Texas football boasts plenty of players who were once committed elsewhere

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian‘s recruiting strategy keeps his and his assistants’ focus on primary targets. It’s not often that Sark and company head down their recruiting big board and shift focus completely away from the players at the top to players on the second and third tiers.

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As a result, that keeps Texas in excellent position to flip commitments later on in the cycle. Plus, the Longhorns are not afraid to jump into recruitments where a prospect may have already committed once (or twice). The Longhorns look for the best players that fit their program and don’t let previous recruiting decisions fully dissuade them from a recruit.

A number of players on the Texas roster and one prospect committed in the 2025 class were once previously pledged elsewhere. Many of the current Horns are set to be major contributors in the coming season.

Here are the current Longhorns who once made reservations with other programs. This list does not include transfers or players no longer on the roster.

2025

Rickey Stewart, RB, Tyler (Texas) Chapel Hill: Once Texas offered the SMU commit in January, this one was all burnt orange. The Mustangs made a smart evaluation and worked to keep Stewart in the class even after his standout season and some SEC offers. But the Texas scholarship was too much for SMU to stave off and Stewart committed to Texas during a campus visit in April.

2024

Xavier Filsaime, S, McKinney (Texas): Filsaime committed to the Florida Gators in April of 2023, but a furious recruiting effort by the Longhorns in October earned the near-signing day flip for Sarkisian, Blake Gideon, and Pete Kwiatkowski.

Jerrick Gibson, RB, IMG Academy via Gainesville (Fla.): Gibson committed to the Gators during the summer before his sophomore year and decommitted in February of 2022. Texas offered 10 days after that decommitment and pursued Gibson until earning his pledge in June of 2023.

Aaron Butler, WR, Calabasas (Calif.): Butler was committed to Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes but backed away from that pledge just days before signing day. Arizona and Texas swooped in and the Longhorns prevailed just before Christmas of 2023.

Wardell Mack, DB, Marrero (La.) John Ehret: Another Florida flip! Mack pledged to the Gators in August of 2023 but November brought around a clean flip to Texas.

Ty’Anthony Smith, LB, Jasper (Texas): The Longhorns flipped a Texas A&M linebacker commit in back-to-back cycles with the signing day switch of Smith. The Jasper product committed to the Aggies after June 2023’s official visit season, but when things went off the rails for A&M Smith switched his pledge on signing day.

2023

Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Denton (Texas) Ryan: Possibly the most contentious Texas vs. Texas A&M recruitment of the cycle, the Aggies earned Hill’s commitment in the summer but a 5-7 season pried the five-star loose from Jimbo Fisher. Determined efforts from Sarkisian and Jeff Choate earned Hill’s commitment ahead of signing day in 2022. Hill has the makings of a future All-American in burnt orange.

CJ Baxter, RB, Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater: Highly sought-after from a young age, Baxter committed to Florida State in the summer before his sophomore season. He’d decommit in the following spring and go through a national recruitment. A longstanding relationship with Tashard Choice dating back to the Texas running backs coach’s Georgia Tech days was key for Texas in winning and keeping Baxter’s commitment in the fall of 2022.

Jelani McDonald, ATH, Waco (Texas) Connally: McDonald committed to Oklahoma State ahead of his senior season but an offer from Texas in mid-October set in motion his eventual switch in shades of orange. After visiting Texas and TCU, McDonald committed at the All-American Game in San Antonio.

DeAndre Moore Jr., WR, Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco: Moore was an Oklahoma commit in 2021, an Oklahoma decommit in 2022, a Louisville commit a few months later, and a Texas signee on signing day.

Colton Vasek, EDGE, Austin (Texas) Westlake: An official visit process in June of 2022 saw the Longhorns get just a midweek visit amid other treks to Texas Tech, Oregon, and Oklahoma. Vasek eventually committed to OU at the beginning of August, but the porous 2022 Sooner defense that Vasek saw first-hand started opening this pursuit up. A few trips to see the Longhorns later, and Vasek returned to the south side of the Red River.

Trevor Goosby, OT, Melissa (Texas): Texas has a good track record of flipping TCU Horned Frogs and Goosby’s happened pretty quickly. He committed to TCU in April of 2022, got an offer from the Longhorns in June, officially visited on June 24, 2022, and flipped two days later.

Warren Roberson, DB, Red Oak (Texas): Roberson committed to TCU on Halloween 2022 but the Longhorns pursued the athletic defender up until the second signing day. On signing day proper, Roberson flipped and went down as another player taken from TCU’s clutches.

2022

Kelvin Banks, OT, Humble (Texas) Summer Creek: Back when Mario Cristobal was at Oregon, Banks decided in the summer of 2021 to head out of state to Eugene and compete in the O-line coach’s program. Even amidst a 5-7 Texas season, Sarkisian and Kyle Flood never wavered in their pursuit of Banks. Cristobal leaving Oregon for Miami plus some positive NIL headlines for the Longhorns gave Texas the needed boosts to win over its current left tackle.

Jaylon Guilbeau, CB, Port Arthur (Texas) Memorial: Guilbeau committed to Texas in September of 2020 and even took an official visit after the coaching change in 2021. In the summer of ’21, he decommitted from the Longhorns days before an unofficial visit to Austin. In September of 2021, Guilbeau committed to TCU but two months later flipped back to Texas. A winding recruitment, Guilbeau will play a key role on this year’s Longhorns.

Ethan Burke, EDGE, Austin (Texas) Westlake: Burke committed to Michigan in November of 2021 as prospect who popped up on program’s radars late in the process. He even took an OV to Ann Arbor for the Ohio State game and committed on December 1, 2021. Two weeks later, he decided to flip to Texas and is now a starter on the Longhorn defense.

Cameron Williams, OT, Duncanville (Texas): Much of what was said about Banks can be applied to Williams. Similar timeframes, similar circumstances, similar recruitments. Both Banks and Williams could be starters on the 2024 Texas offensive line.

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2021*

Barryn Sorrell, EDGE, New Orleans (La.) Holy Cross: Sorrell was committed to Northwestern in 2020 before opening his recruitment up in the middle of that season. Texas offered in November and earned a signing day commitment. Sorrell signed with the program when Tom Herman was still head coach but remained and has become a senior leader on Sarkisian’s team.