Texas Football: 3 biggest recruiting wins of the 2020 cycle

2. Having such a successful National Signing Day haul

The four key targets that the 2020 Texas football recruiting class had entering Feb. 5 (National Signing Day) was much more than this program usually has. National Signing Day does tend to diminish in importance now since most high school prospects will be committed and signed by the end of the Early Signing Period in December.

But the Longhorns were in the midst of a ton of coaching turnover in December, which was more important than retaining every single one of the commitments in the 2020 recruiting class. Texas did wind up losing the commitments of three-star West Mesquite all-purpose running back Ty Jordan and four-star defensive end Van Fillinger just to the Utah Utes alone.

However, Texas landed two of their four key targets on National Signing Day, making it a very solid haul just over the course of five or six hours. They landed four-star Cedar Creek strong-side defensive end Alfred Collins on National Signing Day itself. And they actually hauled in former Arkansas Razorbacks commit and four-star Carthage athlete Kelvontay Dixon in the dying hours of the night of Feb. 4.

Collins was the biggest signing the Longhorns made on National Signing Day, as he ranks as the nation’s No. 62 2020 high school prospect and No. 2 at his position.

The two prospects that the Longhorns lost out on National Signing Day that were key targets of theirs included three-star Duncanville cornerback Ennis Rakestraw and four-star Manor strong-side defensive end Princely Umanmielen. Rakestraw landed with the Mizzou Tigers and Umanmielen the Florida Gators, as both prospects escaped to the SEC East.