Could Texas Miss Out On Another 5-Star Recruit This Weekend?

The Texas Longhorns have missed out on a handful of targets in recent weeks, and could be on the outside looking in for yet another five star.

Riley Pettijohn on his Texas visit / Riley Pettijohn on X

The Texas Longhorns suffered a major recruiting loss on Thursday, with five-star and No. 1 ranked wide receiver Dakorien Moore committing to the Oregon Ducks.

To make things worse, the Horns had seemingly led in Moore's recruitment until a late push by the Ducks, making the loss that much more painful for the fans.

However, Moore is also not the only big-time target to head elsewhere in recent weeks, with Texas also missing out on talents like five-star Dorian Brew, four-star defensive linemen Josiah Sharma and Zion Williams and Marco Jones.

Heading into this coming weekend, it would appear that the Longhorns have some hope, with one of their biggest targets - five-star McKinney (TX) linebacker Riley Pettijohn - set to make his official announcement.

And per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Horns lead for Pettijohn with a confidence rating of 93.2 percent. Meanwhile, 247Sports and Rivals.com both also have him projected to head to Austin per their Crystal Ball and FutureCast projections, respectively.

But according to On3 recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong during an episode of the Wiltfong Whiparound show, the Horns are not in great shape for Pettijohn heading into the final stage.

Riley Pettijohn on his Texas visit / Riley Pettijohn on X

“Well, the On3 RPM is on Texas right now. I do not think it’s going to be the Longhorns,” Wiltfong said. “Ohio State and USC are the two programs that, when that story broke, looked like they were in the best position. But Texas A&M, led by defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, continues to battle there."

“But talking to some sources on Wednesday, I feel like there might be some momentum around Ohio State... If you’re asking me today on Wednesday who do I think it’s going to be — I’m not sleeping on USC or the Aggies, but I might give the inch or two to the Buckeyes right now.”

Pettijohn is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 31 overall player in the country, the No. 9 player in Texas, and the No. 4 linebacker in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

He is making his decision after coming off of official visits to each of his four finalists last month, Pettijohn visited Ohio State on May 31, USC on June 7, Texas on June 14, and Texas A&M most recently on June 21.

Fortunately for the Horns, there are some projected wins on the horizon.

Four stars such as defensive tackle DJ Sanders, corner Kade Phillips, and tight end Nick Townsend are all projected to land with the Horns in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Texas is also still in great shape for five-star talents Jaime Ffrench and Kaliq Lockett - both of whom are set to decide in August - as well as Michael Terry III, who could decide this month.

Either way, one thing is clear: Texas needs to start stacking wins on the trail sooner than later.