Heading into National Signing Day, the Texas Longhorns and head coach Steve Sarkisian had 25 commitments in their pocket. By the end of the day, Texas had signed 23 of those prospects, and just two had changed their minds.
Earlier in the day, four-star defensive lineman Vodney Cleveland announced he had flipped his commitment from the Longhorns to the North Carolina Tar Heels. As the day reached its end, four-star defensive lineman Corey Wells announced he had flipped as well.
Wells, alongside his three-star brother Chris (who was committed to the South Alabama Panthers), flipped his commitment to the Auburn Tigers.
Texas falls out of recruiting top-10
With the decommitments from Cleveland and Wells, the Longhorns fell to No. 11 in the national recruiting rankings, a far cry from the year before when Sarkisian landed the No. 1 class in the country.
While the loss of Cleveland knocked the Horn's upcoming class from No. 3 to No. 4 in the SEC, the loss of Wells knocked them all the way down to No. 6 in the conference standings.
The addition of Cleveland only bumped the Tar Heels' class up to No. 17 in the country. Meanwhile, the Wells brothers were joining an Auburn class that ranked 37th in the nation and 14th (out of 16 teams) in the SEC.
4 ⭐️ DL Corey Wells flips from Texas to Auburn #WarEagle #Texas
— Dima Mixon (@dima_mixon) December 3, 2025
Chris Wells 3⭐️ flips from South Alabama to Auburn. pic.twitter.com/ng3xHKjvWg
Yes, it was great to sign 23 of 25 commitments on NSD. However, losing two of your big-time prospects, especially at defensive line, was a huge loss for Sarkisian and the Longhorns.
Also read: Longhorns GM Brandon Harris hints at more recruits coming to Texas after NSD
Yet, not all hope was lost. Five-star quarterback Dia Bell, five-star EDGE Richard Wesley, and five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson all signed with Texas on Wednesday, as did 10 four-star prospects and nine three-star prospects.