Texas Football: 3 top priority DFW recruiting targets this summer
Corian Gipson, S
One of the most hotly-contested recruitments for the Longhorns heading into the summer involves the highly touted four-star Lancaster safety Corian Gipson. The 6-foot and 170-pound defensive back originally looked to be at least a slight Texas lean heading into the 2023 offseason.
In the last few months, though, the Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide have both made big moves in this recruitment.
Clemson is one of the schools that generated the most buzz in this recruitment during the spring. Gipson made it out to South Carolina frequently during spring ball to visit head coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers (specifically on March 27 and April 15).
Gipson also made a successful unofficial trip to Tuscaloosa in late January to see Alabama.
Moreover, something that hurt Texas’ standing in this recruitment earlier in the offseason was the departure of the former director of high school relations Chris Gilbert. When Gilbert left the 40 to take a positional coach job with the North Texas Mean Green a few months back, that severed one of the strongest relationships for the Longhorns with Gipson and his camp.
Gilbert has strong ties to the DFW Metroplex, so losing him was a setback for the Longhorns on the recruiting trail with some of their top targets in this part of the state.
Yet, Texas has maintained its spot as one of the top schools in this recruitment with the likes of cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph getting involved as one of the lead recruiters. It sounds like Gipson wants to be recruited as more of a versatile defensive back instead of just a pure safety.
Joseph taking over as one of the lead recruiters for Gipson signifies that Texas sees a lot of positional versatility in the blue-chip out of Lancaster, TX.
I still think Texas is either the leader or one of the top two schools in the pecking order for Gipson heading into the summer. He’s set to see Texas on the Longhorns’ massive visit weekend starting on June 23. Gipson will also officially visit Clemson (June 2) and Alabama (June 9) next month.