A strong turnaround on the trail for newly hired head coach Steve Sarkisian and the 2022 Texas football recruiting is a good sign for the Longhorns fan base. Following a tough string of events on the recruiting trail for the now former fourth-year Texas head coach Tom Herman since the 2020 preseason for both the 2021 and 2022 classes, Sark is seeing his group turn the corner after the turn of the calendar year.
The latest commit that arrived for Sark and the Longhorns came earlier in the week in the form of the elite four-star Klein Cain 5-foot-11 and 205 pound running back Jaydon Blue. More specifically, the commitment from the Houston, TX, product Blue to the Longhorns 2022 class arrived on Feb. 2.
That was the third commit in the Longhorns 2022 class, as the skill positions are starting to build back up after the turn of the calendar year. Texas has now landed commitments from four-star Lewisville wide receiver Armani Winfield along with Blue to replenish the pipeline of talent at the skill positions in the 2022 class of late.
All of this arrives after Texas lost the commitments of the elite five-star Southlake Carroll pro-style quarterback Quinn Ewers and four-star Lancaster wide receiver Phaizon Wilson ahead of the start of the 2020 season. Texas is still without a quarterback commit in the 2022 class, but getting skill position blue chips like Blue and Winfield is nothing to scoff at.
After landing the commitment of Blue, the Longhorns 2022 class now ranks at No. 13 in the nation and in the second spot in the Big 12 behind the Oklahoma Sooners (per 247Sports Team Composite Rankings).
With all of this in mind, here’s a look into the predictions as to who could be the next commit in the Longhorns 2022 recruiting class after the talented in-state rusher Blue.
3) Predicting next 2022 Texas football commit
After losing the commitment of the elite Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex product Ewers to the likes of head coach Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes last year, Texas had to find their next top signal caller target for the 2022 class. A quick name that emerged in the running to be the primary quarterback target for the 2022 class after losing Ewers is the local product and four-star Westlake pro-style quarterback Cade Klubnik.
There’s a solid foundation of talent to build off of at the skill positions now. Landing commitments from Blue and Winfield should now greatly appeal to top quarterback targets for this cycle like Klubnik and five-star pro-style quarterback Maalik Murphy. Klubnik should definitely be a quarterback target to watch moving forward on the Forty Acres, though.
This 6-foot-3 and 180 pound Austin, TX, native is starting to get a lot more attention on the recruiting trail of late. He’s now up to an impressive 30 schools on his ever growing offer sheet. The other highlighting schools on his offer sheet includes the Arizona State Sun Devils, Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, North Carolina Tar Heels, Texas A&M Aggies, Florida Gators, LSU Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Washington Huskies.
Moreover, Klubnik is also rising up the recruiting rankings for the 2022 cycle of late. He now ranks as the nation’s No. 155 2022 high school prospect, No. 6 pro-style quarterback, and No. 24 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranks him as the nation’s No. 219 high school prospect, No. 7 pro-style quarterback, and No. 30 prospect out of Texas.
2) Predicting next 2022 Texas football commit
Turning the attention to the defensive side of the ball, a big potential prospect to watch moving forward for Texas fans is the brother of a current player for Sark and the Longhorns. Former three-star athlete recruit and now second-year linebacker Jaden Hullaby has his brother as a top target for the Longhorns 2022 class.
The talented 6-foot and 185 pound Mansfield Timberview safety and four-star in-state product Landon Hullaby could give the Longhorns some added depth in the secondary in their 2022 class. If he is in fact the next commit up for the Longhorns 2022 recruiting class, then Hullaby would be the second defensive back in the mix for Sark and recently hired DB’s coach Terry Joseph.
Since the turn of the calendar year, Hullaby has gained just one additional scholarship offer. This might be a great time to prioritize the recruitment of this Mansfield, TX, product and highly coveted safety.
Hullaby is now just two offers shy of reaching 30 schools on his growing offer sheet. The other highlighting schools on his offer sheet includes the likes of the Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn, Baylor Bears, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Oregon Ducks, TCU Horned Frogs, Tennessee Volunteers, and USC Trojans.
At this moment, there are no 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions in for Hullaby. But Texas does appear to be one of the schools at the forefront of his recruitment of late.
Moreover, he ranks as the nation’s No. 306 2022 high school prospect, No. 18 safety, and No. 38 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranks him as the No. 25 safety and No. 54 prospect out of Texas.
1) Predicting next 2022 Texas football commit
Maybe the most important skill position target on the recruiting trail for the Longhorns 2022 class at this point in time is the uber-talented and potent 6-foot and 175 pound four-star Liberty wide receiver Evan Stewart. There’s not many five-star wide receiver prospects for the 2022 class that Texas has prioritized by now. Stewart is one of those that’s this highly touted remaining on the board for the Longhorns.
A recent heavy trend in predictions for the commitment of Stewart going to the Longhorns is a hype train that has died down a bit of late. But the 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions do still give the edge to Texas to land the commitment of Stewart over the rest of the competition. The idea of a duo of Winfield and Stewart in the Longhorns 2022 class is mind boggling.
As of the late afternoon of Feb. 7, there are nearly three dozen schools on Stewart’s lengthy offer sheet. The other highlighting schools on his offer sheet includes the Alabama Crimson Tide, Oregon, Florida, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State Nittany Lions, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC.
Moreover, Stewart ranks as the nation’s No. 40 2022 high school prospect, No. 5 wide receiver, and No. 8 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranks him as the nation’s No. 36 high school prospect, No. 6 wide receiver, and No. 9 prospect out of Texas. He’s about as close as it gets to a realistic five-star commitment for the 2022 class in the near future.