Predicting Texas football’s next 2023 commit after Sydir Mitchell

Malik Muhammad, CB

It’s either the elite five-star Arlington-Martin cornerback Javien Toviano or five-star South Oak Cliff cornerback Malik Muhammad that is the top remaining defensive back target on the board for the Longhorns 2023 class at this point of the offseason. But it’s clear that both Muhammad and Toviano are major priorities for cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph and the Longhorns this summer.

Muhammad does look like the more likely of the two, though, to join the Longhorns 2023 class before the 2022 regular season kicks off. That’s largely due to how this Texas coaching staff was able to completely swing the pendulum of momentum in their direction in the recruitment of Muhammad during his summer trips last month.

Texas hosted Muhammad on the only official visit that he took last month. And that official visit back on the weekend of June 17 appeared to be a smashing success by all accounts since it wrapped up.

In fact, that visit looked to go well enough for two On3 recruiting analysts/reporters to push in forecasts projecting Muhammad to commit to the Longhorns.

Moreover, the main competition here for the Longhorns will be Texas A&M. Muhammad is currently on the books for an official visit to College Station on the weekend of July 29. That presents an opportunity for the Aggies to swing momentum back in their favor in this recruitment.

This is another case where the Longhorns staff will really push to shut down this recruitment before Muhammad is able to take an official visit to Texas A&M on the last weekend of July. It would be massive for the Longhorns to be able to shut down the recruitments of both Muhammad and Gullette before the big visit weekend for the in-state rival Aggies on the final weekend of this month.