2023 A&M DE commit Anthony James setting visit with Texas football

The return of the official visit season to the college football recruiting landscape later this offseason could change the game for newly hired head coach Steve Sarkisian. After getting a quick jump on the trail for the 2022 and 2023 Texas football recruiting classes in the first couple of months after he was hired as the program’s next head coach, Sark will look to continue to build momentum for those groups this summer.

Sark and the Longhorns got off and running through late January and all throughout February for their 2022 and 2023 classes. But late March and the month of April thus far have seen the results on the recruiting trail start to dry up a bit for Sark and the Longhorns compared to the earlier abundance of commitments.

Getting the return of official visit season this offseason in the latter stages of the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to more positive results on the recruiting trail for Sark, though. He’s set to get a number of key visitors this summer that are targets of the 2022 and 2023 classes.

A key target of the Longhorns 2023 class that is worth watching this summer that will reportedly (per Horns247, paid content) be on campus this offseason for an official visit is a commit of a rival program.

4-Star Texas A&M commit Anthony James visiting Texas football

Four-star Wylie East 6-foot-5 and 245 pound strong-side defensive end Anthony James is a commit of head coach Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies. But he is set to visit the Forty Acres this summer, which could be a big foot-in-the-door opportunity for Sark and his coaching staff in pursuit of flipping James’ commitment.

It was just back on Feb. 11, 2021 that James originally gave his commitment to the Aggies. Texas and Texas A&M are two of a dozen schools on his growing offer sheet. Some of the other notable schools on his offer sheet are the Arizona State Sun Devils, Baylor Bears, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Oregon Ducks, and Virginia Tech Hokies.

New Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis is the primary recruiter in pursuit of James. And while there is no official visit date scheduled as of yet, that could be done in the very near future. Davis is doing a good job on the recruiting trail thus far, which is highlighted by his efforts with the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex native James.

Moreover, the Top247 ranks James as the nation’s No. 47 2022 high school prospect, No. 5 strong-side defensive end, and No. 5 prospect out of Texas.

According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, the 2023 Texas recruiting class still holds the top spot in the nation, and of course the Big 12. Their lone commit in the 2023 class came from the elite five-star El Campo running back Rueben Owens, back on Feb. 25, 2021.