Brockermeyer brothers spurn Texas football to commit to Alabama

A colossal loss for the 2021 Texas football recruiting class arrived for head coach Tom Herman on July 17 with the Brockermeyer twins picking Alabama.

Definitely the biggest hit to the 2021 Texas football recruiting class to date arrived on July 17, with the announcement that two of the biggest targets for this cycle would pick the Alabama Crimson Tide over the Longhorns. Early on Friday afternoon, the Brockermeyer brothers announced their commitment decision on their Twitter timelines to deliver the bad news officially to the Longhorns.

The most notable of the Brockermeyer twins that the Longhorns lost out on heading into the weekend is the elite five-star All Saints Episcopal 6-foot-6 and 285 pound offensive tackle Tommy Brockemeyer. Ranking as the nation’s No. 5 2021 high school prospect, and top overall offensive tackle and prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite), Tommy was a crucial get for head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.

And the twin brother of Tommy, four-star All Saints Episcopal center James Brockermeyer, is a big miss for Texas too. James ranks as the nation’s No. 188 2021 high school prospect, top overall center, and No. 32 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). Texas could’ve really used the center depth by adding James too.

https://twitter.com/TBrockermeyer/status/1284171493237235714

This is not the first time that the Longhorns have lost a prioritized in-state five-star talent that otherwise seemed like a slam dunk for them. The situation here feels somewhat like losing the former Austin native and five-star wide receiver recruit Garrett Wilson to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Blue chip defensive end Tunmise Adeleye also sighted the reason for picking Ohio State over Texas earlier this year that they are more proficient in producing NFL: Draft-caliber talent of late.

https://twitter.com/J_Brockermeyer/status/1284171038788657153

Offers that either one of the Brockermeyer twins, or both, held prior to picking Alabama included the Clemson Tigers, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oklahoma Sooners, Oregon Ducks, and Stanford Cardinal. Tommy held offers from 25 schools and James 17.

According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, Alabama vaulted up to the No. 6 ranked class in the nation and No. 3 in the SEC. Texas holds steady at No. 15 in the national class rankings and remains ahead of the Sooners in the top spot in the Big 12.

This is obviously a big miss for head coach Tom Herman and offensive line coach Herb Hand. The Brockermeyer brothers were by far the biggest recruiting targets for this cycle, largely since they came as a package deal. Texas now really needs to make sure they hit on someone like Savion Byrd or Bryce Foster.