How to follow Texas recruiting news on Early Signing Day for the 2024 class

The Longhorns enter ESD with the nation’s No. 5 recruiting class without many key decisions pending on Wednesday.

• By
  
  Wescott Eberts
  
• on December 20, 2023 9:00 am

Third-year Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian takes his third big recruiting step in continuing to shape the Longhorns program in his image on Wednesday as the 22 commits in the 2023 recruiting class are expected to ink their National Letters of Intent, along with the additions of the two pledges from the NCAA transfer portal.

Buoyed by the on-field success of going 12-1, winning the Big 12 title, and earning a spot in the College Football Playoffs for the first time, Sarkisian and his staff were able to make some key additions to the class down the stretch, flipping consensus five-star safety Xavier Filsaime from Florida on Monday and filling two key areas of need from the transfer portal with the pledges of Houston transfer wide receiver Matthew Golden and Clemson transfer safety Andrew Mukuba.

Key decisions to watch on Wednesday include whether Texas is able to keep Daingerfield athlete Aeryn Hampton in the fold and flip Texas A&M linebacker commit Tyanthony Smith. Hampton affirmed his commitment last week after Alabama head coach Nick Saban made a visit, but the Tide lurking in any recruitment is cause for concern, especially with two previous decommitments from Hampton, who has pledged to the Longhorns twice. Smith has flirted with the Longhorns over the last month since Jimbo Fisher was fired, but getting him on campus hasn’t been an easy task for the coaching staff despite industry optimism that Smith will end up in burnt orange and white. Smith has a signing ceremony set for 6:30 p.m. Central.

The coaching staff is also waiting on a decision from UTSA edge Trey Moore, who took visits to the Forty Acres and Alabama before the dead period started on Monday.

As many as three Texas targets could remain on the recruiting board out of the early signing period — Baylor defensive line pledge Alex Foster has already said publicly that he’s taking his recruitment into February, while Texas A&M defensive line pledges Dominick McKinley and Dealyn Evans may do the same. Recent re-classification Ryan Williams, a consensus five-star wide receiver who plays with 2025 Texas quarterback commit KJ Lacey, could decline to sign on Wednesday, but there’s not much buzz around Williams and the Longhorns.

Heading into Early Signing Day, Texas boasts the No. 5 recruiting class nationally and would rank No. 3 in the SEC, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Signing Day updates

• There is continued concern this morning about the status of Hampton:

• There was a late-night report from 247Sports…