Texas, Oklahoma trying to pull 5-star DL Dominick McKinley out of Louisiana

With the 2024 high school football season right around the corner, Lafayette (La.) Acadiana five-star defensive lineman Dominick McKinley is still on the board. He’s one of 11 five-star prospects in the On3 Industry Ranking that is yet to make a commitment.

It’s a hotly-contested recruiting battle between heavyweight programs, all of whom are trying to reel in the No. 23 overall prospect, No. 5 DL and No. 1 player from Louisiana in the cycle. McKinley announced a top six of Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M on May 31.

There are a couple of programs that have seemingly separated themselves from the pack, according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). Texas has the edge with a 49.7% chance to land the five-star, while LSU is right behind at 42.8%.

Despite being in-state, LSU was not one of the four schools that received an official visit from McKinley in June. He traveled to Ohio State, A&M, Oklahoma and Texas for OVs, then made an unofficial trip to Baton Rouge in late July. Of that group, national recruiting analyst Gerry Hamilton sees the Longhorns and Sooners emerging as the out-of-state favorites to challenge LSU for the Pelican State product.

“I haven’t heard anything that’s changed on that,” Hamilton said Monday during On3’s Inside Scoop recruiting show. “Coming out of the June official visits, it was Oklahoma-Texas, Texas-Oklahoma were the two. A&M was considered third from what I was told, as far as the schools he visited in June.”

Can Longhorns, Sooners lure McKinley away from home?

LSU hasn’t landed the commitment of the top-ranked player in Louisiana since 2021. Despite that, the Tigers and Brian Kelly currently have the pledges of players No. 3-10 in the state and are in the mix for the No. 2 player, Marrero John Ehret four-star cornerback Wardell Mack.

It was Texas who earned the pledge of New Orleans Isidore Newman Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Arch Manning, the No. 1 overall player from the 2023 cycle. The Longhorns are trying to dip into the border state once again for more elite talent.

“I think it’s an interesting recruitment, because if Dominick leaves the state of Louisiana — he just wants to do something different,” Hamilton said. “It’s nothing against LSU, he just wants to go away and get a different experience.”

While McKinley may opt to leave his home state, that doesn’t mean being close to home isn’t important to the lineman and his family. Hamilton noted that Austin’s closer proximity to Lafayette than Norman could give the Longhorns an edge over the Sooners.

“If it comes down to Texas-Oklahoma, if LSU is not going to be his destination; is Austin a little closer to family than Oklahoma is?,” Hamilton said. “The mom definitely mentioned the academic factor at Texas. She’s been a teacher for 24 years, so I think Texas has a little bit of that going for them in this recruitment.”