As the regular season begins to settle for college football and signing day approaches, here is a look at the top recruits that have made a verbal commitment to Texas:
Colin Simmons
Five-star weak side defensive end Collin Simmons is the highest ranked recruit Texas has this year. On the 2024 ESPN 300, the recruiting database for the top 300 recruits, Simmons is ranked 10th on the list. Simmons is ranked as the number one recruit in Texas overall and as the number two recruit nationally for defensive end.
Coming from just outside of Dallas, Simmons stands at 6-foot 3-inches and verbally committed to Texas in August. However, Simmons made visits to Texas as early as January 2022. Over the span of about a year and a half, Simmons made five unofficial visits to Darrell K Royal Stadium to see the program in action and to see if he would fit in at Texas. His sixth and last visit was marked as an official visit to Austin. Overall, 44 other schools made offers to Simmons, but he has not indicated any interest.
Jerrick Gibson
Also on the ESPN 300 is Jerrick Gibson, a four-star running back from Bradenton, Florida.
Gibson moved around a lot in high school, playing at a different school each year before landing at IMG Academy, a football powerhouse. Last year, Gibson averaged 7.3 yards per carry while running for eight touchdowns in nine games.
His success started early on in his high school career, though. In his freshman year, Gibson participated in the FBU Freshman All-American Bowl where he was named a top performer by 247Sports and ran a 11.33 second 100-meter dash when running track for his school.
For his speed and ability to make plays, Gibson is ranked 33rd on ESPN’s list and No. 1 in the nation for running backs. Although 23 other schools made offers to him, Gibson verbally committed to Texas in May 2023.
Brandon Baker
In high school, Brandon Baker played right tackle for a California Mater Dei team that ranked No. 2 nationally in 2022. Standing at 6 feet, 5 inches and 290 pounds, Baker’s size will help him keep the offensive line strong, easily overwhelming and outmatching smaller defenders.
Gabe Brooks, a national scouting analyst, projected that Baker has the potential to be a multi-year starter that could eventually get drafted to the NFL in early rounds.
Ranked 42nd on the 2024 ESPN 300 list, Baker received offers from 33 other colleges before verbally committing to Texas. For his position specifically, Baker is ranked No. 3 in the nation.
Freddie Dubose
Another native Texan from Spring Branch, four-star wide receiver Freddie Dubose’s strength lies in his speed and explosiveness. Dubose competed in track and field in high school, becoming a Texas 6A state qualifier in the triple jump in 2022 and running the second leg of Schertz Clemens’ regional champion 4×400 relay.
Unfortunately, Dubose had to miss all but one of his junior year games because of a torn ACL; however, even with the tear, Dubose is still ranked fairly high. For instance, Dubose still made it on to the 2024 ESPN 300 list, ranked at No. 186. For his position, Dubose is ranked 24th nationally.
