5-star Duce Robinson leads key group of visitors at Texas this weekend

Both on the field and on the recruiting trail, Alabama will be a measuring stick for Texas as it heads into the SEC in a few years. The Longhorns get their first crack at going head-to-head with Nick Saban this weekend for the first time since the 2010 BCS Championship Game, one which truly kicked off the Crimson Tide’s run as college football’s biggest dynasty.

As if the stakes of hosting the nation’s No. 1 team on your home field aren’t high enough, the Longhorns will have a small group of key recruits in town as well. Texas will host a pair of major offensive targets on official visits: five-star tight end Duce Robinson and four-star wideout Jalen Hale.

USC has long been considered the favorite for Robinson, but Texas made a move over the summer by landing Manning. And the nation’s No. 1 tight end is intrigued by what’s being built in Austin. Official visits to Alabama, Georgia and Oregon are still on the docket, but Texas has a chance to really move the needle with him this weekend.

Hale is one who the Longhorns have been on the other end for, considered the favorite since the end of July. But Alabama has pushed hard in recent weeks, getting him on campus last weekend for an official visit. Texas A&M is also in the mix, and is expected to host him Sept. 17 before a decision the following week. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine has this one as a neck-and-neck battle between the Crimson Tide and Longhorns.

The third and final official visitor will be four-star EDGE Tausili Akana, who Texas is battling Oklahoma and a few other programs for. LSU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M are also expected to receive visits this fall.

A couple of key unofficial visitors will also be on the Forty Acres, with four-star athlete Mikal Harrison Pilot and four-star offensive lineman Markis Deal among those expected in, according to InsideTexas. The Longhorns are looked at as the significant favorite with Harrison-Pilot, who they like both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, and are in a similar position with Deal, who could take an official visit to Austin later this fall.

Top 2024 targets expected in as well

In addition to a few big 2023 targets, Texas will bring a number of key 2024 recruits into Austin for the weekend as well. At the top of the pecking order are top-10 prospect Micah Hudson, On3 Consensus top-60 offensive lineman Michael Uini, Allen (Texas) four-star EDGE Zina Umeozulu, and top-100 Tyler (Texas) ATH Derrick McFall.

For the full list of visitors and coverage of the weekend, head to InsideTexas.