Texas Football: 3 biggest whiffs in the 2023 recruiting class

David Hicks, DL

I’d have to say that the recruit among the three on this list that the Longhorns missed out on by the largest margin was the elite five-star Katy Paetow defensive lineman David Hicks Jr. Texas seemed to be pretty well behind the likes of Texas A&M and Oklahoma in the latter stages of Hicks’ recruitment.

And that ultimately led to Hicks committing to Texas A&M over Texas and Oklahoma late last year.

There was some smoke surrounding a potential flip of Hicks heading into the Early Signing Period in December. Oklahoma and Texas were both still pushing in this recruitment through the whistle, which is to be expected with a recruit the caliber of Hicks.

Hicks was the highest-rated defensive lineman that the Longhorns offered in the 2023 class. He was considered a top priority at the position from day one of this recruitment for the Longhorns. But the connection was just never there considering what you would expect from defensive line coach Bo Davis and the Longhorns recruiting at this position.

This is the type of defensive line recruit that Texas needs to start winning over SEC foes on the trail if it wants to find more success in the trenches upon the departure from the Big 12, which is likely set for 2024.

All in all, I don’t consider Hicks a massive whiff for the Longhorns in the 2023 class. I would consider this a learning experience for the Longhorns staff in terms of what needs to be done on the recruiting trail to ultimately succeed at the top level in the trenches on both sides of the ball in the SEC.