Texas Football: 4 top 2022 targets the Horns are losing in July

Justice Finkley, DL

Getting a boost along the defensive line at this point of the recruiting cycle looks like it could come to the Longhorns either from one of two blue-chip targets on the trail. The first, and more likely of the two, is the four-star in-state defensive lineman Jaray Bledsoe. And the less likely of the two for the Longhorns to land is the four-star Hewitt-Trussville defensive lineman Justice Finkley.

It was pretty difficult to gauge where the interests of the 6-foot-2 and 255-pound defensive lineman Finkley were at following a few key official visits last month. Finkley had his official visit with Texas back on June 25. A couple of the other key schools he visited last month included the Colorado Buffaloes and Michigan Wolverines.

But it looks to be head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide that own the edge at the moment in the race to land Finkley’s commitment. The Alabama native Finkley would definitely be keeping close to home if he committed to the Crimson Tide when it’s all said and done.

The good news for Texas here is that they have some room to make up ground with Finkley if he does not announce his decision later in July.

The three schools that Finkley looks to boil his decision down to at this point are Texas, Colorado, and Alabama. Texas should be able to get an edge over Colorado, but Alabama will be a more difficult feat to overcome.

Alabama is always a big competitor when they throw their hat into the ring on the recruiting trail. And that is the main school that looks to be slightly winning over the interests of Finkley early in July.