Texas Football: 4-Star CB target trending toward Virginia Tech

At a big position of need for the 2021 Texas football recruiting class, the Longhorns could lose out on 4-Star Bloomingdale CB Philip Riley.

It feels like a really long time since the last commitment was announced for the 2021 Texas football recruiting class. Even Texas’ 2022 recruiting class doesn’t have a single commitment as of April 18. Head coach Tom Herman has to be chomping at the bit to get things rolling on the recruiting trail considering the lack of any other news at the moment given the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The sports world continues to sit in a state of pause thanks to the COVID-19 domestic and global outbreak. But the Texas Longhorns football program has to continue to stay in contact with their top targets on the recruiting trail for the next few cycles while the NCAA mandated recruiting in-person contact dead period stays in place through May 31.

The latest target of the Longhorns 2021 recruiting class that appears to be getting away from them recently is four-star Bloomingdale cornerback Philip Riley. This 6-foot and 190 pound defensive back out of Valrico, FL, is also the latest in the last few days to apparently be trending away from the Longhorns out of Bloomingdale High School.

Four-star Bloomingdale wide receiver Agiye Hall is set to announce his commitment decision on Instagram Live on April 18, and he looks to be trending to the Alabama Crimson Tide (per 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions).

Moreover, Riley appears to be trending to head coach Justin Fuente and the Virginia Tech Hokies as of his latest 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions. All eight of the expert Crystal Ball Predictions in for Riley have him committing to Virginia Tech over the rest of the field.

As of the afternoon of April 18, Riley holds offers from just shy of 40 schools. Texas is one of those nearly one-quarter of the FBS programs in the entire country that sent him a scholarship offer. But the programs listed as warm in his pursuit on his 247Sports recruiting profile includes the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Washington Huskies, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Virginia Tech.

https://twitter.com/Riley18Philip/status/1251339769071783936

On his Twitter timeline on April 17, Riley posted that he knows what college he’s going to. That could mean a commitment coming in the near future. And even the Rivals FutureCast has an overwhelming edge going to Virginia Tech for his commitment.

Riley ranks as the nation’s No. 311 2021 high school prospect, No. 24 cornerback, and No. 48 prospect out of Florida. He’s part of the Florida recruiting pipeline that the Longhorns haven’t really got a grasp on for this cycle yet.