte, NC chose the Longhorns over South Carolina, Florida State, & Miami

“Everything’s bigger in Texas #hookem”https://t.co/k7pI7skLwE pic.twitter.com/SucoS9dxf7
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 11, 2025

What attracted Samari Matthews to commit to the Texas Longhorns over other Programs

The Longhorns drew interest from Matthews right from the jump after extending an offer to Matthews, as he told 247Sports.

"I can't really tell you why I like Texas, I've just always liked it," He said hours after the Longhorns extended an offer. "It's something about them that stands out to me, and of course watching them in the College Football Playoff this last year, it was nice to see the defense, and the DBs looked good,"

Matthews took an official visit with the Longhorns back on June 13, and afterwards, Matthews talked with 247Sports about what stood out about Texas and what could've ultimately pushed the Longhorns over the line to obtain the commitment of Matthews.

"What stood out was the players and staff, and how much they all love being around each other," Matthews said.

Now with Matthews added to the Longhorns' 2026 recruiting class, Texas's is up to 18 commits in the 2026 class, which currently sits as No. 14 in the country and No. 6 in the SEC per On3's Industry Rankings.

Of the 18 commitments the Longhorns have apart of their 2026 recruiting class, four of the commits are from players in the secondary. Matthews joins five star athlete Jermaine Bishop Jr. who has the special ability to play on both sides of the ball, four star cornerback Hayward Howard Jr. and three star safety Yahiem Riley.

The commitment from Matthews gives the Longhorns another highly touted prospect to add to their 2026 class and another coveted prospect in the secondary, which adds to the depth the Longhorns have been building at that position in the past couple of recruiting classes. The Longhorns will look to build momentum with the commitment of Matthews, on the recruiting trail with other remaining targets.