Texas Football Recruiting: What you need to know for Early Signing Period
![AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 22: Texas Longhorns mascot Hook 'Em leads the team to the stadium prior to the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 22: Texas Longhorns mascot Hook 'Em leads the team to the stadium prior to the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/ce6f72f8680478567e99fc33afbdc2f81b8025400fc8ae8480ff69012c46eaa3.jpg)
Focus on positional needs in this class
We already hit on the impact of landing the third ranked JUCO outside linebacker in the nation with Johnson for the 2019 Texas football recruiting class. Landing Johnson might not give the Horns a huge boost in the class rankings, but it does fill a need that could immediately make an impact. That is more valuable to the Horns in the long run than getting a slight jump in the class rankings.
Landing another linebacker makes that need vanish a bit, since this Texas football recruiting class now has four commits at that level of the defense. The only position of need that Texas has on the defensive side of the ball, as a whole, at this point is defensive tackle. Texas loses senior defensive tackle Chris Nelson next year and doesn’t have any committed in this class to replace him yet.
Moreover, the biggest positional needs left for this class sit at running back and offensive line. The offensive line needs are at guard and center since the two commits for that entire position group are at offensive tackle. Running back is a need that could change, depending on how hard the Horns hit the transfer market this off-season.
However, Texas is hoping to land some type of help at running back. Whether this Texas football recruiting class lucks out by landing a home run commit like four-star Noah Cain or five-star Trey Sanders, or goes for an underrated prospect, doesn’t matter as much as getting some form of depth. Both Sanders and Cain are set for decisions by the end of the first Early Signing Day.