Haynes King could determine Texas football’s fate with 4-Star Jalen Hale

In the last few weeks, we’ve started to see the numbers rack up in the 2023 Texas football recruiting class at the wide receiver position. Texas has landed two wide receiver commits in the 2023 class in as many weeks. The two most recent wide receiver commits in Texas’ 2023 class are the elite five-star DeSoto product Johntay Cook and four-star Dekany product Jonah Wilson.

But the job isn’t done yet on the recruiting trail for head coach Steve Sarkisian and new wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator Brennan Marion at this position in the 2023 class. Texas still has a handful of top wideout targets remaining for the 2023 class this summer.

We can pinpoint a top trio of wide receiver recruits that really stick out as the top targets of the Longhorns 2023 class at this point of the cycle. That trio includes four-stars Jaquaize Pettaway, Mikal Harrison-Pilot, and Jalen Hale.

It’s also worth noting that four-star Austin-Westlake product Jaden Greathouse still remains on the big board for the Longhorns 2023 class. At this moment, though, it feels like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is setting the pace in Greathouse’s recruitment.

If Texas is going to take two more wideouts in the 2023 class, there are two targets that stick out above the rest this summer. And those two are Hale and Harrison-Pilot.

Harrison-Pilot appears to be a clear Texas lean right now. That makes Hale as the main wildcard for the Longhorns 2023 class at the wide receiver position heading into the fall.

There is an x-factor with Hale that is worth considering this offseason. It appears that Hale’s former Longview teammate and Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Haynes King. Multiple reports going back at least a few months (including one from Horns247 during the holiday weekend, paid content) have indicated that a decision from Hale could boil down to whether King is the starting quarterback for Texas A&M heading into the 2022 season.

Texas A&M could determine Jalen Hale’s commitment over Texas football if QB Haynes King is the starter

Given how Hale’s decision could boil down to a battle on the recruiting trail between the Lone Star Showdown rivals Texas and Texas A&M, it’s interesting that a storyline such as a quarterback competition in one offseason could determine such a big commitment. But that could be the case since Hale is getting down to it before a likely fall decision comes to the surface.

This news really isn’t anything surprising or new, though. Hale has long expressed the importance that King has in his recruitment. Texas A&M having King in their quarterback room gives them a notable edge in this recruitment, and that’s an advantage that head coach Jimbo Fisher and his staff aren’t taking lightly.

Over and over again in the last 12-18 months, discussions regarding the connection between Hale and King have emphasized how much the blue-chip wideout values playing with his former quarterback.

Nonetheless, it could be as simple as King landing the backup job for the Aggies this fall that could get Texas a commitment from the highly touted 6-foot-2 and 175-pound Hale.

Texas is now up to 18 commits in the 2023 class after landing four-star Bergen Catholic (NJ) defensive lineman Sydir Mitchell on July 3. The three wideout commits in the 2023 class at this point are the aforementioned Wilson and Cook along with the speedy four-star Aldine Eisenhower (TX) product Ryan Niblett.