Texas Football: 3 5-Star recruits the Longhorns can land in December

The month of December brings the Early Signing Period as head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff try to put some of the finishing touches on the 2023 Texas football recruiting class. The Early Signing Period for college football begins on Dec. 21 and ends on Dec. 23 for the 2023 class.

That gives Sark and the Longhorns staff a little less than three weeks to get this 2023 class locked in. Or at least it gives the staff around three weeks to get as many recruits locked in as possible.

We’re probably going to see at least a couple of commits in the Longhorns 2023 class waiting until National Signing Day (Feb. 1, 2023) to sign their LOIs.

Moreover, there are at least a few outstanding targets remaining for the Longhorns 2023 class that Sark and his staff would love to get in the mix in the next few weeks. At least three or four 2023 targets remain on the board for the Longhorns that are expected to make a final decision before signing day in a few weeks.

And there are even some top 2024 recruits that the Longhorns are starting to make some real headway with this fall that are worth watching ahead of the turn of the calendar year.

5-Star LB Anthony Hill and the elite recruits Texas football could land in December

Here’s a look at three five-star recruits the Longhorns could land in December.

Zina Umeozulu, EDGE

The lone 2024 recruit on this list that Texas is starting to make a big move with this fall is the elite Allen edge rusher Zina Umeozulu.

Early on in this 2024 recruiting cycle, Texas looks to be making a pair of elite edge rushers in Duncanville product Colin Simmons and Umeozulu the top priorities at this position. And Texas is doing a nice job of making it known to this pair how much they want them in the 2024 class.

Yet, I will say that Texas is probably in a slightly better spot at the moment with Umeozulu than Simmons. It still looks like the LSU Tigers are at least slightly setting the pace in Simmons’ recruitment, while the likes of Texas, the Oklahoma Sooners, Alabama Crimson Tide, etc. are playing catch up.

Meanwhile, after a few successful visits for game weekends in Austin this fall, I’m confident enough to say that Texas could realistically be viewed at the moment as one of at least the top two schools in Umeozulu’s recruitment. And with Umeozulu reportedly (per Inside Texas) set to take a visit for Texas’ bowl game later this month, I really like where Texas stands in this recruitment right now.

It’s also worth noting that Pete Kwiatkowski had a good visit to see Umeozulu at Allen High School earlier this week. PK and the Longhorns seem to have a really strong relationship with Umeozulu, which is helped by his brother (freshman OT Neto Umeozulu) currently playing for Texas.