Samari 'Smoke' Matthews signs NIL deal that just makes sense for the Longhorn DB

A year ago, four-star cornerback Samari "Smokes" Matthews committed to the Texas Longhorns as a part of Steve Sarkisian's top-10 recruiting class of 2026.

Since then, he has joined the Horns on campus and has an extremely active presence on social media, bringing even more attention and yes, to the Texas football program.

This week, that active online presence came in the form of an NIL deal. Before June came to an end, Matthews took to social media to announce his new NIL deal with Stubb's, a local barbecue joint in Austin.

"Where there’s Smoke, there’s Bar-B-Q," Matthews wrote on X, creating a play on words with his nickname, "Smoke."

Known for his speed and agility, it should come as no surprise that Matthews has a nickname like "Smoke," and what more do you need to have a successful barbeque restaurant than a smoker and some good sauce?

Samari Matthews making his presence known on the 40 Acres

Since joining the Longhorns on campus, Matthews has shared content of his summer workouts, reposted commitments from recruits in the class of 2027, and generally celebrated his time as a part of the Texas football program so far.

"Yessir," Matthews wrote on X when five-star cornerback John Meredith III committed to Texas.

Set to wear the No. 11 jersey, Matthews has posted images of himself during practice sessions as well as photos of the Horns and himself in the weight room, adding to an already impressive frame.

An early enrollee, Matthews joined the Horns in the spring and has already spent a few months with in Austin, but those few months were all he needed to make a few improvements.

Coming out of high school, Matthews was listed at 6-feet and 190 pounds, a relatively average size for a collegiate defensive back. When Texas released its first edition of the 2026 football roster, the Longhorns listed him at 6-foot-1 and 197 pounds, already tacking on nearly 10 pounds to his frame.

Matthews was one of 25 recruits to commit to Texas from the class of 2026, a group that ranked 10th nationally and fifth in the SEC. He was one of four defensive backs in the class, alongside fellow four-star cornerback Hayward Howard Jr., as well as three-star safeties Toray Davis and Yaheim Riley.

That recruiting group came one year off of Texas's No. 1-ranked class of 2025, and prefaced the Longhorns' current recruiting class of 2027, which ranks 6th in the country and third in the SEC, only trailing the Texas A&M Aggies and Oklahoma Sooners (I know, the Horns' rivals, it hurts).

Also read: Steve Sarkisian is turning Texas into DLU with yet another commitment for the Horns

However, while it also trails the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Miami (FL) Hurricanes in the national rankings, Texas is expected to land at least a few more commitments before the year's end, which could send the Longhorns leapfrogging at least a few programs ranked ahead of them.

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