Texas Football gaining ground on A&M 4-Star RB target L.J. Johnson

It will be a very tough battle for the 2021 Texas football recruiting class, but they could be gaining on 4-Star Cy Fair RB LJ Johnson.

There is plenty of storylines to follow pertaining to the 2021 Texas football recruiting class at the running back position prior to the end of this cycle. Even before the Early Signing Period arrives, the Longhorns will have a lot of notable events in all likelihood on the recruiting trail in terms of pursuing blue chip talent at running back.

As it stands now, the two most highly touted remaining uncommitted running back prospects for the Longhorns to go after in this cycle are the elite five-star Lakeview Centennial product Camar Wheaton and four-star Cy Fair product L.J. Johnson. And the latter of those two does appear to be more out of reach at the moment as the former.

Texas was hot on the trail of the uber-talented Johnson since first offered him way back on June 10, 2019. They were one of the initial Power Five programs that sent him an offer. The Oklahoma school and TCU Horned Frogs were the lone Big 12 programs to offer Johnson before the Longhorns did. And he’s pretty close now to having an offer from every single Big 12 school.

However, Texas is in a true dog fight with the in-state rival Texas A&M Aggies to land a commitment from Johnson. And it’s an uphill battle at that. The 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions heavily favor Texas A&M to land the commitment of Johnson over the likes of the Longhorns and the rest of the field at this point in time.

The Rivals FutureCast also has all of their analysts and publishers picking Johnson to commit to the Aggies. Texas is clearly facing an uphill battle of pretty significant proportions here.

But Texas running backs coach Stan Drayton appears to be doing all he can now to get some of the interests of Johnson over to the Forty Acres. Drayton is reportedly (thanks to 247Sports) getting hotter on the trail of Johnson of late.

Moreover, Johnson holds offers from 40 schools as of the evening of Aug. 7. The latest offer he received came from head coach Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish back on May 6. And the other highlighting schools on his offer sheet includes the Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Oklahoma Sooners, LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, Baylor Bears, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Tennessee Volunteers, and USC Trojans.

Johnson ranks as the nation’s No. 42 2021 high school prospect, No. 4 running back, and No. 7 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). The Top247 ranks him as the nation’s No. 31 high school prospect, No. 3 running back, and No. 4 prospect out of Texas.

There is one running back commit in the Longhorns 2021 class already. Three-star Hallettsville product Jonathon Brooks could be a solid long-term piece for the backfield, but landing another headliner for this cycle would be huge for the Longhorns.