5-star John Meredith III just added the cherry on top of his commitment to Texas

Just like that, as head coach Steve Sarkisian stepped to the podium at SEC Media Days, the Texas Longhorns received massive news from the recruiting trail.

Five-star cornerback and Texas commit John Meredith III, the top-rated prospect in the Horns' class of 2027, had reclassified to the class of 2026, joining the football program a year earlier than anybody expected.

Now, instead of having to wait for the 2027 season for Meredith to join Texas's defensive backs room, the blue-chip recruit will join the Longhorns in just a few weeks' time.

"He'll be with the team this fall. He's a great player, a [defensive back]... couldn't be more excited to have on board with us," Sarkisian said at Media Days.

John Meredith reclassifying gives Horns' roster extra talent and depth

Before it was announced that Meredith had taken the jump to reclassify to 2026, the Longhorns' recruiting class ranked 10th in the nation and fifth in the SEC, with just three five-star prospects in the group: quarterback Dia Bell, linebacker Tyler Atkinson, and edge rusher Richard Wesley.

Now, a fourth five-star recruit is joining Texas's class of 2026, undoubtedly giving the Horns a boost in both the national and conference rankings.

The hype around the Texas Longhorns continues to grow ahead of the upcoming season, with stars like quarterback Arch Manning and linebacker Colin Simmons joining Sarkisian in Tampa for the 2026 SEC Media Days.

Read more: The growth Steve Sarkisian has seen in Arch Manning is exactly what the Horns needed

"How did we build this talented roster? We built it through retention. We kept really good players on our team. We built it through high school recruiting. We signed a heck of a high school class, which I think we're very proud of that class, and we built it through the portal," Sarkisian said on beefing up his already talented roster.

In fact, Sarkisian even took a moment out of his opening statement at the podium to make sure every single person in the room knew that he was well aware of how much talent his roster had. However, he was far from ready to say that his team was perfect.

"I’m not going to coachspeak you; we have a very talented team. We have to make that come to life every single Saturday," Sarkisian said. "We are not a finished product."

Of course, adding a player like Meredith to the roster, even with his lack of collegiate experience or time with the Horns, can do nothing but help Texas reach the level that is expected out of this program.

Also read: Reactions of fellow recruits make John Meredith's Texas commitment that much sweeter

"He provides great length, great speed, tremendous man-to-man capabilities," Sarkisian said on Meredith. "For us to get him now, we'll see how far we can take him.

Meredith's reclassification is just the latest "offseason" win for Texas. Now, it's time for the Longhorns and Sarkisian to earn the in-season wins and take the Texas football program back to where it's supposed to be: holding the National Championship trophy.

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