Texas football in a ‘heavyweight fight’ for No. 1 TE Jaleel Skinner
The skill positions got a lot of interest out of the gates for this cycle in the 2022 Texas football recruiting class. But that emphasis has faded off a bit of late. Texas and new head coach Steve Sarkisian are hoping to close in on some of the top remaining five-star prospects before the Early Signing Period arrives in almost exactly four months.
Yet, Sark and the Longhorns still have some key non-five-star blue-chip prospects out there that could really help the 2022 class. One prospect definitely worth noting is the nation’s top-ranked tight end and talented IMG Academy product Jaleel Skinner. The four-star 6-foot-5 and 210-pound Florida native is getting all of the attention from new special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jeff Banks.
Banks is the sole recruiter going after Skinner, and the former Alabama Crimson Tide assistant is making him a top priority. Banks has the Longhorns in a group of four other top schools for Skinner which includes the Clemson Tigers, Florida State Seminoles, Alabama, and Miami Hurricanes.
Most indicators would point to Florida State as the leader at the moment, but Skinner’s recruitment is still pretty open. There’s a case to be made for each of these top schools. And if Texas can get another visit out of Skinner this fall, this recruitment could really heat up in the coming months.
Texas football still in the race for 4-Star TE Jaleel Skinner
The lone official visit currently on the books for the fall for Skinner is with Florida State on Sep. 5. That leaves most of the rest of the game weekends this fall open for the Longhorns to try and get him to the Forty Acres.
And according to a report from Horns247 (paid content) on Aug. 17, this will be a “heavyweight fight” between some of the top schools in the mix for the commitment of Skinner. Texas doesn’t look like the frontrunner at the moment, but still definitely remains in the mix.
Anything is possible on the recruiting trail if Sark and the Longhorns if success on the field comes right away this fall. Proving that this program is really on the rise under Sark can do more than anything else for pitches from this staff to top blue-chip prospects at this point.
Skinner is the best tight end Texas can get in the 2022 class. He ranks as the nation’s No. 73 2022 high school prospect, top overall tight end, and No. 10 prospect out of Florida (247Sports Composite).
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Texas is now up to 17 commits in the 2022 class, but none of them look to play at the tight end position. There could be three signees from the 2021 class playing at tight end, so this group doesn’t necessarily need help at the position until 2023.