Texas Football Recruiting: Ranking the 10 best 2018 signees by impact ability for Longhorns

If you can’t tell by this point, talent of these incoming 2018 signees does play a huge factor in the ranking. Talent level is one of the biggest parts of earning the trust from the coaching staff to get the chance to make an immediate impact in the first year on campus. That includes programs that have as much raw talent on both sides of the ball as the Horns.

This is where five-star safety (top rated at his position in the nation) and Cibolo High School product Caden Sterns comes into play. Texas landed only one high school prospect rated among the top 20 in the nation for this past recruiting cycle. Sterns was rated as the 19th best high school prospect in the nation.

Considering how highly rated the entire 2018 Texas football recruiting class was, this comes as somewhat of a surprise. Yet, you could argue that Sterns was underrated even as a top 20 rated five-star safety. He has the skill set, talent level, and maturity that should allow him to be a potential Freshmen All-American this year.

To say that a freshman like that won’t make any type of impact, whether it be positive or negative, is just naive. Sterns will get some type of playing time early in the season no matter what, obviously barring injury or off the field issues. He’s as close to an instant impact freshman as it will get for the Horns defensively this season.

Sterns will need to get past a talented junior safety in Brandon Jones this fall to make the impact this entire fan base knows he’s capable of. Showing out nicely in fall camp following nice displays in summer workouts and spring camp (Sterns was an early enrollee) will help his case.