Arch Manning gave Colton Vasek ‘a ton to think about’ during visit

There was a pretty significant visitor list for Texas football last weekend as head coach Steve Sarkisian and his squad faced head coach Matt Campbell and the Iowa State Cyclones in a close Big 12 battle at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin on Oct. 15. Texas was able to grind out a close three-point win that came down to the final few minutes against Iowa State over the weekend.

Sark and the Longhorns were able to top Iowa State on Oct. by the final score of 24-21, extending this team’s winning streak to three games. It should also help the Longhorns continue building momentum on the field and on the recruiting trail this fall.

A telling sign that Texas is continuing to build momentum on the recruiting trail thanks to this winning streak is the direction of the recruitment of the highly touted four-star Oklahoma Sooners commit and Austin Westlake edge rusher Colton Vasek. After taking his third visit to see a Texas game live so far this season, it’s clear that Vasek is still interested in seeing what the Longhorns have to offer to some degree.

Vasek has now attended the Texas-Alabama game on Sep. 10, the Red River Rivalry game against the Oklahoma Sooners on Oct. 8, and the Iowa State game last weekend. Granted, Vasek saw Red River as an OU visitor.

Arch Manning helping Texas football give Colton Vasek “a ton to think about”

Moreover, it looks like if there is one recruit that is making a real impression on Vasek, it is the elite five-star Texas quarterback commit and Isidore Newman product Arch Manning. Arch and Vasek were spotted together chatting it up on the Texas sideline during the win on Oct. 15 over Iowa State.

And according to a report from Hudson Standish of Horns247 on Oct. 17 (paid content), Arch is giving Vasek a “ton to think about” following the conclusion of the visit for the Texas-Iowa State game last weekend. Arch is reportedly “laying into Vasek”, giving the Texas camp more confidence that “the five-star was making an impression”.

It seems pretty obvious at the moment that Arch is making Vasek his top priority in terms of the defensive targets of the Longhorns 2023 class that he is personally recruiting. Arch and Vasek have grown close, and Arch is reportedly putting the “full court press” on the Oklahoma commit.

At this point of the 2023 recruiting cycle, it looks like Texas has a top trio of edge rusher targets in the 2023 class that includes the four-star USC Trojans commit Braylan Shelby, four-star Skyridge (UT) product Tausili Akana, and Vasek. But the latter of those three edge recruits has the most buzz on the Texas side or at least is commanding the most attention right now.

Texas currently holds commitments from 21 recruits in the 2023 class. There are two edge rushers committed to the Longhorns 2023 class including four-star Teague (TX) product Derion Gullette and the former Oklahoma State Cowboys three-star commit Billy Walton.