Longhorns Country

EXCLUSIVE: Longhorns "Head of the Snake" Rueben Owens Steadfast In Recruitment of QB Arch Manning, 2023 Class

2023 Texas Longhorns running back commit Rueben Owens is doing his best to help the Longhorns land one of the most prized recruits in the country

Matt Galatzan

Isidore Newman (New Orleans, LA) blue-chip quarterback prospect Arch Manning remains a focal point of the 2023 class for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns.

Luckily for Sarkisian, the program has some help on that front in the form of top 2023 commit Rueben Owens of El Campo High School (El Campo, TX), who has remained steadfast in his recruitment of the NFL legacy.

READ MORE: Sooners Legend Baker Mayfield Reaches Out To Sam Ehlinger After Longhorns Tragedy

Owens has been hot on the trail of Manning for the Longhorns for quite some time now, with the pair sharing a friendship that has remained strong despite the 400-plus mile distance between them.

And for Owens, his position as the cornerstone of the 2023 class, as well as his status as a lead recruiter for the Longhorns on that front, is extremely important.

"First of all, it’s an honor to be headed of the snake in the 2023 class for Texas but I’m going to keep trying to get guys to join me," Owens told LonghornsCountry.com "I promise this will be something special. It’s only right."

READ MORE: QB Arch Manning To Longhorns? A LeBron-Like Impact On Texas

That effort has been paying off as well, As Manning now sits just over a month away from his official visit to Austin from June 9-11. 

Manning's increasing interest in the Longhorns program comes as a bit of a surprise given the SEC roots of his family. 

However, thanks to the relationship with Owens, Texas has found itself in an excellent position to potentially land one of the top quarterback/running back recruit tandems in a cycle since Tua Tagovailoa and Najee Harris joined Alabama in 2017 -- a pair of players Sarkisian utilized to tremendous success with the crimson tide.

Manning is far from the only prospect Owens has his eye on for the Longhorns as well, with Denton Ryan's (Denton, TX) linebacker Anthony Hill, Morton Ranch (Katy, TX) defensive tackle David Hicks, Shiner High School (Shiner, TX) safety Dalton Brooks, and DeSoto High School (DeSoto, TX) wideout Johntay Cook II firmly on his radar.

"Anthony Hill, Jalen Hale, David Hicks, Dalton Brooks, Johntay Cook ll," Owens told LonghornsCountry.com. "That’s in-state. I got a couple of out-of-state that are going to join soon. Just keep your eyes open."

CONTINUE READING: To Win a Title, Longhorns Have to 'Be Like 'Bama' in the NFL Draft

What do you think of the potential of Owens and Manning? Comment and join in on the discussion below!

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On 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 and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved 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. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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