Texas flips 'mammoth' 4-Star DL Josiah Sharma from Oregon

Roughly one month after he committed to the Oregon Ducks over Texas football, four-star defensive lineman Josiah Sharma flipped to the Longhorns. The blue-chip defensive lineman from Folsom (CA) High School announced on his X account on July 25 that he has committed to Texas.

Texas football pulls off a massive flip with 4-Star DL Josiah Sharma

Sharma flipped his commitment from Oregon to Texas amid his unofficial visit to Austin for the late July pool party/BBQ bash event on Thursday. He and four-star Alabama Crimson Tide commit/Saraland (AL) product were the two surprise blue-chip defensive tackles who visited Texas unofficially for the BBQ bash event today.

When Sharma originally committed to the Ducks in late June, he did so after it looked like he was trending to the Longhorns in the prior days leading up to his announcement. But he wound up changing his mind to take his talents to Texas following this surprise unofficial visit on Thursday for the Texas bash.

It's hard to overstate how important this win is on the recruiting trail for the 2025 class for defensive line coach Kenny Baker and the Longhorns. Since Sharma is the first defensive line commitment Baker has landed with a relationship he formed at Texas, this can serve as a building block for him to establish more momentum on the recruiting trail for his position group in this and future classes.

Sharma told Horns247 that he's got a good relationship with Baker, which played a big role in Texas flipping his commitment from Oregon today.

"Coach Baker is a pretty cool guy. When I'm looking for a coach, I'm looking for a genuine person off the field. I found that genuine type personality from him. I watched film with him. I like where his mind's at. He's a really good coach."

Before Sharma was committed to Oregon this summer (and now Texas), he originally gave his pledge to former head coach Kalen DeBoer and the Washington Huskies last year. He backed off his commitment to Washington when DeBoer left Seattle to take the head coaching job at Alabama early this offseason.

Since he committed to Oregon last month, Sharma maintained contact with Baker and the Longhorns staff. Texas wasn't going to throw in the towel in this recruitment. That patient strategy on the recruiting trail paid more immediate dividends than we originally thought it might with Sharma's recruitment for Texas.

Sharma gives Texas much-needed size and power along the interior defensive line

The 6-foot-4 and 325-pound defensive lineman from just outside of Sacramento, CA, is the first "big human" Texas has gotten in the boat in the 2025 class on the defensive side of the football. Sharma is an enormous (literally and figuratively) defensive tackle commitment for the Longhorns to get in the trenches in the SEC for at least the next few years.

Sharma has that size, power, and wingspan combination that Baker and the Longhorns want on the line of scrimmage in the SEC. He's got the quickness, strength, and versatility to play multiple techniques along the defensive line, ranging from five to zero-tech.

The lengthy wingspan Sharma brings to the table means he can be a true two-gapping defensive linemen for Pete Kwiatkowski's front seven. He'll eat up double teams and let Texas's linebackers and safeties get downhill to make plays getting to the ball carrier.

Regarding his hand usage and pad level, Sharma is a pretty fundamentally-sound defensive tackle given just how quickly his stock blew up on the recruiting trail this offseason. He utilizes his big frame and get off at the line of scrimmage well to overpower opposing offensive linemen as an interior pass rush and a disruptive interior force in run defense.

Areas of improvement

While Sharma's technique is better than expected for a defensive tackle playing against a lower level of competition out in the west coast in Northern California, it could still use some advancing before he's ready to play multiple downs each drive in the SEC.

Sharma could also probably carry his weight a little bit better at the collegiate level than he is now. Getting in a college strength and conditioning program can help Sharma even out his weight to get his frame right.

Projection and fit at Texas

As I mentioned earlier, you can't overstate the importance of Texas getting this first defensive line commitment in the 2025 class. Sharma was probably Texas's top out-of-state defensive line priority for this cycle. He gives Texas some of what it direly needs in the trenches in the SEC for multiple years in the future, great size and power at the line of scrimmage on the interior.

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