Texas football among early contenders for elite 2023 CB Tony Mitchell

The prospects that could build the foundation out for newly hired head coach Steve Sarkisian and his rising 2023 Texas football recruiting class are starting to come to the forefront. Texas landed their first commitment in their 2023 class not all that long ago. It was less than two weeks ago that Sark got a pledge from the elite El Campo five-star running back Rueben Owens to kick off his 2023 class.

Now the big looming question for Sark and the Longhorns in the 2023 recruiting class is what comes next for the rest of this offseason?

Texas looks to already have a few emerging targets in mind. And one that has come to the forefront of late on the defensive side of the ball is the sizable and ultra highly coveted 6-foot-2 and 180 pound Thompson cornerback Tony Mitchell. As one of the first five corners that the Longhorns have offered for the 2023 recruiting cycle, Mitchell is a clear prioritized target at the position on the Forty Acres.

The Texas scholarship offer to Mitchell arrived back on Feb. 12, 2021. So the Longhorns have not been after Mitchell for all that long. But what could help is the fact that the Alabama native Mitchell does have connections with the new Texas coaching staff from past recruitment efforts in Tuscaloosa.

That connection is one that Sark and his staff should be able to use to build the relationship with Mitchell in the near future.

Details of Texas football’s pursuit of Tony Mitchell

Texas is now one of nearly three dozen schools that have offered Mitchell as of the morning of March 11. This talented defensive back hailing out of Alabaster, AL, started out mainly getting attention from schools in the SEC and along the east coast. But his attention on the recruiting trail has spanned nationwide at this point.

Some of the other notable schools that have offered Mitchell includes the Alabama Crimson Tide, Tennessee Volunteers, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Oregon Ducks, Texas A&M Aggies, and USC Trojans. He’s got blue bloods lining his offer sheet by now.

Moreover, Texas does seem to be making some real progress in the pursuit of Mitchell of late. According to a Horns247 report from earlier this week (paid content), Texas is “in the hunt” in the race to land a commitment from Mitchell.

But legendary head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide (Sark’s former employer) seem to be winning the race to get Mitchell’s decision at this point in time. The 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions do have most of their experts picking Mitchell to commit to Alabama over Texas, LSU, and the rest of the field.

This still doesn’t mean that Texas shouldn’t put in a full on effort to win over the commitment of Mitchell in the near future.

Mitchell ranks in the Top247 as the nation’s No. 19 2023 high school prospect, top overall cornerback, and the No. 3 prospect out of Alabama.

Texas is still the lone Big 12 program, as of March 11, that holds a commitment in their 2023 class. There is the possibility that the momentum that Sark and his staff has built up on the recruiting trail of late for their 2022 and 2023 classes could continue on into the start of spring ball later this month.