Texas Football: 5 early 2021 signees that can make an instant impact

The 2021 Texas football recruiting class didn’t make much noise during the Early Signing Period, but holds a top 20 spot in the national class rankings.

The first shot for fourth-year head coach Tom Herman to lock up signees in his 2021 Texas football recruiting class rolled around earlier this week. The first day of the Early Signing Period arrived on the morning of Dec. 16. And Texas was able to sign most of their class on the first day of the Early Signing Period.

There were also a few key additions to the program on the first day of the Early Signing Period. Texas flipped the commitment of the former FCS McNeese State Cowboys senior cornerback and graduate transfer Darion Dunn from the NC State Wolfpack to join this program. And then they landed a commitment from the unheralded three-star Holy Cross strong-side defensive end Barryn Sorrell.

Among high school and/or JUCO prospects Sorrell was the lone addition to the Longhorns 2021 class during the Early Signing Period. That led the Longhorns to finish up the Early Signing Period with 19 commits in their 2021 class. The highest rated commit and signee in this class is the elite five-star Denton-Ryan athlete Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Texas signed all but one of their 19 commits in the 2021 class, with the four-star Kimball cornerback Ishmael Ibraheem not getting the National Letter of Intent inked down as of yet. Ibraheem is currently dealing with some off-the-field issues from earlier this month.

According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, the 2021 Texas recruiting class ranks at No. 17 in the nation and holds steady in the second spot in the Big 12 behind the Oklahoma Sooners. There is still some time ahead of National Signing Day for Texas to make up ground in the national class rankings.

Nonetheless, here’s a look into five early signees for the Longhorns in the 2021 class that can make an immediate impact for the program.