4-Star Johntay Cook says he could play for same team as Arch Manning

This weekend was an enormous one in the midst of spring ball for second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program, highlighted by the elite five-star Isidore Newman quarterback Arch Manning. Texas hosted roughly a couple dozen key targets of their 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes, including some of the highest-rated offers for Sark and his staff.

Manning was definitely the most notable target that the Longhorns hosted this weekend.

Knowing that Manning has a lot of interest in Texas as one of his top schools this spring, there was a noticeable energy surrounding this program on the recruiting trail this weekend with other top blue-chip targets of the Longhorns 2023 class. That included potentially the top wide receiver target of the Longhorns 2023 class and four-star DeSoto product Johntay Cook.

This is a weekend that Texas can really capitalize on in terms of momentum on the recruiting trail for the rest of the offseason. But that likely means Texas would eventually have to win the race to get the commitment of Manning over the likes of the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide, among a couple of other presumed top schools.

A good example of that is the fact that key blue-chip skill position recruits such as Cook could wind up following Manning depending on the school he eventually commits to. According to a report from Horns247 on March 27 (paid content), Cook stated this week that he could see himself committing to the same school as Manning at some point this year.

Texas football could reportedly see two of their top 2023 targets in QB Arch Manning and WR Johntay Cook committing to the same school

It looks like Manning and Cook have grown pretty close in the recent stages of their recruitments. And that makes sense given the insane talent level that each recruit brings to the table.

If this Horns247 report winds up playing out as Cook said this week, this is something that could favor the Longhorns. Texas definitely looks to have the momentum right now in the race to land a commitment from Manning. And Texas also looks like one of the schools in a more favorable position in the recruitment of Cook.

Texas currently holds commitments from two prospects in their 2022 class, with the most recent coming from four-star C.E. King defensive lineman Dylan Spencer. But this visit weekend in the midst of the early stages of spring ball highlights the real potential of the Longhorns 2023 class as this offseason moves along.