Texas Football: 5-Star DL Dominick McKinley sets commitment date

One of the top priorities for Texas football in the 2024 recruiting class, the elite five-star Lafayette (LA) Acadiana defensive lineman Dominick McKinley, has reportedly set a commitment date for the fall. Multiple reports (including from Inside Texas and TexAgs) indicate that McKinley has set a decision date for Sep. 1.

McKinley will announce his commitment on the day of the third game of the season for Acadiana High School. Acadiana will face Lafayette Christian Academy on the road on Sep. 1.

Unrelated, McKinley and Acadiana will face three-star Texas defensive line commit Melvin Hills and Lafayette Christian Academy in Week 3 on Sep. 1.

Top Texas football 5-Star DL priority Dominick McKinley will decide on Sep. 1

McKinley didn’t release a top group of finalist schools with the announcement of his decision date on Aug. 7. But On3 reported on Aug. 3 (paid content) that three schools that were standing out to him were the Oklahoma Sooners, LSU Tigers, and Texas, with the Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas A&M Aggies trailing behind the top three.

McKinley took summer official visits to Ohio State (June 2), Texas A&M (June 9), LSU (June 16), and Texas (June 23). He also took two unofficial visits to Baton Rouge to see head coach Brian Kelly and LSU since the spring. Most recently, he visited Baton Rouge unofficially for LSU’s Bayou Splash on July 28.

Texas has one crystal ball to land McKinley

There aren’t many forecasts for McKinley in the last few months. And given that he didn’t release an official top group of finalist schools for his Sep. 1 commitment date, there is some haziness regarding where he’s leaning less than a month from his announcement.

But the most recent 247Sports Crystal Ball Prediction, from Hank South of Horns247, projects McKinley’s commitment to Texas.

Last month, we also cited a report that pegged Texas and Oklahoma as the schools in “pole position” for McKinley late this summer.

McKinley is Texas’ top priority at defensive line in the 2024 class heading into the fall. Defensive line coach Bo Davis and the Longhorns already hold commitments from three defensive linemen in the 2024 class, including Orlando (FL) Jones four-star D’antre Robinson, Duncanville four-star Alex January, and Lafayette Christian Academy’s Hills.