3 flips Texas football can snag from rival schools this fall

Colton Vasek, EDGE*

In my opinion, the least likely recruit on this list for the Longhorns to attempt to flip this fall is going to be the touted four-star Austin-Westlake edge rusher and recent Oklahoma Sooners commit Colton Vasek. Texas might still push for the hometown product after his commitment to Oklahoma a few weeks ago. But the ties for Vasek to new head coach Brent Venables and the Sooners seem pretty strong right now.

Since this is just a list of commits of rival schools for Texas to try to flip this fall, we didn’t include the four-star Friendswood edge rusher and USC Trojans pledge Braylan Shelby. Yet, I do think that Texas is much more likely to be able to flip Shelby from USC than Vasek from Oklahoma.

In a hypothetical world where Vasek chose the Oregon Ducks over Texas and Oklahoma, I would find it much more likely for the Longhorns to flip him this fall. But since Vasek won’t be going very far from home, the geographic proximity factor won’t be as impactful for Texas’ pitch to flip him from Oklahoma as it would be if he committed to the Ducks.

This could still be worth a shot, though, for Texas to try and flip Vasek before signing day. Depending on how Texas is able to finish out with the likes of the elite five-star Venice (FL) edge rusher Damon Wilson and four-star Skyridge (UT) edge rusher Tausili Akana this fall, flipping Vasek or Shelby could become a priority for this staff.

Edge recruiting is a high priority in the Longhorns 2023 class, which is why I could see this defensive staff pursuing Vasek through the whistle on signing day this fall. Vasek was a top priority for the Longhorns 2023 class this offseason for a reason. He’s a very talented edge rusher that could make an early impact in an area that is sorely needed for the Longhorns.