Longhorns Leap to No. 2 Overall Recruiting Class After Stellar August Run

The Longhorns have been arguably the hottest team on the recruiting trail over the last few months

Matt Galatzan | Sep 7, 2022

Photo by Chansey Augustine

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Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN - The Texas Longhorns are on the rise in more ways than one.

Most notably, that rise is occurring on the recruiting trail, where Steve Sarkisian has put together one of the top classes in the entire country.

And on Wednesday, that ranking took another jump when Sports Illustrated released its updated national recruiting rankings, with the Longhorns Jumping from No. 4 overall to the No. 2 class in the country, just behind their Saturday opponent, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Per Sports Illustrated:

2. Texas (4)

Verbal Commitments:

22

SI99

Recruits:

7

Not only did Texas build on a strong class with two new additions over the last few weeks, but UT was the only program nationally to add multiple SI99 recruits in August. One was in-state, do-it-all defender Derion Gullette, a top-50 overall recruit, and the other was the top-ranked running back in the land in Cedric Baxter. Six of Texas’s SI99 recruits are currently ranked within the top 50 nationally.

As it stands offensively, the Longhorns have at least one elite commitment at each of the major positions, with the No. 5 quarterback (No. 10 overall) Arch Manning, No. 1 running back (No. 21 overall) Cedric Baxter, No. 3 receiver (No. 24 overall) Johntay Cook, No. 9 receiver (No. 52 overall) Ryan Niblett, and elite offensive tackle, Payton Kirkland.

The Longhorns also have some of the top commitments on the defensive side of the ball, with No. 2 cornerback (No. 16 overall) Malik Muhammad, No. 2 safety (No. 32 overall) Derek Williams, No. 9 EDGE (No. 45 overall) Derion Gullette, as well as recruits who just missed out on the SI99 in defensive tackle Sydir Mitchell, safety Jamel Johnson, and linebacker Smaje Burrell.

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Published Sep 7, 2022

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.