Texas football lands top WR priority in 5-Star Johntay Cook

More and more good news just keeps coming for second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff in the 2023 Texas football recruiting class this summer. Texas can’t seem to miss on the recruiting trail of late, evident by the stretch of landing three five-star commits in the 2023 class in the span of less than a week, specifically dating back to June 23.

Sark and the Longhorns staff made it three five-star commits since June 23 by landing a pledge from the top wide receiver target of the 2023 class, DeSoto product Johntay Cook. Texas landed this commitment from Cook via an announcement on his Twitter timeline on the afternoon of June 29.

This also makes it a dozen commits that the Longhorns have landed in the 2023 class dating back to June 12.

Texas is about as hot as it gets on the recruiting trail right now. We’ve never really seen a run like this during the summer from any team in the Big 12 recently. And that is largely thanks to the work on the recruiting trail from Sark and the Longhorns staff, along with the shockwaves that were sent from the commitment of the elite five-star Isidore Newman quarterback Arch Manning back on June 23.

We will dig deeper into the impact that landing Cook has for the Longhorns in the 2023 class in the next few days. But the fact of the matter is that this continues to launch Texas sky-high on the recruiting trail. This could give the Longhorns even more momentum as they try to close in on top targets remaining for the 2023 class such as four-star Edgewater (FL) running back Cedric Baxter Jr. and five-star Denton-Ryan linebacker Anthony Hill.

Texas football lands top 2023 WR target in 5-Star Johntay Cook

Texas has also now locked up a handful of the top targets at multiple position groups in the 2023 class. It’s clear that Texas is getting about as much as they could possibly ask for in the 2023 class from the trio of five stars that includes Cook, Arch, and Westgate (LA) safety Derek Williams.

And with the possibility of more commits to come for the Longhorns in the 2023 class before the end of the summer, this group definitely has a shot to be the top class in the nation when it’s all said and done for this cycle.

Moreover, what the Longhorns are broadly getting out of Cook is an extremely potent and explosive wideout that can be the top player at the position for this team for years to come. Cook is a well-rounded 6-foot and 170-pound wideout that brings great speed, route running ability, reliable hands, and excellent tracking skills to the table.

Cook is the type of wideout that should be able to make some plays immediately for this offense as he should challenge for key live-game reps as an x or h-wide receiver.

It seems like the only real downside to Cook’s game at the moment that he’ll need to improve upon at the next level is his blocking in the run game. Cook’s frame and fundamentals haven’t translated well in blocking for the run as of yet.

Texas is now up to 17 commits in the 2023 class after landing Cook on June 29. Well over half of the 2023 class has arrived for Sark and the Longhorns in the last two and a half weeks or so. And the Longhorns now have the No. 2 ranked 2023 class in the nation with Cook in the mix (per 247Sports Team Composite Rankings), only behind the Ohio State Buckeyes.