Steve Sarkisian excited by Texas' success recruiting Louisiana

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is fresh off of his strongest signing class since his arrival at Texas, boasting the No. 4 ranked recruiting class in the nation and No. 1 in the Big 12 conference according to On3 Consensus. To no surprise, the Longhorns signed 13 high school prospects from the state of Texas. But the Longhorns also land three big-time signings from Louisiana, which Sarkisian spoke about on National Signing Day.

“Well I think it’s big, clearly we make our hay in the great state of Texas, and majority of our class and classes to come in the future will be from the state of Texas,” Sarkisian said. “But when you think about Louisiana kind of being that extension of east Texas and to go into Louisiana and in our opinion sign the top offensive player and the top defensive player out of Louisiana, that’s a heck of a haul for us.”

Texas secured the No. 1 ranked player in Louisiana and in the entire country in quarterback Arch Manning, as well as his high school teammate and tight end Will Randle. Louisiana’s fourth-ranked overall prospect and the No. 3 safety in the country Derek Williams also signed with the Longhorns, making for an impressive signing day in the Bayou.

“And Terry Joseph does a fantastic job in Louisiana, he’s got great connections, he’s got great rapport with the players, and their families, and the high school coaches. I don’t think this is the end for us, I think that’s gonna be a norm for us to go into Louisiana and recruit that state,” Sarkisian said.

Joseph’s talent as a recruiter in his home state of Louisiana was certainly on display this offseason for the Longhorns, and they may not be done, as they’ve also gotten a recent commitment our of Wake Forest transfer and Louisiana native Gavin Holmes, who is ranked the No. 3 cornerback in the transfer portal according to the On3 transfer portal rankings.

There’s no question the Longhorns’ ability to recruit in Louisiana this offseason was impressive, and if it can continue to be a trend moving forward as Sarkisian suggests, it will make for some interesting off-seasons of recruiting in the future, especially when Texas joins the SEC conference.