Four-Star LB Elijah Bo Barnes Commits to Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns have picked up a big time 2025 recruit

Matt Galatzan | Apr 12, 2024

Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian during spring practice at the Frank Denius practice / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman

AUSTIN - The Texas Longhorns are starting to pick up steam on the recruiting trail.

On Friday, 2025 four-star linebacker Elijah Bo Barnes committed to the program, picking Texas over Ohio State, Oregon, and Alabama.

He now becomes the sixth commitment of the 2025 class for the Longhorns, joining quarterback KJ Lacey, Athlete Lance Jackson, running back Rickey Stewart Jr., tight end Emaree Winston, and defensive lineman Brandon Brown.

“We coming into the SEC to take it over and I’m hopping on the train Hook ’Em,” Barnes told On3's Hayes Fawcett.

Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian during spring practice at the Frank Denius practice / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman

Barnes, a product of Skyline (Dallas, TX), currently ranks as the No. 108 player in the nation, the No. 14 linebacker, and the No. 19 player in the state of Texas per the On3 Industry Ranking. Per the 247 Sports composite ranking, Barnes sits as the No. 98 player nationally, No. 13 linebacker and No. 16 player in Texas.

His highest positional ranking comes from Rivals.com, which has him rated as the No. 8 linebacker in the class.

Barnes has been a force for Skyline over his previous two seasons, racking up 196 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, three sacks, six forced fumbles, and five interceptions. In 2022 alone, he had 131 tackles and 15 tackles for loss. All six of his forced fumbles, as well as four of his interceptions, came in 2023.

Barnes still has multiple official visits remaining, including one to Nebraska on April 26, one to Ohio State on May 31, and one to Austin on June 21.

Published Apr 12, 2024

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns In SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks with the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com for 247Sports. He then moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, ex Longhorns Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, FOX News and former ESPN host Will Cain, as well as countless other recruits and former players for each of the teams he has covered. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.