Early on, there are some insanely talented targets of the 2022 Texas football recruiting class that could highlight the top prospects of this cycle.
A highly anticipated moment will come when the 2022 Texas football recruiting class gets its first commitment. While the Big 12 is far from getting every single one of its programs the first commitment of each 2022 class, Texas is usually one of the leaders on the recruiting trail. In due time, the Longhorns 2022 class should be at or near the forefront of the Big 12.
As of the morning of July 22, the only Big 12 programs that have at least one commit in their 2022 class are the Oklahoma Sooners (two prospects), Oklahoma State Cowboys (one prospect), and Baylor Bears (one prospect). Both of the Oklahoma schools had two commits in their 2022 classes until highly touted four-star offensive tackle Kelvin Banks opened up his recruitment recently.
Texas has offered more than 80 2022 high school prospects, so there should be some clear targets in mind by now. And it won’t be all that long before the 2022 class is the main focal point on the recruiting trail for head coach Tom Herman and his staff. And considering the Longhorns already have some sizable misses in the 2021 class, the next recruiting cycle will be crucial.
In the 2021 class, the Longhorns extended their streak of landing at least one five-star commit (at least as it stands now) to four straight cycles. The lone five-star commit in the 2021 class so far is Denton-Ryan athlete Ja’Tavion Sanders.
If the 2021 class finishes up with Sanders as the lone five-star commit, then 2022 would have a good shot to at least one up that tally. Here’s a look into the four early five-star prospects that the Longhorns 2022 class could already have in store.
One of the more notable prospects that the Longhorns 2022 recruiting class was in on of late is five-star Mater Dei cornerback Domani Jackson. As possibly the most talented and athletic cornerback among all the prospects at his position in this class, Jackson is a pivotal target for the Longhorns to nab.
Texas missed out on five-star Saguaro cornerback Kelee Ringo during the 2020 recruiting cycle, at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs. Missing out on Ringo was a costly point of the last cycle for head coach Tom Herman. He needs to prioritizing really landing an elite talent to bolster the cornerback position in the near future.
The news for the Longhorns in pursuit of Jackson so far appears good. When Jackson announced his latest round of finalist school cuts on July 4, Texas appeared in his top 10. The other schools in his top 10 includes the Alabama Crimson Tide, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, Clemson Tigers, USC Trojans, Arizona State Sun Devils, LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and Georgia.
The 6-foot-1 and 185 pound California native Jackson holds offers from 40 schools as of the evening of July 22. He ranks as the nation’s No. 4 2022 high school prospect, and the top overall cornerback and prospect out of California (247Sports Composite). If Texas can get him, it would be massive and consequential over the long haul for the entire program.
Next we turn the attention to a premier in-state target of the 2022 class. The elite five-star Bowie offensive guard Devon Campbell already is giving some inclination that his early leanings could be to the Longhorns. The 2022 recruiting cycle really has to be one that Texas hits on in the trenches since the results aren’t great for the 2021 class thus far.
The sole pick in for the 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions at this point in time actually has Campbell leaning to committing to Texas over the rest of the competition. As of July 22, Campbell holds offers from 25 different schools. His four latest offers came from the Florida Gators, Baylor Bears, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Arizona State.
Other highlighting schools on Campbell’s offer sheet includes the Florida State Seminoles, Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, the Miami Hurricanes, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Penn State Nittany Lions, TCU Horned Frogs, Tennessee Volunteers, Texas A&M Aggies, and Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The process ⏳. pic.twitter.com/6brPCdfDOP
— Devon J. Campbell (@d1campbell_) July 3, 2020
The 6-foot-4 and 265 pound Arlington, TX, native Campbell ranks as the nation’s No. 6 2022 high school prospect, top overall offensive guard, and No. 2 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). Campbell is about as good as it will get for the Longhorns at any spot along the offensive line during the 2022 recruiting cycle. He should be a must-get for Texas and offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Herb Hand for the 2022 class.
A position that the Longhorns surprisingly didn’t do too well on in the last two signing classes was wide receiver. Once Texas saw the former 2020 commit and four-star Temple wideout Quentin Johnston flip to TCU ahead of the Early Signing Period last year, that class was hit really hard. The highest rated signee at wideout in the Longhorns 2020 class was four-star Troy Omeire.
And Texas has yet to even land a four-star wide receiver in their 2021 class. Part of this problem could be due to all the coaching staff turnover Texas had among the receiver coaches since the outset of this offseason. Texas parted ways with both Drew Mehringer and Corby Meekins actually since the conclusion of the 2019 regular season.
However, recently promoted wide receivers coach Andre Coleman and Herman should be all over what the uber-talented five-star Del Valle wide receiver Caleb Burton brings to the table. This 6-foot and 165 pound ultra speedy and agile wideout and Texas native Burton is another one that the Longhorns appear to be high on the list of at this point in time.
Burton holds offers from more than 35 schools as of July 22. The highlighting schools on his offer sheet includes the Stanford Cardinal, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, LSU, and the Ohio State Buckeyes. He ranks as the nation’s No. 11 2022 high school prospect, top overall wide receiver, and No. 3 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). The Top247 rankings slot him as a top 10 high school prospect in the nation.
The Southlake-Carroll High School Dragons are going to be a force to be reckoned with for a long-time in the state of Texas. Southlake-Carroll has a loaded offensive roster in terms of potential Power Five and even NFL talent. And it all starts with the highly touted five-star 6-foot-3 and 195 pound pro-style quarterback Quinn Ewers.
This elite product coming out of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex recently received the news that he would be the 247Sports Composite No. 1 2022 high school prospect in the nation. ESPN and 247Sports both rank Ewers as the top high school prospect in the nation for this cycle. This is a well-deserved accolade too for Ewers given his solid sophomore season in high school, and his huge arm and consistent accuracy.
Ewers amassed more than 4,000 passing yards, 54 total touchdowns, and just three interceptions for a high school football program that will be a state title contender as long as he’s spearheading the offense. It is underrated how mobile Ewers is too. He’s no prototypical dual-threat signal caller, but he can make plays with his legs when needed.
Moreover, Ewers is almost up to 30 schools on his impressive offer sheet. The highlighting schools on his offer sheet right now includes Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC. Texas does appear to be right in the thick of the running early to land his commitment too.