Texas moving the needle with in-state 5-stars after big visit weekend
If you’re an elite 2025 prospect in the Lone Star State, chances are you were in Austin visiting Texas over the weekend.
Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are gunning for an elite recruiting class this cycle, and after the Longhorn City Limits event, that looks all the more likely.
Plenty of top recruits have sounded off on how impressive The Forty Acres felt — including five-star linebacker Jonah Williams and five-star wide receiver Kaliq Lockett. On3 VP of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong joined On’s Josh Newberg to detail where UT sits for the pair after their latest trip.
Longhorns entering the mix for Williams
“I think the more visits Jonah Williams takes, the merkier and cloudier this recruitment gets,” Wiltfong said. “He had a fantastic visit in Austin. He told me the coaching staff is great and he said they check all the boxes for what he wants in a college. He says hopefully he’ll make it back up there. Texas is putting their best foot forward in this recruitment.”
The competition for Williams, the top-ranked LB in the cycle, is stout, to say the least. Oklahoma is trending heavily for his pledge in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. LSU has the No. 2 class in the nation and is a player. Williams will visit Ohio State this weekend and could join the Buckeyes’ top-ranked recruiting class down the road.
That said, Texas will do all it can to try and keep Williams in-state. This weekend did nothing but help its case.
“Earlier in the spring it definitely looked like Oklahoma had a commanding lead, but he also visited LSU, had a great visit there. We’ve seen Ohio State make up fast ground with prospects this cycle if they don’t already lead when these young men come to campus,” Wiltfong said. “It’ll be interesting to see what kind of visit Jonah Williams has, and I know he’s our No. 1 linebacker, but he could be our No. 1 safety, rover, he’s just a difference-maker in that back seven, can do a lot of things.”
Lockett ‘blown away’ by trip to Austin
Texas is the team currently trending for Lockett, though again, there’s no shortage of suitors. The Longhorns made the Sachse High product feel like a top priority and will welcome the No. 2 WR in the nation back for an official visit down the road.
“Talking to him, talking to his dad, it was a visit that blew that family away. They’re coming back for an official visit in June,” Wiltfong said.
Lockett has a crop of official visits planned in June, the last of which is currently set to go to the Longhorns on June 21. Sarkisian and his staff know it won’t be easy to lock down Lockett’s pledge, but if the OV resembles last weekend, Texas could be in great shape.
“LSU, Texas A&M, Florida State, USC…some of the other contenders for Kaliq Lockett. But there’s no doubt, spending time with Coach Sarkisian, getting that one-on-one time with him. The way he can script wide receivers open, the track record of receiver development … that all speaks volumes.”
More on Texas’ major recruiting weekend can be found here.