Since the first big Junior Day of the offseason on Jan. 25, Texas football has handed out a number of offers to rising targets from the 2026 and 2027 recruiting classes. Texas offered multiple visiting recruits during the Junior Day festivities a couple of weekends ago.
Early-cycle 2027 defensive priority prospects for Texas football within the Lone Star State
Steve Sarkisian and other key Longhorns' coaches are building relationships and trying to identify top emerging targets early in the 2027 recruiting cycle. But there are already a handful of top priority recruits for the class of 2027 that the Longhorns have identified early in the cycle.
Here are three key recruits on the defensive side of the ball from the 2027 class that the Longhorns have prioritized very early in this cycle early in the 2025 offseason.
Zane Rowe, Denton (TX) Guyer EDGE/ATH
The first visit high-four-star Denton (TX) Guyer edge rusher/athlete Zane Rowe took after he decommitted from the Oklahoma Sooners early this offseason was to Austin for Texas's Junior Day on Jan. 25. Texas didn't stop recruiting Rowe, despite his commitment to the Sooners last offseason.
Getting him to campus for the Junior Day festivities a couple of weeks ago was a good way for the Longhorns to start this offseason for Rowe's recruitment. There is no rush for Rowe to make a decision after he backed off his commitment to the Sooners in early January.
The 6-foot-4 and 225-pound edge rusher from North Texas is one of the most versatile and explosive front-seven athletes in this class for 2027. The Longhorns have made it clear that he is one of their top priorities in-state early in the 2027 cycle.
JayQuan Snell, Waxahachie (TX) S/ATH
Elite Waxahachie (TX) safety JayQuan Snell made his first return trip to the Forty Acres since the Texas-Georgia game last fall for Junior Day on Jan. 25. Texas is having consistent communication with Snell, as head coach Steve Sarkisian and cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph have done a nice job building great relationships with the elite DB recruit from South DFW.
Snell has continued to rake in the big-time P4 offers early this offseason. Since the New Year for 2025, Snell has received offers from the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Tennessee Volunteers, Oregon Ducks, TCU Horned Frogs, and Utah Utes, among others.
Snell, the No. 1 safety recruit in the nation in the 2027 class in the 247Sports Composite and On3 Industry Ranking, has the Longhorns high on his list early in the cycle.
Taelyn Mayo, Lewisville (TX) CB
There is no shortage of talent on the defensive side of the ball from high school recruiting for the 2027 cycle in the DFW Metroplex early on. The big 6-foot-4 and 170-pound Lewisville (TX) cornerback Taelyn Mayo has really caught the attention of the Longhorns' staff on the trail early this offseason.
Mayo has visited Texas multiple times since last offseason. He most recently had a successful trip to Texas for Junior Day on Jan. 25.
The versatility in man coverage and the ability to cover so much range in the defensive secondary makes Mayo a really intriguing fit for Joseph and the Longhorns.
Speaking of offer sheets that have exploded early this offseason, Mayo's rise has been pretty incomparable for any other in-state prospect for the class of 2027 in the past month or so. He's started to get a lot of attention on the recruiting trail from top college programs, like the Alabama Crimson Tide, Texas, Oklahoma, USC Trojans, and Texas A&M Aggies, among many others.