Texas adds explosiveness, playmaking with 4-Star WR Ryan Niblett

This was a really big weekend both on the recruiting trail and on the field for second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program in the last couple of days. Texas not only took part in the altered version of the annual Orange-White spring football game on April 23, but they also landed two key commitments in the 2023 recruiting class.

Sark and the Longhorns staff were able to add two key commitments this weekend, starting with the talented four-star running back Tre Wisner. But it only came a few minutes later that Sark and the Longhorns would also reel in a commitment from the highly touted four-star Aldine Eisenhower wide receiver Ryan Niblett.

Both Wisner and Niblett announced their respective commitments to the Longhorns via their Twitter timelines on the night of April 23. Texas was able to almost instantly add their two highest-rated commits in the 2023 class on the night of April 23.

https://twitter.com/1waytreway/status/1518059702382379009

These commitments were a bit unexpected too. Neither Niblett nor Wisner had planned announcements coming this weekend. Yet, it also wasn’t out of the question for Texas to land some key blue-chip skill position prospects such as these two during a spring game weekend.

Texas football adds an incredible amount of versatility and playmaking ability in 4-Star WR commit Ryan Niblett

Niblett was definitely one of the bigger weekend visitors for Sark and the Longhorns during the Orange-White spring football game. He was one of the top priorities among the wideouts on campus for the Longhorns this weekend.

Texas landed the commitment of Niblett over offers from more than 15 other schools. Some of his other top schools that Texas beat out to get his pledge were the Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razorbacks, Texas A&M Aggies, and USC Trojans, among others.

Texas getting Niblett committed in the 2023 class is a massive boost for this program in a number of different ways. This 5-foot-10 and 170-pound in-state wideout is now the top-rated commit in the Longhorns 2023 class.

Niblett is going to be another one of those speedy and electric playmakers that Sark loves to have so much in this offense. There are parts of his game that will resemble the likes of incoming freshman Texas wideout Brenen Thompson and also the rising sophomore star Xavier Worthy.

But Niblett’s skill set still makes him a unique player compared to those two aforementioned Texas wideouts.

For starters, Niblett is going to be an extremely versatile playmaker that could do it on multiple sides of the ball for Sark and the Longhorns. He plays both out of the slot and occasionally lines up on the outside in high school. And that’s just on the offensive side of the ball.

Niblett also plays defensive back for Aldine Eisenhower, showing off his insane ranginess and versatility.

Moreover, since the Longhorns are going to be using Niblett primarily as a slot receiver in all likelihood, we’ll take a deeper dive into what he brings to the table in this regard.

Niblett is an excellent playmaker that primarily thrives on his tight route running ability, speed and elusiveness, and surprising physicality to pick up yards in chunks. Although he stands at just 5-foot-10, Niblett is surprisingly adept at picking up yards after the catch.

The combination of his agility and underrated strength and physicality at initial contact makes him extremely tough to bring down after he catches the ball or in the open field. And the separation he creates from opposing defensive backs when running routes also helps him to pick up yards after the catch in chunks.

Niblett’s speed is evident as a track and field athlete with Aldine Eisenhower. He runs a 100-meter dash in just over 10.5 seconds and has around a 21-second 200-meter dash time. But the way Niblett stands out in track and field doesn’t stop there.

He can put his crazy athleticism on display in the long jump and triple jump. That is rare for a wideout that is as physical as Niblett to also be such a standout athlete in the 100 and 200-meter dashes, along with the long jump and triple jump events.

This just goes to show how electric of an athlete Sark and new wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator Brennan Marion are getting in Niblett.

This combination of versatility and physical tools for Niblett will allow him to be an extremely mouldable weapon for Sark and the Longhorns that is incredibly tough to defend. Niblett is likely to traditionally line up in the slot for Texas. But he can take reps at the H or the X wide receiver spots given his ability to run such a versatile route tree and create separation on intermediate and deep routes.

If he mostly lines up out of the slot, Niblett has more than enough speed and elusiveness to burn opposing defenders on the glance and post routes that Sark famously likes to run. Niblett’s acceleration and physicality allow him to work past either the press or coverage with more of a cushion off the line of scrimmage. That’s part of what makes him so incredibly tough to defend.

Yet, if Texas wants to run him out of the Z slot, Niblett has more than enough flat-out speed and physicality in his game to contend on screens, corner routes, and deep balls. He would still add a lot of punch for the Texas offense out of the Z wideout slot.

All in all, Texas is getting an incredibly versatile playmaker that can make a positive impact on this Texas offense in a number of different ways. And his skill set is polished enough to earn some early reps and get a shot to make an immediate impact on this offense.

After reeling in the commitments of Wisner and Niblett this weekend, the Longhorns 2023 class has vaulted up in a number of different national class rankings. On3 now ranks Texas as the No. 8 class in the nation and at the top of the Big 12 over the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The 247Sports Team Composite Rankings also slot Texas with the highest average rated commit in the Big 12, which is an accolade they also hold from On3 and Rivals.

Texas is now up to five commits in the 2023 class, with Niblett as the highest-rated. He’s also the first wide receiver to commit to the Longhorns 2023 class and the second pledge at the skill positions with Wisner joining the mix too.