Texas Football: 10 key recruits impressed by UT making the CFP

Jontae Gilbert, S

A top-rated out-of-state offer for the Longhorns in the 2025 class is the elite high-four-star Atlanta (GA) Douglass safety Jontae Gilbert. The top-50 ranked prospect nationally in the 2025 class in the 247Sports Composite and On3 Industry Ranking has great relationships with Texas safeties coach Blake Gideon and cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph.

"Coach Gideon and coach Joseph love me. They feel like I can play every position in the secondary and they let me know that I am a must get for them."

Gilbert has noticed the trajectory of the Texas program under Sarkisian in the last couple of years. He thinks highly of the Longhorns’ chances of winning the National Championship this postseason, saying the team “has something to prove”. He also mentioned Texas will “win the natty hands down.”

On Oct. 13, Gilbert included Texas among his 10 finalist schools, among other big-time programs such as the LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Clemson Tigers, and USC Trojans. Gilbert is a former Ohio State commit that re-opened his recruitment during the offseason.

Caleb Chester, CB

An in-state cornerback recruit that the Texas staff likes in the 2025 class this fall is the rising three-star Missouri City (TX) Fort Bend Marshall athlete/cornerback Caleb Chester. The 6-foot-1 and 175-pound athlete from the Houston area in Texas is being recruited at defensive back by the Longhorns’ coaching staff.

Chester thinks the Playoff appearance will give Texas an uptick on the recruiting trail in the 2025 class. And he likes their chances of winning the whole thing this postseason.

Chester is also buying into Texas’s chances of getting into the Playoff in the future when it moves to a 12-team field.