Texas 'in contention' for No. 1 2026 S Blaine Bradford

The recruitment of the No. 1 safety prospect in the nation in the 2026 class in the 247Sports Composite and On3 Industry Ranking, five-star Texas football priority Blaine Bradford, has heated up this summer on the trail. Texas is among the top group of schools Bradford has visited multiple times early in the recruiting process this offseason.

Texas football among top group of schools "in contention" for elite 2026 S Blaine Bradford this summer

The elite safety recruit from Baton Rouge (LA) Catholic High School is a top priority on the trail for Terry Joseph, Blake Gideon, and the Longhorns in the 2026 class since they offered him last fall.

Bradford has been on campus at Texas unofficially more than any other school he's visited since the start of this offseason. Those successful visits in the last five or six months along with consistent communication from the Texas coaches has established the Longhorns as a real presence in this recruitment entering Bradford's summer visit circuit.

He initially visited Texas for the first big Junior Day of the offseason on Jan. 20. Bradford said he had a good experience and liked what he heard from the Texas coaches during the Junior Day visit in late January.

Texas also made a positive impression on Bradford during his most recent unofficial trip to Austin for spring practice in mid-April. Bradford got to see the intensity during Texas's final spring scrimmage before the Orange-White Game a couple of months ago during that April 13 unofficial visit.

Mike Roach of 247Sports reported on June 7 (paid content) that Texas is among the top five schools for Bradford early this summer. Bradford also mentioned the Ohio State Buckeyes, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, LSU Tigers, and Oregon Ducks, to round out the five schools "in contention".

He reportedly plans to visit all five schools during the summer and/or early in the fall. The next visit on tap for Bradford is an unofficial trip to South Bend to see Notre Dame and head coach Marcus Freeman early next week.

Texas currently has one recruit committed to the 2026 class, four-star Aledo (TX) running back Raycine Guillory Jr., who announced his pledge for the Longhorns during the same weekend that Bradford was on campus for Junior Day on Jan. 20.

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