Ever since head coach Steve Sarkisian took charge of Texas football in 2021, a recruiting standard has been set for the program.
Outside of the 2021 recruiting class, primarily formed by former head coach Tom Herman, Sarkisian has recruited four top-five classes — including a No. 1 ranked class of 2025, according to 247Sports.
After dealing with recruitment blows over the weekend, the 2026 recruiting class is 12th in the 247Sports rankings, a long way from the top-five ranking that Sarkisian has met since his arrival on the Forty Acres.
Here are three recruits that the Longhorns need to secure to improve their recruiting class rank and their 2026 roster.
Tyler Atkinson
The Longhorns are looking to add a third five-star with Tyler Atkinson. Listed at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, the linebacker is nationally ranked as the second-best in his position and the third-best recruit in Georgia.
“(Atkinson is) quick to locate the football with his field awareness and will mirror ball carries with his rare start-stop ability and exceptional lateral burst,” said Andrew Ivins, a director of scouting at 247Sports. “(Atkinson) could fit into a variety of different schemes at the next level and will likely offer three-down value given how he moves and strikes.”
With a state championship and having been the first eighth-grader to receive an invite to the Navy All-American Bowl on his record, Texas faces tough competition from Georgia to sway Atkinson to leave his home state.
Tom Loy, a 247Sports national recruiting analyst, predicts that Georgia will land the commitment from the highly-recruited linebacker. Atkinson has not revealed a date for his commitment.
Jalen Lott
A son of former Longhorn athletes, Jalen Lott is a wide receiver from Frisco, Texas, capable of playing in the secondary. As a four-star athlete, he carries a 6-foot, 176-pound frame and is ranked eighth in the Lone Star State and 61st nationally, according to 247Sports.
“(Lott is a) highly productive receiver who could potentially play either side of the ball in the long run,” 247Sports scouting analyst Gabe Brooks said. “(Lott) excels as a linear athlete thanks to sudden acceleration and a long stride that fosters top-end speed verified on the track.”
Lott’s father is James Lott, a Texas Athletics Hall of Honor inductee and dual football and track and field athlete from 1983 to 1987. James started as a defensive back in football, but excelled as a high jumper, becoming the first Longhorn to win an NCAA Indoor Track and Field title before finishing his career with three more championship titles. Jalen’s mother, Fey Lott, was a Texas women’s basketball player from 1989 to 1992.
While 247Sports does not have any listed Crystal Ball predictions for where this Lott will commit, it lists Texas, Oregon, USC and LSU as the likely candidates based on its cool-to-warm scale. Lott will reveal his decision on July 8.
Jamarion Carlton
Sarkisian is aiming for his fifth four-star defensive lineman in the recruiting class, with Jamarion Carlton being the next possible candidate.
From Temple, Texas, Carlton is a 6-foot-4-and-a-half, 260-pound recruit. He ranks as the third-best defensive lineman in his class and the fourth-best in the Lone Star State, according to 247Sports.
“(Carlton is a) physically and athletically gifted front-line defender who could play from the edge or bulk to a true defensive lineman thanks to immense frame space,” Brooks said. “(He) represents a high-ceiling on-ball defender who could fit multiple roles and schemes.”
The four-star is planning to commit to a school on July 10, and 247Sports has predicted that Carlton will join Sarkisian’s 2026 recruiting class.
