Texas football a ‘strong candidate’ for 4-Star TE target Ryner Swanson

Texas football kicked off its big month of June on the recruiting trail with an official visit from the highly touted four-star Laguna Beach (CA) tight end Ryner Swanson. Texas hosted Swanson for an official visit to Austin on June 1, the blue-chip tight end’s first time on the 40 since he made the trip for the second Junior Day of the offseason on March 25.

Special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jeff Banks and the Longhorns are making Swanson a top priority at the position in the 2024 class. Thus, this was a big official visit to kick off the month of June on the recruiting trail for head coach Steve Sarkisian, Banks, and the Longhorns.

The returns from the last few days regarding Swanson’s official visit to Texas are very positive, indicating that the staff did a nice job putting together this experience last week.

Justin Wells of Inside Texas reported (paid content) on June 2 that Banks and Swanson are “getting a lot closer” during the last two visits that he took to Austin since late March. Something else noteworthy that came out of this visit report from IT was Swanson informing them that the successful official trip “should cement the Longhorns’ status as strong candidates in this recruitment”.

Texas football is a top school for 4-Star TE target Ryner Swanson after his official visit last week

Swanson spent time with the coaches (namely Banks) and some of the tight ends on the current roster. It sounds like he enjoyed interacting with the players and seeing what they think about Texas.

"“The players love Texas, obviously. How could you not? The only bad thing is the heat. But who cares, suck it up.”"

Texas seemingly made a big enough impression during Swanson’s multi-day trip to Austin last week that it should be considered one of the top contenders in this recruitment heading into the summer. The biggest competition in this recruitment will come from the Oregon Ducks and BYU Cougars.

Swanson mentioned after his official visit to Texas concluded last weekend that his top three schools are Oregon, BYU, and the Longhorns. He’s set to make an official visit to Eugene next weekend (starting on June 9) to see Oregon.

And it sounds like an official trip to BYU could be in the works for Swanson later this summer.

For Texas to win this recruitment, it will have to not only prove that Austin is the right fit for Swanson, but also that the tight end development is on the right trajectory under Banks. Texas must show that the tight end room is in good shape and that it’s headed in the right direction on the field this fall.

Swanson is one of the top tight end targets for Banks and the Longhorns in the 2024 class heading into the summer along with the rising three-star Houston (TX) Langham Creek product Jordan Washington. The recent offer Washington will make his official visit to Texas a couple of weeks after the conclusion of Swanson’s, starting on June 16.