Texas is using its lone bye week of the 2026 season for more than recovery and repair. It’s also a recruiting sprint, with Steve Sarkisian and his staff spreading out to evaluate committed prospects, check on late-moving 2027 targets and start sharpening the board for the 2028 class.
“Where your days are and how many days you have in the fall have been limited, and so maximizing those days I think is very important,” Sarkisian said on Monday. “For me, I need to do a really good job in in Dallas and in Houston this week, as well as seeing a couple of our national guys.”
One of the biggest names on Texas’ radar sits in Louisiana. Brother Martin wide receiver Easton Royal, the No. 5 player nationally and the No. 1 wide receiver in the 247Sports Composite rankings, has already taken in three major games this fall. He was in Baton Rouge for LSU’s win over Clemson, traveled to Austin for Texas’ comeback against Ohio State and also went to Gainesville to watch Florida upset Ole Miss.
Royal has been committed to Sarkisian and his staff since last November, and he appears to be closing in on a final call.
“Since I’ve been to every school, every game day, every experience, every coaching staff, I’m very close to a decision” Royal told Rivals. “Maybe an announcement could be coming anytime soon.”
Sarkisian said the staff’s work on this front never really stops, even if the calendar has changed.
“The senior recruiting’s not done. Back in the day, this is when guys used to get recruited.
You evaluated them their senior year, and you could see the development of a player from his junior year to his senior year, and then you visit them in December and January, and you signed them in February,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve sped this whole thing up, but players haven’t stopped improving from their junior to the senior year, so we’re constantly evaluating this class of of where we can upgrade the class and where we can find those players that have made that jump.”
Texas’ 2027 class already includes 22 pledges and sits fifth nationally, but linebacker remains the clear hole. Johnny Nansen has not yet landed a linebacker in this cycle, and that helped lead to Texas offering Georgia Tech linebacker pledge Jason Crenshaw Jr. last week. Crenshaw responded quickly by setting an official visit for the Ole Miss game on October 25.
The Longhorns also extended an offer Monday to Tennessee defensive tackle commit Christian Mays, a Colorado product who is ranked as the No. 1 junior college defensive tackle.
With the scholarship limit now up to 105, Texas is also adjusting the way it looks at developmental players. That extra room gives the staff more flexibility to chase prospects who may need multiple years before they can become real contributors, similar to last cycle’s November flips of running back Jett Walker from Minnesota and offensive lineman Kaden Scherer from Stanford.
And while the 2027 class is still being built, Texas is already making strategic moves in the 2028 cycle as the recruiting calendar starts to heat up again.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do this week Wednesday, Thursday, Friday of seeing players, and it’s not just me, it’s the assistant coaches, it’s the recruiting department of of getting all that done,” Sarkisian said. “With only one weekend to do it, we’ve got to be spot on.”
In Other News...
Texas Defensive Front Is Becoming A Problem For Road Opponents
Texas defensive front has been giving road opponents a different kind of problem, and the latest glimpse came against Tennessee when junior lineman Maraad Watson got to freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon for a notable sack. It was the kind of snap that fits what Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns have been saying about this group, with Hero Kanu and Lance Jackson also pointing to the overall strength and depth up front as a real edge for the defense.
What makes the line so difficult to deal with is not just the talent, but the way Texas keeps bodies moving and fresh. The Longhorns have leaned into rotation and mobility among their defensive linemen to preserve explosivity and physicality, a formula that becomes even more important away from home when the game can turn into a grind. For opponents trying to hold up against that kind of pressure, there does not seem to be much relief coming. [Read more 🡒]
Sarkisian Admits Texas Offense Has Not Met Early Expectations
Steve Sarkisian came into the season with the kind of setup a head coach usually welcomes, with Will Muschamps arrival as defensive coordinator giving him more room to stay in the offensive lane and work more closely with that side of the staff. After a strong opening win, though, Texas has not quite looked like the finished product many expected, and the early numbers have reflected that uneven start.
Through four games, the Longhorns have been solid without being sharp, sitting 57th nationally in points per game and 83rd in total offense. That is the backdrop as Texas keeps trying to find a higher gear on offense, especially with Florida showing what a fast start can look like after climbing near the top of the national rankings behind Jadan Baughs production in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]
Colin Simmons Is Giving Texas A Heisman Debate Fans Can't Ignore
Colin Simmons has pushed his way into a conversation Texas fans are not used to hearing around a defensive player. The Longhorns edge rusher is drawing Heisman buzz after a recent run that has made voters take notice, and even the mention of his name in that race says plenty about how disruptive he has been. Defense almost never gets this kind of award chatter, with only two defensive players in the trophys history ever getting over the top.
For Texas, the appeal is obvious: Simmons is giving the program a rare kind of Heisman candidate, one whose value is measured in pressure, disruption and the way he changes games on that side of the ball. The catch is that the award still tilts heavily toward offense, and current odds leave him behind several more traditional contenders. Even so, his rise has made him impossible to ignore, and whether he can keep forcing his way into the debate will come down to how voters view a defensive season in a race built for quarterbacks and skill players. [Read more 🡒]