These 3-Star recruits became stars at Texas

D'Onta Foreman, RB

In the past decade, the Longhorns have turned Austin into a running back factory for the NFL. Since 2017, Texas has produced four top-three-round picks at running back for the NFL Draft, including one top-10 pick in 2023, with Bijan Robinson going eighth overall to the Atlanta Falcons.

The first of the four running backs to be selected in the top three rounds of the draft since 2017 was 2016 All-American D'Onta Foreman.

An overlooked and underrated three-star running back recruit from Texas City (TX) High School, Foreman came to the Longhorns with a chip on his shoulder in the mid-2010s. He would go from being a three-star recruit ranked outside of the top 1,000 prospects nationally in the 2014 class in the 247Sports Composite to being just the second-ever Texas running back to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season in 2016.

In under two dozen games played in 2015 and 16, Foreman rushed for over 2,500 yards and 20 touchdowns. Foreman won the Doak Walker Award and finished top 10 in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2016 after rushing for over 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Samuel Cosmi, OL

Despite having the size and measurables at 6-foot-5 and 275-pounds as a high school senior from Humble (TX) Atascocita, offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi only had four FBS offers during his recruiting process. Texas was one of those four offers, and Cosmi would turn out to be one of the Longhorns' best signees from the 2017 class.

After redshirting his true freshman season in 2017, Cosmi would be named a Freshman All-American starting over a dozen games at right tackle for Tom Herman and the Longhorns in 2018. Cosmi not only has his claim to stake as Texas's best offensive linemen from the Herman-era (2017-2020), but he was also one of the top-graded offensive tackles in the Big 12 in each of his three years as a starter for the Longhorns O-Line.

Cosmi was as reliable as they come as a pass blocker for the Longhorns, allowing just a half dozen sacks and under 50 total quarterback pressures in over 1,500 career snaps at right tackle for Texas. For his consistent and steady efforts as Texas's top offensive line starter for a few years, Cosmi was a two-time All-Big 12 selection and a Second-Team All-American in 2020.

He was the first Longhorn selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, going 51st overall to Washington in the second round.

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