Texas recruiting: Longhorns have 'healthy lead' for 5-star CB Kobe Black

Entering June, Texas had just two commitments. Since then, Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns have been busy on the recruiting trail, adding 14 commits to round out the summer, giving UT the No. 18 class in the 2024 cycle, per the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking.

In-state recruiting has led the charge, as five of the six highest-ranked players pledged to Texas are from the Lone Star State. Duncanville Five-Star Plus+ EDGE Colin Simmons highlights the new additions as the No. 6 overall prospect in the cycle, per the On3 Industry Ranking.

There’s still plenty of room for new additions, however. The Longhorns are hopeful that Simmons won’t be the only five-star heading to Austin next year. One of the remaining favored targets is yet another in-state recruit: Waco Connally five-star cornerback Kobe Black.

Black, the No. 24 prospect, No. 3 CB and No. 6 player in Texas, is heavily trending to commit to the Longhorns, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). Texas has a 93% chance to win the recruitment, while Texas A&M is a distant second at just 1.7%.

While a pledge to the Longhorns feels imminent, Black has insisted that a decision won’t come until December. On the latest edition of The Inside Scoop, InsideTexas recruiting insider Gerry Hamilton gave his take on a commitment timeline for Black and where Texas currently stands.

Look for “late September” decision from Black

“I’m not buying that one,” Hamilton said of Black’s potential December decision. “I think it sounds great in theory, starting out the recruiting process, wanting to announce at the all-star games, take this until signing day … look at how many of these decisions have peeled from that and ended up being August-September decisions.”

Black took June official visits to Texas, Ohio State and Oklahoma. He has a game visit set with LSU for Sept. 9, while A&M and Alabama each have OVs planned for October. Hamilton doesn’t see the latter pair playing much of a factor in his final decision.

“He’s got an official visit scheduled to LSU Sept. 9, I don’t think this one goes — late September, maybe early October is my guess. I think Texas has a pretty healthy lead right now over A&M heading into September,” Hamilton said.

As for a return to Austin, there’s currently no plans, though the Sept. 16 weekend is already shaping up to be a big one for the Longhorns. Saint Louis (Mo.) University five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo is among the planned visitors.

“Sept. 16 would be a weekend,” Hamilton said. “Texas has a number of visitors: Ryan Wingo, Danny Okoye, some 2025s have already confirmed they’ll be there.”