Texas Football: Impact 3-Star TE Landen King brings for Longhorns

A big win finally for the 2021 Texas football recruiting class arrived on April 26 with the commitment of 3-Star TE Landen King.

The dry steak that the 2021 Texas football recruiting class was suffering since the turn of the calendar year finally ended on April 26. Texas landed a commitment from three-star Atascocita tight end Landen King to give their 2021 recruiting class their first addition in more than five months.

The writing was on the wall for the Texas Longhorns football program to be able to nab the commitment of a 2021 high school prospect like King of late. The latest five 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions for King had four experts picking Texas over the rival Texas A&M Aggies to get King’s pledge.

King ranks as the nation’s No. 842 2021 high school prospect, No. 38 tight end, and No. 108 prospect out of Texas. His 247Sports Composite ranking was a bit lower than his sole 247Sports recruiting ranking. The 247Sports recruiting ranking had King out as the No. 26 tight end and a top 100 prospect out of Texas.

Moreover, the towering 6-foot-5 and 210 pound Humble, TX, native King announced his pledge to head coach Tom Herman and the Longhorns on his Twitter timeline late in the night of April 26. It was met with raucous approval since it was a while since the Longhorns landed their last 2021 commitment.

https://twitter.com/Landen_King3/status/1254583623925346305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1254583623925346305&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.burntorangenation.com%2F2020%2F4%2F26%2F21237794%2Flanden-king-commits-texas-longhorns-recruiting-2021

Prior to announcing his pledge to Texas, King had offers from 28 schools in total. The highlights of his offer sheet beyond the Lone Star Showdown rivals included the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Michigan State Spartans, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Ole Miss Rebels, Oregon Ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions, SMU Mustangs, Tennessee Volunteers, and Washington Huskies.

In his junior season at Atascocita, King raked in 53 receptions for 853 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches. He’s a very solid receiving tight end that could bring a new versatility to this position group on the Forty Acres.

The quality of the offers that King received shows that his recruiting ranking way undervalues his skill set and high ceiling at the college level. He’s a very underrated route runner, but still developing as a blocker. Herman does value that multiple ability out of his tight ends, so that work in progress is emphasized for King this year.

Solid hands and overwhelming leaping ability and strength for a tight end could make King a great target in short and intermediate routes in the Longhorns passing attack. His size and underrated agility also should play right into the hands of a new scheme implemented by recently hired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.

Yurcich thrived with bigger tight ends with good hands and route running ability both during his time with the Ohio State Buckeyes and Oklahoma State Cowboys. He should be able to do that again with King.

Could landing King finally get this 2021 recruiting class for the Longhorns up and running for good?

We can certainly hope so. King could see his 247Sports Composite ranking rise in the near future since he does seem undervalued. And he’s adding to the depth at the skill positions in this class.

Texas is still clinging to a top 20 ranked 2021 group in the national class rankings, but they need to snowball this momentum into more success on the recruiting trail deeper into the offseason. King is a solid add, but more will be needed in the coming months.