Texas football receives crystal ball for 5-Star RB Jerrick Gibson

Texas football appears to be making some big moves on the recruiting trail in the 2024 class recently, especially with one key running back priority. Head coach Steve Sarkisian and running backs coach Tashard Choice have put Texas squarely in the mix for the elite five-star IMG Academy running back Jerrick Gibson entering the spring.

Choice is especially one to thank among the Texas coaches for where the Longhorns stand at the moment with the nation’s No. 1 rated running back in the 2024 class. We talked about it on the site on Feb. 26 that Choice’s relationship with Gibson is a big reason why Texas seemingly ranks among his top schools heading into his official visit season.

While it looked like Choice and the Longhorns were right in the mix among the top schools in the race to land a commitment from Gibson, they might be in an even more favorable spot than that at this moment.

Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports surely has more confidence than most of us presumed regarding Texas’ chances to win this recruitment early in the offseason. Wiltfong entered a 247Sports Crystal Ball Prediction with moderate confidence projecting Gibson’s commitment to Texas.

Texas football gets a crystal ball for the No. 1 2024 RB Jerrick Gibson

In the write-up for this crystal ball prediction, it’s mentioned that the relationship with Choice and the recent track record of success for the Longhorns’ recruiting and developing talent at the running back position are two of the biggest reasons why Texas is in a good spot in this recruitment.

Choice was the first coach that offered Gibson when he was still the RB coach with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets more than one year ago. And despite leaving Georgia Tech to take the same role at Texas last offseason, Choice hasn’t missed a beat in this recruitment in the last eight or 10 months.

Texas is currently slated to host Gibson for an official visit to Austin in late June. And this report mentions that Gibson and his camp are also expecting to be on campus for an unofficial trip for Texas’ spring football game at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on April 15.

Gibson has already visited Texas twice since last summer. The latest unofficial visit he took to Texas was on Jan. 21, 2023, for the first Junior Day weekend of the 2023 offseason. And his first trip to Austin came last summer (specifically on June 11).

Texas currently holds commitments from two recruits in the 2024 class following the de-commitment of four-star Aledo cornerback Jaden Allen over the weekend. Gibson is one of the top priorities on the offensive side of the ball for the Longhorns in the 2024 class, along with fellow blue-chips such as wide receiver Micah Hudson and interior offensive lineman DeAndre Carter.