Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns Not a Top Choice For Highly-Ranked 2026 Recruit

No. 2 recruit in 2026 class Immanuel Iheanacho did not list Texas as one of his top-11 schools.

Isa Almeida

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leads his team to the field for the second half of the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Arlington, Texas.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leads his team to the field for the second half of the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns have been on a hot streak of recruiting top athletes. Texas holds the top position in the class of 2025 recruiting with four five-star signees. For the current high school juniors, only three have announced their commitment to Texas, including four-star Dia Bell, but the Horns will miss out on the No. 2 player nationally.

Five-star plus offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho told Hayes Fawcett of On3 Recruits his final 11 choices, seven of which are SEC schools. The Baltimore native narrowed down his list to his home school Maryland, Miami, Oregon and Penn State in addition to Southeastern Conference programs Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, LSU and Texas A&M.

According to On3 predictions, Iheanacho has a 26 percent chance of committing to Georgia, with Penn State following at a 17.2 percent chance.

Steve Sarkisia
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks at his play sheet against Ohio State Buckeyes in the second quarter of the Cotton Bowl Classic during the College Football Playoff semifinal game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on January, 10, 2025. / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas has already received a commitment in the offensive tackle position in the class of 2026 in three-star recruit Max Wright from Melissa, Texas. He is the latest commit for the Longhorns, announcing his decision on Feb. 5.

Though Texas extended an offer to Iheanacho, On3 ranked the Longhorns' chances to be under one percent. Currently ranked eighth in the 2026 recruiting and fifth in the SEC with a recruiting score of 91.38. For the now top-ranked class of 2025, Texas and Sarkisian didn't have a hot start, but eventually took control of the recruiting scene.

National Signing Day for the class of 2026 won't take place until December, so Texas has plenty of time to make more moves.

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Isa Almeida
ISA ALMEIDA

Isa Almeida is a writer covering the Texas Longhorns for SI/Fan Nation, having joined the team on June 1, 2024. Raised in Southeast Brazil, Isa is now a third-year Journalism student at the University of Texas at Austin. Fluent in both English and Portuguese, Isa brings a diverse background and a wealth of knowledge to her writing. In addition to her work with SI/Fan Nation, Isa also covers the soccer and women's basketball beats for The Daily Texan. Her journalism journey is firmly rooted in her academic pursuits and her passion for sports.

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