Texas Football: Impact of commitment from 3-Star SDE Barryn Sorrell

The 2021 Texas football recruiting class expanded their number of commitments to 19 on Dec. 16, with the pledge and signing of 3-Star DE Barryn Sorrell.

A nice addition for the 2021 Texas football recruiting class arrived on the afternoon of the first day of the Early Signing Period, on Dec. 16. One of two additions to the program in general on the first day of the Early Signing Period came in the form of the unheralded three-star Holy Cross strong-side defensive end Barryn Sorrell.

The other commitment that the Longhorns landed on Dec. 16 came via the NCAA Transfer Portal. Fourth-year Texas head coach Tom Herman and first-year defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chris Ash wound up flipping the commitment of the former McNeese State transfer cornerback Darion Dunn from the NC State Wolfpack to the Longhorns.

But since Dunn is an addition through the transfer portal, he doesn’t fit into the same category during the Early Signing Period as Sorrell.

Sorrell announced his commitment to the Longhorns in a ceremony in Louisiana on the afternoon of Dec. 16. He chose Texas over a finalist group of schools which also included the Louisville Cardinals, Northwestern Wildcats, Virginia Cavaliers, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Arizona State Sun Devils.

Sorrell wound up having each one of the Power Five conferences represented among his finalist schools. He is also a former Northwestern commit. Sorrell’s original commitment to the Wildcats came back on June 3, 2020. And then he decommitted from Northwestern less than five months later, on Oct. 23.

A few more offers came in to Sorrell before he announced this commitment to Texas on Dec. 16.

In total, Sorrell held 21 schools on his offer sheet. The other highlighting schools on his offer sheet included the Baylor Bears, Boston College Eagles, Indiana Hoosiers, Mizzou Tigers, Purdue Boilermakers, and Washington State Cougars.

What the Longhorns are getting out of this 6-foot-3 and 250 pound defensive lineman hailing out of New Orleans, LA, is one of the best remaining (at the beginning of the Early Signing Period) uncommitted strong-side defensive ends. Texas needed to restock their talent along the defensive line, thanks to losses like those from junior outside linebacker/edge rusher Joseph Ossai and senior defensive end Ta’Quon Graham.

Sorrell ranks as the nation’s No. 832 2021 high school prospect, No. 54 strong-side defensive end, and No. 23 prospect out of Louisiana (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranks him as the No. 57 strong-side defensive end and No. 28 prospect out of Louisiana.

Moreover, Sorrell is a pretty versatile and potent pickup for the Longhorns 2021 class. One of his major strengths is setting the edge and blowing up plays in the backfield in run defense. He is a very steady presence stopping the run in the trenches.

The pass rushing ability for Sorrell is improving fast, but he will need to continue to put on some size to reach the next level in that part of his game. He is a decent athlete, but can also improve in that regard if he gets a bit faster and stronger early in his college career.

Sorrell feels like the type of defensive lineman that can play at defensive tackle in Ash’s 4-3 scheme up front. He would have to put on a lot of size for that to work, but he could certainly also play as a bigger defensive end. If the run stopping ability of Sorrell continues to be a strength, and he improves his pass rush, he could wind up being a real gem find for Texas in their 2021 class.

As the 19th commit in Texas’ 2021 class, Sorrell brings more depth on the defensive side of the ball altogether. The strength of the 2021 class for Herman and the Longhorns is definitely on this side of the ball.

According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, the 2021 Texas recruiting class holds steady at No. 17 in the nation and in the second spot in the Big 12 behind the Oklahoma Sooners. Texas didn’t get any bump in the national class rankings by landing Sorrell’s commitment. And their highest rated signee in the 2021 class is the elite five-star Denton-Ryan athlete Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Sorrell wound up signing his National Letter of Intent soon after committing to Texas on the afternoon of Dec. 16. His commitment and signing might leave room for another commitment or two in the Longhorns 2021 class ahead of National Signing Day, come February 2021.