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

5) Instant impact 2021 Texas football early signees

There are two signees at this point in the Longhorns 2021 class that could play at the tight end position for Herman and first-year offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. Texas signed the likes of three-star Everman athlete Juan Davis and three-star Cherry Creek tight end Gunnar Helm on the first day of the Early Signing Period.

While there’s still no guarantee that Davis will play at the tight end position, it looks like Helm will establish a niche for himself with this group on the Forty Acres. And Herman showed in recent years that he has no problem handing out early playing time for versatile tight ends that can make an impact in multiple phases of the game. That’s something that Helm definitely brings to the table for Texas.

The sizable 6-foot-5 and 225 pound Colorado native is a polished route runner with solid hands and a seemingly good understanding of blocking schemes. He chose to commit to Texas over offers from 27 other schools. The other highlighting schools on his offer sheet included the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Tennessee Volunteers.

Moreover, Helm ranks as the nation’s No. 653 2021 high school prospect, No. 33 tight end, and No. 5 prospect out of Colorado (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 is a bit low on him, ranking him as the No. 74 tight end and No. 13 prospect out of Colorado.

All in all, Helm could challenge the likes of Jared Wiley and Brayden Liebrock in the tight end room for playing time at the position in the next year or two.