Texas Football: 5-Star WR Jalen Brown an emerging elite 2023 target

An interesting nugget for new head coach Steve Sarkisian and the 2023 Texas football recruiting class surfaced heading into the weekend. Texas looks to have a new top-tier target in sight for their 2023 class once the dead period is in the rearview mirror a few weeks down the line.

With Sark and the Longhorns losing their lone commit in the 2023 class last month, when five-star El Campo running back Rueben Owens re-opened his recruitment, a lot of the emphasis has shifted to the 2022 class. Texas had a good run in the first week of the dead period to restore some of the confidence in the direction that this coaching staff is headed down on the recruiting trail.

Texas landed a trio of commitments in the first week of the dead period, including two blue-chip recruits. But all of those commits went to the Longhorns 2022 class. That still leaves the 2023 class without a single commit, which could eventually put this coaching staff behind the marker in the Big 12.

But as of now, the lone Big 12 program that holds a commit in their 2023 class is actually the Baylor Bears.

So Texas just needs to make sure it can capitalize on any momentum built from a key unofficial visit weekend last month with a number of top 2023 targets. And that looks to be something that could be mounting for the 2023 class once the dead period lifts again at the end of this month.

According to a report from Horns247 on July 10 (paid content), Texas is zoning in on a five-star wide receiver prospect that is from out of state that could be a highlighting force in the 2023 class. Texas is trying to get a visit scheduled with the elite five-star Gulliver Prep (FL) wide receiver Jalen Brown once the dead period lifts in the final weekend of July.

At the moment, Brown does not look to have Texas at the forefront of his top schools. He visited the likes of the Miami Hurricanes, Michigan Wolverines, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, unofficially last month. Those three look to be some of his top schools as it stands now.

5-Star WR Jalen Brown emerging as an elite target for the 2023 Texas football recruiting class

The Florida Gators also look to be a program to watch moving forward in the recruitment of Brown.

Yet, Texas reportedly has an in with Brown, which could be a building block since they are still one of the earlier schools to offer him. Texas offered Brown back on June 1, 2021, which was a good time to get in on his pursuit to try and schedule a visit in late July.

Texas, Florida, Miami, Michigan, and Notre Dame, are just five of the nearly 30 schools on Brown’s ever-growing offer sheet. Some of the other notable schools on his offer sheet include the Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Penn State Nittany Lions, Tennessee Volunteers, and the Texas A&M Aggies.

The uber-talented 6-foot and 170-pound Brown could be one of the top targets for the Longhorns 2023 class in the coming weeks and months. He’s one of the elite wide receivers for this recruiting cycle.

Brown ranks as the nation’s No. 34 2023 high school prospect, No. 6 wide receiver, and No. 8 prospect out of Florida (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranks him as the nation’s No. 28 high school prospect, No. 2 wide receiver, and No. 7 prospect out of Florida.

Texas is hoping to soon restore their 2023 class on a positive path forward in the next few weeks. But the progress for the 2023 class might not come as fast as most Longhorns fans want. It could be a while before some of the top targets of the Longhorns 2023 class announce their decisions.