Predicting Texas football’s next commit after 5-Star Johntay Cook
The massive wave of momentum for second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff of late in the 2023 Texas football recruiting class has taken this group to the point of national prominence. In the last few weeks, Texas went from having the potential to get a top-five ranked 2023 class in the nation, to having one of the three best in the country.
After a huge week on the recruiting trail for Sark and the Longhorns staff in the 2023 class, this group is now up to 17 commits as of the afternoon of June 30. This all started for Texas back on June 23, when the elite five-star Isidore Newman quarterback Arch Manning committed to the Longhorns 2023 class.
Since that point, Texas has more than doubled the size of the 2023 class. That included Texas landing another duo of five-star commits in the 2023 class between Westgate (LA) safety Derek Williams and DeSoto wide receiver Johntay Cook.
Cook is the latest to join the Longhorns 2023 class as he is the 17th commit in the mix and the third five-star. He committed to Texas on June 29, which also solidified the Longhorns as one of the top two or three 2023 recruiting classes in the country at this point of the offseason.
Who could be the next commit in the 2023 Texas football recruiting class after Johntay Cook?
With that in mind, here’s a look at a prediction of who the next commit could be in the Longhorns 2023 class after landing Cook on June 29.
Jordan Matthews, CB
A top defensive target of the Longhorns 2023 class throughout the offseason is the four-star Woodlawn (LA) cornerback Jordan Matthews. Texas has long made Matthews a priority among cornerback targets in this class. And we’re likely going to see that long-established relationship that the Longhorns have formed with Matthews pay dividends in the next few months.
What could have the biggest impact on the Longhorns’ pursuit of a commitment from Matthews is a recent offer that came his way from the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama was already set to get an official visit from Matthews at some point in the next few months. But the heightened priority from the Alabama staff and an offer coming Matthews’ way sooner than anticipated will make it more challenging for Texas to lockdown on this recruitment before the summer ends.
The decision timeline that Matthews winds up sticking to will ultimately have the biggest impact on Texas’ pursuit to get him in the rapidly expanding 2023 class. If Matthews feels the pressure of the Longhorns 2023 class filling up as we move deeper into the summer months, then he might commit before the 2022 season begins.
But this feels like a recruitment that could realistically draw out into the fall. And it will likely boil down to Texas and Alabama. Although, I do still like Texas as the favorite in this one all things considered.