The Texas Longhorns and the Georgia Bulldogs met twice on the field last year, but competition between the two has continued off the field this offseason in the form of recruiting battles.
Since joining the Southeastern Conference last year, Texas has expanded its national recruiting efforts, securing several prospects from beyond the Lone Star State.
“We’ve obviously made it a point to recruit more in the southeastern region,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said during the 2025 SEC Media Days. “When we moved into the SEC, it was a lot more natural for players from Louisiana, Alabama, Florida (and) Georgia to be willing to come play at the University of Texas. They were already kind of going to A&M because they were in the SEC, but now that we’ve joined the conference, it’s a lot more palatable for those families and for those kids to want to come play at Texas.”
This palatability has made itself known in recent recruiting battles between Texas and Georgia. On July 15 alone, the Longhorns obtained commitments from five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson and five-star defensive lineman James “JJ” Johnson.
Atkinson hails from Loganville, Georgia, and it wasn’t until the final days leading up to his commitment that the Longhorns emerged as the favorite to win him over Georgia. He committed to Texas just after Georgia head coach Kirby Smart’s address at SEC Media Days and before Sarkisian’s.
The Bulldogs were also heavily involved in Johnson’s recruitment process, despite the fact that he’s a native of Miami, Florida. He spent two weeks committed to play for Georgia, but flipped his commitment to Texas just hours after Atkinson chose the Longhorns.
Acquiring both Atkinson and Johnson on the same day marked a major shift for the Longhorns on the recruiting trail, but not every recruiting battle has resulted in a burnt orange victory.
Georgia’s class still holds the No. 2 spot on Rivals’ 2026 Industry Ranking Football Team Recruiting Rankings, while Texas’ class sits at No. 5 on the list.
Sarkisian noted that out-of-state recruiting has recently emerged as more of a norm within college football.
“I think in this day and age of recruiting, one thing is of note: players are leaving states all over the place, going to other states to go play, and we’ve had a ton of players leave the state of Texas and go play at other schools,” Sarkisian said.
Just 10 of Texas’ 21 commits in the class of 2026 hail from the Lone Star state so far. In 2020, just a year before the Longhorns announced their plans to join the SEC, 19 of their 20 then-commits came from Texas high schools.
Name, Image and Likeness has also played a factor in this new era of recruitment. Players are likely more inclined to consider out-of-state options for the opportunity to collect more money outside of their home states.
Since Georgia and Texas both rank among the nation’s top five college football NIL collective leaders, this brewing recruiting rivalry is subject to continue developing.
