Texas football pursuing 4-Star Colorado ATH decommit Aaron Butler

The Texas football coaching staff has been on the road this week, visiting various top recruits and commitments in the 2024 class before signing day on Dec. 20. We’ve seen Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff go in-home and visit the high schools of multiple top targets and commitments in the 2024 class in the last few days.

Among the most recent uncommitted targets the Longhorns staff visiting on the recruiting trail this week in the 2024 class was the highly touted four-star Calabasas (CA) athlete and recent Colorado Buffaloes decommit Aaron Butler. Texas appears to be after the blue-chip athlete recruit from California after he decommitted from head coach Deion Sanders and Colorado this weekend.

Texas football among 3 schools pursuing recent 4-Star Colorado ATH decommit Aaron Butler

Greg Biggins of 247Sports reported on Dec. 9 (paid content) that Texas wide receivers coach Chris Jackson made an in-home visit with Butler this week. That visit seems to have struck a chord with Butler and his camp. And Texas is now right in the mix with a couple of other top schools in consideration to land Butler’s commitment heading into signing day on Dec. 20.

Butler said after the in-home visit that he and his family “really like coach Jackson a lot”.

The other two schools that are involved in Butler’s recruitment after he decommitted from Colorado this weekend are the Washington Huskies and Arizona Wildcats. Butler took an unofficial trip to Washington to see the Huskies host the rival Washington State Cougars in the Apple Cup in Seattle on Nov. 25.

Arizona is a school that’s pursued Butler on the recruiting trail for a while now. Butler reportedly has a great relationship with Arizona’s lead recruiter and offensive coordinator, Brennan Carroll. He said that Arizona was one of his top schools before he committed to Colorado back in May 2023.

Texas considering adding numbers at wideout from the high school ranks in the 2024 class

It sounds like Sark and Jackson are evaluation the option of bringing in another blue-chip wide receiver recruit to add numbers and young talent at the position in the 2024 class.

"“They have a lot of young receivers already but coach Jackson wants to bring in one more ’24 and I would be that guy.”"

Texas’s pursuit of Butler on the recruiting trail could ultimately come down to the numbers situation and the portal in the 2024 class heading into the offseason. Sark, Jackson, and the Longhorns are looking to take multiple wide receivers in the 2024 class via high school recruiting and the portal.

Texas has yet to officially offer Butler. The staff will continue to evaluate all options regarding the numbers situation in the wide receiver room heading into the offseason. If Texas is really going to push for a commitment from Butler heading into signing day in a couple of weeks, we’d expect an offer to be extended in the coming days.

But Texas needs to add at least a couple of immediate impact wideouts this offseason to replace the three starters expected to enter the NFL Draft next spring.

Texas already has three wide receivers committed from the high school ranks in the 2024 class before signing day. Five-star St. Louis University (MO) wide receiver Ryan Wingo highlights a three-blue-chip wideout class for the Longhorns for the 2024 cycle, including Smithson Valley four-star Freddie Dubose Jr. and Lovejoy four-star Parker Livingstone.

It’s also noteworthy that Texas’s lone athlete committed to the 2024 class, Daingerfield (TX) four-star Aeryn Hampton can play wide receiver or defensive back for the Longhorns. But the Alabama Crimson Tide are making a late push to try and chip away at Hampton’s commitment to Texas.

Alabama pursuing Hampton late in the 2024 cycle before signing day is a potential wrinkle to watch for the Longhorns regarding wide receiver recruiting in the coming days.