Texas football was, at one point, on track to potentially have a top-three 2025 recruiting class, but has fallen tremendously this past week with three back-to-back misses from promising prospects.
Texas has landed 10 commits since April but has yet to clench a five-star athlete.
Five-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore, ranked as the No. 1 receiver in the nation by 247Sports and was recently predicted to lean in Texas’s favor after his official visit in June, announced his commitment to the Oregon Ducks on Thursday. Moore, who has been described by recruiters as “the total package,” hosted an Instagram live where he revealed his commitment to Oregon, concluding it with a firework celebration.
Moore’s decision wasn’t the only loss that Texas suffered, as four-star defensive lineman Brandon Bown decommitted from the Longhorns and flipped over to LSU on Friday. Brown was one of Texas’ first commits back in December along with tight end Emaree Winson and quarterback KJ Lacey, who committed last June. Without Brown, Texas is now very short on defensive tackle commits and with Brown projected to be an essential part of the defensive line, the sting of the decommit is more severe. Brown ranks as the No. 27 defensive lineman in the country.
In the last loss in the disappointing recruitment landslide, No. 3 linebacker and five-star prospect Riley Pettijohn announced his commitment to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday. The prospect chose the Buckeyes over Texas, Texas A&M and USC. This marks Ohio State’s 23rd commit, including three five-star commits, settling the Buckeyes in the No. 1 2025 recruiting class rank.
Looking at the positives in last week’s recruiting trail, Texas obtained four-star cornerback Kade Phillips over LSU on Saturday. In April, Phillips had over 30 offers to consider before picking Texas due to their acknowledgment of his versatility. Phillips plays wide receiver, cornerback and safety, creating a myriad of possibilities for Texas’ lineup.
“Texas sees me as versatile and someone who can play multiple positions,” Phillips said to On3. “So they can find a way to get me on the field as fast as possible.”
Despite the aforementioned losses, there is still hope for the future of the 2025 recruitment season. No. 2 wide receiver and five-star prospect Kaliq Lockett, is still up in the air with his decision between Texas, Tennessee, Miami, LSU and Ohio State. No. 4 wide receiver and five-star prospect Jaime Ffrench is also between the Longhorns and the Buckeyes, but Crystal Ball Predictions reveal an 83.3% chance of his commitment to Ohio State in contrast to Texas’ 16.7%.
Texas currently sits at No. 21 for its 2025 recruitment class. After the recent disappointments, it is up to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff to fill in these gaps and finish their recruiting campaign strong.
