Texas Football: 4-Star DE Shemar Turner could still be set on Texas A&M

The 2021 Texas football recruiting class might not make as much progress as originally thought with 4-Star DE Shemar Turner following a key commitment.

There was a school of thought, which included myself, that the 2021 Texas football recruiting class could make some real headway with the likes of four-star highly coveted four-star DeSoto strong-side defensive end Shemar Turner after landing a key commitment on Nov. 18. That key commitment that fourth-year Texas head coach Tom Herman landed on the morning of Nov. 18 was from rising four-star DeSoto defensive tackle Byron Murphy II.

Texas managed to flip the commitment of the former 6-foot-1 and 290 pound talented Baylor Bears pledge Murphy II. On the same day, Murphy received his official Texas scholarship offer, decommitted from Baylor, and then committed to the Longhorns 2021 class.

The aforementioned school of thought was that the momentum that first-year defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chris Ash and defensive line coach Mark Hagen were racking up on the field and on the recruiting trail of late would get more interest from Turner. In fact, Turner and Murphy II are both blue chip senior high school prospects playing on the same defensive line at DeSoto in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Despite getting that commitment from Murphy II in the Longhorns 2021 recruiting class, just one month ahead of the Early Signing Period, it doesn’t appear that they have made much progress with Turner. A recent report (paid content) from Horns247 indicates that Turner looks to still be holding strong onto his leaning away from Texas, even after the flipping of Murphy II’s commitment.

Both the 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions and Rivals FutureCast have Turner leaning to take his talents somewhere other than Texas when he announces his commitment. Rivals is giving the edge to head coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide to land Turner, and 247Sports has him committing to head coach Jimbo Fisher and the rival Texas A&M Aggies.

As of the night of Nov. 18, Turner holds offers from just shy of 40 schools. Outside of the aforementioned teams, the highlighting schools on Turner’s offer sheet includes the Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Oregon Ducks, TCU Horned Frogs, Washington Huskies, and Wisconsin Badgers.

Moreover, Turner ranks as the nation’s No. 53 2021 high school prospect, No. 6 strong-side defensive end, and No. 9 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranks him as the nation’s No. 57 high school prospect, No. 5 strong-side defensive end, and No. 9 prospect out of Texas.

According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, the 2021 Texas recruiting class ranks at No. 17 in the nation and holds steady in second place in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma. Texas how holds 19 commits in their 2021 class. Meanwhile, the Texas A&M 2021 recruiting class sits at No. 15 in the national class rankings and in the sixth spot in the SEC.