The five biggest misses for Texas football recruiting over the last decade
By Sam Fariss
The Longhorns have historically missed out on some of the most talented players in the nation when they’re coming out of high school.
Most notably, the Horns failed to recruit Austin-native quarterback Drew Brees from Westlake High School – just 20 minutes away from DKR Stadium – who played college ball for Purdue.
Over the last decade, Texas went through one of the most infamous slumps in program history, failing to reach bowl games season after season. However, since Steve Sarkisian took the reigns in 2021, the Horns’ recruiting has seen an impressive improvement.
So, before Sark took over and while the Longhorns struggled to find their usually historic success, which high school prospects were the biggest misses for Texas recruiting?
. mayfield. Class of 2013. Hometown: Austin, TX. QB. . Baker Mayfield. player. 468. Baker Mayfield
Another local quarterback that the Horns completely ignored was Baker Mayfield. In the graduating class of 2013, Mayfield went overlooked by almost all Power-5 schools as a three-star recruit.
Mayfield received PWO from Baylor and Texas Tech, as well as offers from Division I programs like Rice. He decided to head to Lubbock and attempt to walk on on the Red Raiders team... the rest is history.
468. QB. . . Patrick Mahomes. Patrick Mahomes. mahomes. Hometown: Tyler, TX. player. Class of 2014
While he wasn't raised right down the road from the Horns, Patrick Mahomes is yet another Texas-born quarterback who the Longhorns failed to bring home.
Mahomes played and stayed in Lubbock throughout his collegiate career, tearing apart the Longhorns' secondary throughout his three years for the Red Raiders.
523. Hometown: Houston, TX. Jaylen Waddle. WR. waddle. . Jaylen Waddle. player. . Class of 2018
Coming out of high school, Jaylen Waddle was the No. 5 wide receiver and the No. 3 athlete from Texas in the class of 2018.
The Longhorns completely whiffed on recruiting Waddle to their program and he went on to become an elite receiver for the Alabama Crimson Tide where he won a national title and was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
. Class of 2019. 490. . Hometown: Austin, TX. Garrett Wilson. player. wilson. Garrett Wilson. WR
Another Lake Travis High School grad (the same as Baker Mayfield), Garrett Wilson received an offer from Texas and even had an official visit before he graduated.
However, Wilson took his talent to Ohio State University instead of staying at home, and became an elite target for star quarterback CJ Stroud.
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX. OT. player. brockermeyer. . . 523. Tommy Brockermeyer. Class of 2021. Tommy Brockermeyer
While Texas was in Tommy Brockermeyer's top-two schools toward the end of his recruiting process, the Longhorns fell well short of Alabama's recruiting prowess in 2021.
Brockermeyer started his collegiate career with the Alabama Crimson Tide and has since transferred to the TCU Horned Frogs' program. Brockermeyer grew up just three hours from UT and the Horns still failed to recruit him to their program.
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