Texas has gone all-in to win a national championship in 2026, presumably Arch Manning’s final year in Austin. However, while many programs would run out of spending power, that urgency to load up in the Transfer Portal this winter has not hamstrung the Longhorns on the recruiting trail this spring.
On Friday, Steve Sarkisian made one of his biggest splashes in the 2027 class so far, landing four-star tight end Brock Williams over Ohio State and Georgia. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound playmaker from Libertyville, Illinois, is the 11th commit in Texas’s now 16th-ranked class in the country. Williams is the No. 4 tight end and 79th-ranked overall recruit in the country according to 247Sports Composite.
BREAKING: Four-Star TE Brock Williams has Committed to Texas, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 15, 2026
The 6’5 225 TE chose the Longhorns over Georgia and Ohio State
“Longhorn nation I’m home, HOOK EM🤘”https://t.co/h7GKrOJh9c pic.twitter.com/5WPpRmcsOJ
Texas adds another weapon in the 2027 class, edging out Ohio State and Georgia
The Longhorns had serious competition for Williams’s commitment and from two programs that lean more heavily on the tight end position than Sarkisian has throughout his career. Ohio State primarily ran 12 personnel down the stretch last season with Max Klare, whom Andrew Ivins of 247Sports has compared to Williams, and Will Kacmarek. Georgia, which also runs a considerable amount of two-tight-end sets, has been something of a tight-end factory in recent years.
However, Texas was able to pry him out of Big Ten country and keep him away from their burgeoning SEC rivals. The fact that this win came over those two programs is significant, but Williams' addition to the roster will be even more important.
Sarkisian added Michigan State transfer Michael Masunas to the roster after a 19-catch, three-touchdown junior season earlier this offseason. He will presumably be the Jack Endries replacement in the offense, but he has just one year of eligibility remaining.
Last season, Endries played 690 offensive snaps for Texas, clearly the lion’s share at the position after Gunnar Helm departed for the NFL in the 2025 draft. Junior Spencer Shannon is back after playing over 200 snaps last year, and 2025 four-star Nick Townsend saw some work as a true freshman.
That is a fair bit of depth at the position and some long-term security, but there may not be a significant difference-maker among the bunch. Williams is the first four-star tight end recruit since Townsend signed as a top-100 four-star in 2025, and is currently the most highly-ranked tight end recruit at Texas since Ja’Tavion Sanders was the 13th overall recruit in the country in 2021.
Brock Williams needs to add weight to his frame, but he’s an SEC-ready pass-catcher
Throughout his junior year, though he played all over the formation, Williams was more of an oversized receiver for Libertyville High School. Operating from the slot and out wide, he can manage an entire route-tree, showing impressive movement skills on in-breakers and out-breakers alike. Plus, as you’d expected, he excels at the catch point.
If Williams can maintain his explosiveness with an extra 20-40 pounds on his frame, he’ll become a legit NFL prospect at the position and an every-down player at the college level. If not, he’ll be a useful gadget player and a matchup nightmare in the passing game, and that still has value.
This is a big win for Texas in a class that is starting to become defined by its skill players, with Easton Royal looming as the lone five-star committed to the Longhorns heading into official visit season.
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