Texas and Sark get brutal news from 4-star EDGE who is no longer Austin-bound

On April 13, 2024, the Texas Longhorns extended an offer to four-star linebacker Taven Epps, a California native who is a top-10 prospect from the state of powerhouse high school football.

After two unofficial visits over a year's time, Epps committed to the Longhorns on April 6, 2025. It looked like a done deal for the Horns. Then, on Nov. 9, the young linebacker inexplicably decommitted from Texas.

Just like that, the Horns lost their only commit from the class of 2027, forcing head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff to start from scratch for the upcoming recruiting cycle.

Texas recruiting class of 2027 takes hit

Now, it's not time to hit the panic button quite yet. The Longhorns have been atop or near the top of the national recruiting for the last five years

Since Sarkisian took over the program in 2021, his recruiting classes have ranked in the top eight every single year, and over the last few years, Texas has consistently ranked in the top three spots.

Epps was the first step in the right direction for Texas's class of 2027 prospects, and losing his commitment is undeniably a hit, but it isn't the end of the world. The recruits in the class of 2027 still have a year and a half (on average) until they set foot on campus as collegiate athletes.

Sarkisian and his recruiting team have a lot of time to bring in yet another high-ranking class of prospects, whether Epps ends up re-committing to the Longhorns or not.

Texas's class of 2026 ranks eighth in the country, but is headlined by Dia Bell, the No. 2 quarterback in the class and the No. 1 prospect out of Florida. The Horns are just coming off their class of 2025, which ranked first in the nation.

Simply put, Sarkisian knows how to flex his recruiting muscle, and losing just one recruit (even if it was the only recruit in the class so far) isn't the end of the world.