Texas football adds lengthy CB with ball skills in 4-Star Santana Wilson

Texas football landed its fourth commitment in the 2024 recruiting class during this big official visit weekend in mid-June with the highly touted four-star Scottsdale (AZ) Desert Mountain cornerback Santana Wilson. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian landed a commitment from a talented out-of-state prospect in the 6-foot and 180-pound son of former NFL defensive back Adrian Wilson.

Wilson committed to cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph and the Longhorns amid his first visit to campus since he was offered almost exactly one month ago. Joseph and the Longhorns got their foot in the door in this recruitment pretty late.

But Texas clearly made a big impression with the offer it sent to Wilson last month. He scheduled the official visit to Texas shortly after receiving the Longhorns’ offer.

The official visit to Texas this weekend was actually the first time that Wilson is seeing the Forty Acres since he was offered last month. And it didn’t take long for the Longhorns to be able to get Wilson in the 2024 class after arriving on campus for his first visit to Austin in the last couple of days.

Wilson announced his commitment to Texas on social media early in the evening of June 17. He is likely to be the second defensive back committed to the Longhorns 2024 class along with the touted four-star Houston (TX) Clear Lake athlete Hunter Moddon.

Adding Wilson to the 2024 class brings the Longhorns to three blue-chip commits, along with the aforementioned Moddon and four-star Cypress (TX) Cy-Fair quarterback Trey Owens.

Texas football adds undervalued 4-Star Arizona CB Santana Wilson to its 2024 class

The first thing that caught my eye last month when looking at the recruiting profile and film from Wilson was how underrated he seemed to be by most of the major recruiting services. While On3 does rate Wilson as a four-star cornerback recruit and one of the top five prospects out of Arizona, the other three major recruiting services don’t list him as a blue-chip.

The 6-foot and 180-pound Wilson plays like a defensive back that is three or four inches taller than him. He’s got incredible ball skills in one-on-one coverage. When paired with his incredible physical upside, you can see the type of mind-boggling potential he could have as one of the best cornerbacks in the SEC a few years in the future.

Wilson’s top-notch ball skills stem from a special combination of tremendous timing and strong fundamentals. He’s got a strong lower base and quick hips, making him a force whether he’s pressing opposing wide receivers at the line of scrimmage or giving some cushion five or seven yards off pre-snap.

Length, vertical ability, and strength are three major strong suits to Wilson’s game. And while he is pretty agile as a defensive back with above-average hip speed, his overall speed is a bit of a question mark.

But we’ll touch more on that later.

Moreover, Wilson’s physical upside and ball skills translated to standout production on the field in the last two seasons at Desert Mountain High School in Arizona. During his junior campaign at Desert Mountain, Wilson registered four interceptions and a dozen pass breakups (per MaxPreps).

Wilson was productive for multiple seasons at Desert Mountain throughout his high school career. Two seasons ago, he registered two interceptions and a career-high 13 pass breakups.

This type of man coverage ability and physical upside that Wilson brings to the table will be very valuable for the Longhorns against some of the better wide receivers in the SEC in 2024 and beyond.

Tackling ability and versatility

Wilson checks many boxes necessary to be a standout cover corner in Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense with the Longhorns. That’s not the only box he checks to be a key standout piece of this defense.

Open-field tackling is an aspect of Wilson’s game that allows him to effectively contest space while keeping plays in front of him. He’s a good fundamental tackler with some pop in the pads too.

In the last two seasons in high school, Wilson registered nearly 100 combined tackles while rarely missing tackles or taking poor tackling approaches when meeting the ball carrier in the open field.

Wilson does a nice job of preventing the big play in pass coverage, which is an essential skill to maximize the role of the other defensive backs in PK’s defensive scheme.

Contributing on multiple sides of the ball

One of the biggest positives for the Longhorns regarding getting a commitment from Wilson is the ability to contribute on multiple sides of the ball. Wilson plays on offense, defense, and special teams for Desert Mountain.

Wilson has returned a field goal block for a touchdown before, and he’s an elusive running back option for his high school squad.

As Wilson learns the defense and continues to develop physically in the next couple of years, he could be a valuable asset on the special teams unit for the Longhorns. Texas values its skill players on both sides of the ball being able to make an impact on special teams.

Wilson fits at Texas as a high-upside boundary corner

The natural fit for Wilson at Texas will be at the boundary corner position. His lengthy frame, physicality, and natural ball skills make Wilson a good fit on the boundary.

Assuming Texas is able to win the race to land a commitment from the elite five-star Waco (TX) Connally cornerback priority Kobe Black during the summer or in the fall, Wilson projects as a rotational corner on the two-deep with the upside to be a multi-year starter for Texas.

If Texas is able to get both Wilson and Black in its 2024 class, that also gives PK the versatility to move other pieces around in the secondary to maximize the talent he has in the fold upon the move to the SEC next year.

Texas recruits defensive backs with the versatility to play at multiple different positions so that it will be deep at all spots in the secondary in the future.

Sark and the Longhorns staff were patient in building out the 2024 class so far. But it feels like a wave of momentum is impending, especially after Texas snagged a commitment from the blue-chip Arizona corner Wilson this weekend.

According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, the 2024 Texas recruiting class ranks at No. 63 in the nation.