3 elite 2026 recruits Texas can land this summer
Before summer official visits get underway for Texas football on the recruiting trail, the first weekend of June will see dozens of top prospects from the 2026 and 2027 classes visit Austin for the Elite Camp. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian currently have over 20 visiting recruits set to make their way to Austin for the Elite Camp on June 1.
Who will be the first 5-Star recruit to commit to Texas football in the 2026 class?
In the next week or so, I would expect the number of visitors who get scheduled for the Elite Camp on June 1 will at least double. Last year, the Texas Elite Camp saw Sarkisian and the Longhorns staff get their first commitment in the 2025 class, four-star Saraland (AL) quarterback KJ Lacey.
There's a good chance that the Longhorns will get their first quarterback commit in the 2026 class around the time of the Elite Camp next month. Sarkisian and staff like to have their cornerstone quarterback commit in place early in the cycle, which lines up with what they did with Lacey during the Elite Camp during the 2023 offseason.
Here are three elite 2026 recruits who could commit to Texas this summer.
John Turntine, OT
Arguably, Texas's top in-state priority along the offensive line in the 2026 class is the elite five-star Fort Worth (TX) North Crowley offensive tackle John Turntine. The No. 1 prospect from Texas in the 2026 class in the On3 Industry Ranking has already made multiple unofficial trips to Austin since the start of this offseason.
Turntine's most recent visit to Texas was for the spring game at DKR on April 20. He also visited Texas for the first big Junior Day of the offseason on Jan. 20.
The 6-foot-4 and 305-pound offensive tackle from the DFW Metroplex is the type of big-bodied and long-armed "big human" that Kyle Flood loves to have in the trenches. Turntine has good relationships early in his recruitment with Flood and the Texas coaches.
A notable connection in this recruitment (per Horns247) is that Turntine's sister begins his first semester at UT this fall.
Texas was one of the early Power Five schools that offered Turntine. He received the Texas offer while he was on an unofficial visit for the BYU game in late October last fall.
Turntine is one of a handful of 2026 offensive line recruits who is scheduled to visit Texas for the Elite Camp on June 1.