Joel Klatt Puts Texas At No. 4 In Way-Too-Early 2024 Rankings

The Texas Longhorns are looking to build off of their 2023 season that saw them win the Big 12 and make a College Football Playoff appearance.

It finally happened in Austin, the Texas Longhorns went from a sleeping giant to a program that is on an upward trajectory with no signs of stopping.

In year three of the Steve Sarkisian era, the Longhorns ended up going 12-2. They won their first Big 12 title since 2009, and also made what was the final four-team College Football Playoff. They did end up losing to Washington in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, but in hindsight they were also a better throw from quarterback Quinn Ewers away as time expired from making it to the title game despite a perfect performance by Michael Penix. 

The expectations for Texas which is joining the SEC in 2024 are no different, as they are expected to again be one of the best teams in the country despite losing a slew of players to the NFL Draft. They have however reloaded, using both the transfer portal and recruiting trail to their advantage. Something Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt emulated on the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show, as he released his way-too-early top 10 rankings where he had the Longhorns as the No. 4 team in the country.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and Joel Klatt  / Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

The only three teams that were ranked ahead of the Longhorns were Oregon, Ohio State, and Georgia. Klatt acknowledges that while the Longhorns did suffer some key losses, the excellent recruiting and development under Sarkisian's staff which has seen three top-5 recruiting classes in a row should make up for it.

“Sark got his new contract," said Klatt. "He had one of the best seasons in all of college football, they only lose two games, they finished right up there in the top five. And this is a team that should be based on where they’ve recruited over the last couple of years should be right back in that position. I would be very surprised if they didn’t have a good year."

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On top of extremely prominent recruiting classes, the Longhorns have reloaded at positions like receiver and safety in the transfer portal. One thing that will be interesting next season is the fact that Texas is set to play defending champion Michigan, and presumed top team Georgia in the regular season.

If the Longhorns are able to survive those two matchups and handle business the rest of the way even without a SEC title, they should still be in the mix for the playoff again. There are a lot of reasons for Texas fans to be excited about the 2024 season, and just looking at this team on paper has to be one of them.