Texas Longhorns Get Commitment from SI All American Candidate Gunnar Helm

Texas tight ends coach Jay Boulware appears to have finally found his guy for the 2021 class

The Texas Longhorns secured a commitment from SI All American candidate Gunnar Helm. 

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound prospect from Englewood, Colorado is ranked the No. 27 tight end, No. 6 player in his home state and No. 568 overall recruit in the 2021 class according to the 247Sports composite. 

Helm also holds offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Central Michigan, Colorado, Colorado State, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, LSU, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Penn State, Pitt, TCU, Tennessee, UCLA, UNLV, Utah and Washington. He also saw interest from Ohio State and USC. 

Helm committed to the Longhorns during a short video on social media on Monday afternoon. He chose Texas over other finalists Auburn, Wisconsin, Iowa and UCLA. 

Thank you. pic.twitter.com/G8KV2nzFPM

— Gunnar Helm (@gunnar_helm) July 27, 2020

Helm has been one of the hottest commodities in the 2021 class as of late, drawing tons of interest from several major programs including NFL tight end factories like Iowa and Wisconsin.

The Longhorns were late to the game when it came to recruiting Helm. Texas previously had commitments from Lake McRee (Lake Travis) and Landen King (Atascocita), but both have since withdrawn their verbal pledges. 

With many of the better in-state prospects off the board, coach Jay Boulware set his sites on several out-of-state players at the position. It became apparent that there was plenty of mutual interest between Helm and the staff over the past few weeks. He made the trip to Austin on his own (recruits and coaches are still banned from face-to-face contact). The trip appeared to be the last step in Helm's decision as he committed shortly after returning home. 

Watching his film: Helm looks like a prototypical pro spread tight end with blocking ability, pass-catching talent and the the kind of size (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) to be a real difference maker at the position in the Texas offense. As good as he already is, Helm's ceiling may be higher as he continues to develop as both a route runner and blocker over the next year.

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