Longhorns' Talent 'Way Ahead' Of Sooners

The Texas Longhorns are currently the favorites to win the Big 12, but the playing field and recruiting levels change once they join the Southeastern Conference.

When the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners enter the Southeastern Conference in 2024, not only does the competition on the field change but the competition on the recruiting trail does as well.

Texas has the benefit of having one of the best high school football states in the country, but the large contingency of the best players resides in the southeast. The Longhorns will have to be aggressive in not only putting a fence around the Lone Star State but also delving into that part of the country to pull recruits out of the region.

"I saw Oklahoma twice last year," ESPN's Tom Luginbill told Inside Texas. "There is a vastly different roster profile. Texas is way ahead of where Oklahoma is talent-wise. Brent Venables, as you mentioned with Texas and that staff, they know what they're getting into. They've lived it. They've done it, whether they're at Alabama, what have you."

Luginbill said head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns' coaching staff isn't the only bunch familiar with having to recruit the Southeast.

"Well, Brent does too because, when you look at that tenure during Clemson, they're recruiting that footprint," Luginbill said. "He knows what he has to have, too. And he knows he doesn’t have it right now at Oklahoma.”

Texas is currently getting out-recruited by Oklahoma, according to 247Sports' team rankings, but the Longhorns could build some momentum on the trail in the coming weeks.

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You can follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419

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