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4-Star Texas Longhorns Commit Taking SEC Visit - Recruiting Tracker

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Matt Galatzan

Zelus Hicks
Zelus Hicks / @Zelus_Hicks on X
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OCTOBER 31 - ZELUS HICKS VISITING ROCKY TOP

One of the Texas Longhorns' top commits is taking a visit to an SEC rival.

Per his personal X account, four-star 2026 Carrollton (GA) safety Zelus Hicks is set to take a visit to Knoxville to see the Tennessee Volunteers this weekend for their matchup vs. Kentucky.

Hicks currently ranks as the No. 3 safety and No. 29 overall player in the 2026 class, per the 247Sports Composite Ranking. Per ESPN, he is the No. 18 player and No. 1 safety in the class.

He is also a candidate to reclassify into the 2025 class, where he would potentially join five-star safety Jonah Williams on the back end.

Hicks committed to the Longhorns in mid-september, and has received offers from programs like Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Miami, Ohio State and many more. Texas offered Hicks back on May 1.

OCTOBER 29 - FIVE-STAR'S SEASON OVER

Per reports from Inside Texas, Five-star Ball (Galveston, TX) Texas Longhorns safety commit Jonah Williams suffered a serious injury this past Friday night vs. Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, TX).

The injury, which occured on an interception return, is reported to be a broken collar bone, and will end his season.

The two-way star will end his season with 28 total tackles, two interceptions, and 15 total touchdowns in eight games.

Currently, Williams ranks as the No. 9 player in America, the No. 1 safety in the country, and the No. 3 player in Texas per the On3 Industry Ranking. He also ranks as the No. 10 player in the country, No. 1 linebacker, and No. 4 player in Texas per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

OCTOBER 26 - TOP LB TALKS LONGHORNS

Five-star McKinney (TX) linebacker Riley Pettijohn and Ohio State commit is one of the top remaining targets for the Texas Longhorns in the 2025 class.

But even after his visit to the 40 Acres for the showdown against Georgia, it appears they still have some more ground to make up.

Per an interview with On3, Pettijohn remains locked in with the Buckeyes after his Austin trip.

“It was a cool atmosphere and I enjoyed it,” Pettijohn said. “But I’m locked in with the Buckeyes... I’m in with the Buckeyes. That’s really all it is.”

Texas will likely continue to push for Pettijohn until pen hits paper in December.

OCTOBER 21 - TEXAS TARGET DECOMMITS

The Texas Longhorns are looking to add multiple interior defensive linemen to an already highly-ranked 2025 class in the coming months.

And after a star-studded recruiting visit weekend for their matchup vs. the Georgia Bulldogs, one of those targets might be getting closer to making his way to Austin.

Per an announcement from his Twitter account, four-star defensive tackle Joseph Mbatchou has decommited from the Gators, naming the Longhorns among his final contenders.

"After deep thought and prayer, I have decided to re-open my recruitment," Mbatchou said. "I'd like to thank the entire staff at the University of Florida, and can't wait to get back down there. I'm excited to finish this journey from a new perspective. Commitment in December." 

Mbatchou will still consider the Gators alongside Texas, USC, Auburn, Michigan, Alabama and Tennessee

OCTOBER 15 - 5-STAR OFFICIAL VISTOR EN ROUTE

The Texas Longhorns have emerged as a contender for consensus five-star Manchester (GA) defensive lineman Justus Terry in recent weeks.

And now, he has set his trip to see the 40 Acres.

According to an interview with On3 recruiting expert Chad Simmons, Terry will visit the Austin this weekend for the No. 1 Longhorns massive showdown with No. 5 Georgia. And he will be taking in the weekend as part of an official visit.

“My visit to Texas this weekend will be an official visit,” Terry told Simmons. “They have been coming real hard for me since we started talking. I talk to the coaches every other day which is more than most other coaches I talk to.”

Terry is listed as a consensus five-star recruit and ranks as the No. 8 player in the nation, the No. 2 defensive lineman, and the No. 2 player in Georgia per the On3 Industry Ranking.

The Bulldogs are seen as the heavy favorite. But now, the Longhorns have their foot in the door and are looking to capitalize.

OCTOBER 2 - 2026 EDGE HAS HORNS IN TOP 10

The Texas Longhorns are a serious contender for one of the top defensive players in the 2026 class.

Per On3's Hayes Fawcett, Temple (TX) four-star 2026 edge rusher Jamarion Carlton has released his list of top-10 schools, with the Longhorns making the cut.

Ohio State, Ole Miss, LSU, Kansas State, USC, Nebraska, Baylor, Texas Tech and Texas A&M also made Carlton's list.

As it stands, the 6-foot-4, 217-pound edge is a consensus four-star recruit and ranks as the No. 20 player in the nation, No. 2 edge rusher and No. 3 player in the state of Texas per 247 Sports. Per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Texas appears to be the leader in the clubhouse with a 95 percent confidence rating.

SEPTEMBER 25 - LONGHORNS HOST 4-STAR NEBRASKA COMMIT

The Texas Longhorns blew away the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks last Saturday night in a 51-3 route at DKR.

Fortunately for the Horns, four-star Hitchcock (Galveston, TX) defensive tackle and Nebraska commit Malcolm Simpson was in attendance to see it happen.

And according to an interview with On3's Steve Wiltfong, Simpson was very impressed by what he saw in Austin.

"It was great. Electric environment!" Simpson told Wiltfong. “A potential good fit because they are physical up front and take pride in being bullies up front. I feel I would be able to play inside and out in the edge. Overall great  atmosphere. We had fun for sure.”

Simpson ranks as the No. 17 defensive lineman, No. 29 player in Texas and No. 180 player in the nation, per On3.

SEPT 23 - POWERS ATTEMPTING TO FLIP LONGHORNS 5-STAR COMMIT

According to Marshall Levenson of Rivals, LSU and Alabama are in "heavy pursuit" of Texas five-star safety/linebacker commit Jonah Williams despite his pledge to coach Steve Sarkisian and co.

That said, according to Williams, he is still very much locked in to the Horns.

"It'll take a lot for me to take my chances with visiting any other school," Williams told Rivals. "Right now, I'm pretty locked in with Texas. It'll really take a lot for me to flip."

Williams will be back on campus this Saturday for Texas' SEC opener against Mississippi State before taking his official visit on Oct. 19 when the Longhorns host the Georgia Bulldogs.

Per 247Sports' rankings, he's the No. 7 overall player in the 2025 class and No. 3 in the state.

SEPTEMBER 22 - 2026 4-STAR CB HAS TEXAS IN TOP GROUP

The Texas Longhorns already have an elite defensive back commitment in the 2026 class in safety Zelus Hicks.

But now, another top player has his eyes on the Horns.

Per an announcement from his X account, 4-star Connally (Waco, TX) corner Jamarion Vincent has placed the Longhorns in his top 8, alongside Texas Tech, TCU, Nebraska, Kansas State, Houston and Baylor.

Per 247 Sports, Vincent ranks as the no. 15 corner in the nation, the No. 29 player in Texas and the No. 201 player in the nation.

SEPTEMBER 12 - 2026 5-STAR COMMITS TO TEXAS

The Texas Longhorns earned a massive commitment just before their Saturday matchup with UTSA, with five-star 2026 Carrollton (GA) safety Zelus Hicks pledging to the program.

247Sports has Hicks listed as a five-star prospect on its composite rankings and a four-star on its standard rankings. He has received offers from programs like Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Miami, Ohio State and many more. Texas offered Hicks back on May 1.

Hicks is now the third commit for coach Steve Sarkisian and staff in the 2026 recruiting class, joining four-star quarterback Dia Bell and three-star receiver Chris Stewart. Bell committed on June 17 before Stewart did the same eight days later on June 25.

All that said, Hicks could conceivably re-classify to the 2025 class, and come to Austin alongside five-star commit Jonah Williams.

SEPTEMBER 10 - 5-STAR FSU COMMIT TO VISIT AUSTIN

Per On3's Hayes Fawcett, Texas will host five-star FSU decommit Javion Hilson for a visit, with the date yet to be announced. The edge rusher will also be making trips to Texas A&M, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Syracuse, Florida and "plans to add more."

The Longhorns flipped four-star defensive lineman Myron Charles from Florida State on Saturday after beating Michigan and will now look to snag Hilson as well.

Hilson de-committed from Florida State on Sunday.

He is currently rated as a five-star recruit and ranks as the No. 15 player overall player in the country, the No. 1 edge rusher, and the No. 2 player in the state of Florida, per Rivals.com.

Last season with Cocoa, Hilson was a dominant force, racking up, 97 tackles, including 27 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, two pass breakups, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. In his sophomore campaign, he also had 9.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss with two forced fumbles.

AUGUST 30 - FFRENCH 100 PERCENT DONE

The Texas Longhorns landed a major commitment in five-star Mandarin (Jacksonville, FL) receiver Jaime Ffrench on Friday.

But while many players would continue to play out their process until Early Signing Day, Ffrench is shutting it down, and is totally locked into the Horns.

“I am 100% done," Ffrench revealed to Chad Simmons of On3. "I am closing my recruitment out and enrolling at Texas in January.”

With Ffrench now in tow, the Horns rank No. 6 in the 2025 class rankings per On3 and No. 7 per 247Sports.

AUGUST 30 - WILLIAMS DOMINATES OPENER

Five-star Texas safety commit Jonah Williams can do it all... on both sides of the ball

And in Galveston Ball's season opener he proved just that, scoring five total touchdowns for his team.

Williams opened the game with a kick return for a touchdown, as well as a blocked PAT on the next possession for Manvel.

A few players later later he was in for a rushing touchdown out of the Wildcat package. That was followed by two touchdown receptions in the fourth quarter, as well as another rushing score, giving him five total touchdowns on the evening.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns In 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 with the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com for 247Sports. He then moved over 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. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, ex Longhorns Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, FOX News and former ESPN host Will Cain, as well as countless other recruits and former players for each of the teams he has covered. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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