Breaking down 3 top Texas football recruits with fall decisions

Tausili Akana, EDGE

At this point of the offseason, it looks like the top edge rusher target for the Longhorns in the 2023 class is the highly touted four-star Skyridge (UT) edge rusher Tausili Akana. Texas is in the mix of a top group of three or four schools that are taking shape in the race to land a commitment from Akana this fall.

And it looks like Texas is set to get an official visit from Akana for that aforementioned massive game weekend between the Longhorns and Crimson Tide on Sep. 10. That is one of four official visits Akana has scheduled for the fall.

The other three are set to come with LSU (Oct. 7), Oklahoma Sooners (Oct. 14), and Texas A&M (Nov. 14).

Akana’s official visit to Austin on Sep. 10 will be his third trip to campus since last summer. And this could be the critical point in Akana’s recruitment that Texas is looking for to really make that move to become his frontrunner ahead of the first signing day.

Moreover, after Texas missed out on the touted four-star Austin-Westlake edge rusher Colton Vasek to Oklahoma and four-star Friendswood edge rusher Braylan Shelby to the USC Trojans, Akana became a much bigger priority for Texas. But this certainly looks like a recruitment that Texas could win when it’s all said and done.

Co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Pete Kwiatkowski and the Longhorns defensive staff will need to do a fantastic job of pitching Akana as a great scheme fit at the jack linebacker/edge rusher position this fall. If Akana feels like Texas is the right fit for him schematically, it’s hard to see him picking another school when he arrives at a decision in the next few months.