Brayden Robinson recaps 'surreal' Texas visit; Elite wide receiver eyes Clemson next

Red Oak (Texas) 4-star is one of the top 2026 receiver prospects in the nation

Brayden Robinson grew up watching Texas vs. Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. 

To take part in one as a Longhorns recruit on a visit on Saturday at Dallas' Cotton Bowl Stadium? Surreal for the 4-star Red Oak (Texas) wide receiver and nation's No. 13 wideout in the class of 2026.

"The energy was unmatched," Robinson told SBLive, "being in a stadium where there was that much camaraderie between both fan bases."

Though Oklahoma came away with the win (in epic fashion) Saturday, the 5-foot-8, 160-pound receiver left with a strong impression of Texas.

Texas is one the 4-star prospect's 28 reported offers, and it's still too early in the process for Robinson to be ready to release a list of finalists.

The versatile Robinson has showcased an elite skillset against older talent as an underclassman at Red Oak, earning a designation from 247 Sports as the No. 14 overall prospect in Texas, as well as the No. 13 receiver and No. 98 overall prospect in the nation.

He had a busy summer that included unofficial visits to Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and LSU for the Bayou Splash in July. His two fall visits have been to Texas, first in the Longhorns' Sept. 30 win over Kansas.  

"I was kind of sitting close to a lot of fans," Robinson said. "Their message was just mostly just showing a lot of love, talking to me throughout the whole game and basically saying they want me to come to Texas. ... That was crazy because most fan bases don't say much."

Red River Rivalry was epic. Just wait until it's an SEC game: Buck's Ballpark

Asked if any schools talking to him now have made a particularly strong impression on him, he mentioned Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Florida State and Clemson — in no particular order.

MORE TEXAS

Robinson grew up with a good understanding of Texas' football tradition.

His contact with the program started after Chris Jackson was hired as its passing game and receivers coordinator in January. The Longhorns offered Robinson in April and have been his lone two fall visits — for now. 

"Texas is one of those different kinds of programs because you know Texas, the recruitment is very slow," Robinson said. "They make sure they have the right guys to fit in that program. And being from Texas, everybody talks about University of Texas. It's just a big deal. I can tell Coach Sark knows what he’s doing running the offense and leading the program in the right direction."

BAYLOR ENTERS MIX

On Saturday, the same day as Texas-Oklahoma, Robinson received an offer from Baylor.

He's been down to Waco three times to visit the campus and has talked about equally with receivers coach Dallas Baker and running backs coach AJ Steward.

Another visit post-offer could be in the works at some point, but nothing is imminent.

CLEMSON NEXT?

Though Robinson doesn't have any visits scheduled, he mentioned he'd like to get out to Clemson next and noted the commitments of Midlothian 5-star Bryant Wesco and Lancaster 4-star Corian Gipson, both Texas natives.

He's in the process of scheduling a Clemson visit in "a couple weeks" (Clemson has not yet offered). 

Robinson said he's looking to seeing if the environment is a place he could call home, and as well as seeing how the coaching staff handles different situations.

His impression of head coach Dabo Swinney's program is it "always have a winning culture and they're always putting receivers in the league left and right," Robinson said. "Clemson's somewhere I've been looking at for the past few years."

IMPACT AT RED OAK

As a freshman at Red Oak, Robinson cracked into the rotation right away, logging 30 catches for 523 yards and nine touchdowns.

Through seven weeks of his sophomore season, he's caught 27 passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns as the Hawks have put together an undefeated season that included an ESPN-televised thriller.

His older teammates going through the process have been valuable resources through the process, he said. 

Red Oak (6-0) has 3-star receiver Taz Williams Jr. and 4-star edge Kamauryn Morgan in 2025 and 3-star linebacker Zach Smith and cornerback Kameron Franklin in 2024.

Red Oak stuns Lake Belton in Texas overtime football thriller

"With those guys older than me, it's easy to see the right things to do as a recruit and the wrong things to do as a recruit," Robinson said. "They set a good example for me."

Here are the highlights of his first seven games of his sophomore season:

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx