Texas rises in On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings

Few things feel better for Texas than flipping a prospect away from Oklahoma. But doing that and then jumping the Sooners in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings? Priceless.

The Longhorns did exactly that on Tuesday, first flipping four-star Austin (Texas) Westlake EDGE Colton Vasek from the Sooners, and then jumping past them to No. 6 in the team rankings. His commitment also brought Texas within striking distance of No. 5 LSU as Steve Sarkisian and Co. look to close in on a second top-five class in a row.

He originally pledged to the Sooners on Aug. 1 over the Longhorns, as well as Oregon, Clemson and a handful of other programs. But he remained one of the Longhorns’ top targets in the 2023 cycle, with Texas’ defensive staff working over the past few months to flip him. He visited for a pair of games this fall, and the Longhorns’ momentum, combined with Oklahoma’s on-field struggles, opened the door for him to flip.

“I live in Austin, and Oklahoma isn’t doing well,” Vasek told InsideTexas last month. “I’m close with the Texas staff. I talk to Coach PK (Pete Kwiatkowski), Coach Sark, and a lot of the Texas staff pretty much weekly. It’s a really good connection with them.“

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound prospect is the No. 137 overall prospect and No. 21 EDGE in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 26 player in Texas. 

Texas looking to close 2023 cycle with a bang

Vasek is the 14th blue-chip commitment for the Longhorns this cycle, joining a class with 11 other four-star prospects and pair of five-stars: quarterback Arch Manning and safety Derek Williams. But Texas isn’t done just yet.

The Longhorns are now considered the heavy favorites for five-star Denton (Texas) Ryan linebacker Anthony Hill, who decommitted from Texas A&M on Monday.

This weekend, they’ll host Hill, along with five-star tight end Duce Robinson, four-star Louisville wide receiver commit DeAndre Moore Jr., four-star safety Javien Toviano, and four-star lineman Markis Deal, among others.