Legacy runs in the family, and a few more familiar names just made their college decisions.
The biggest headline belongs to Spears Jr., the 6-10 five-star basketball recruit and one of the top power forwards in the country. The Frisco, Texas native committed and signed with Texas on Friday, July 10, and he has reclassified to the Class of 2026, putting him on track to join the Longhorns for the 2026-27 season.
Spears Jr. drew 26 Division I offers, with Alabama, Arizona, Houston, Michigan, Tennessee, Villanova and others in the mix before he landed on Texas.
His family tree is loaded with athletic ties. His father, Marcus Spears, is an LSU alum who played in the NFL from 2005 to 2013 with the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens.
He now works as an NFL analyst for ESPN and appears on shows including First Take and NFL Live. Spears Jr.’s mother, Aiysha Smith, played at LSU from 2001 to 2003 and was selected seventh overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2003 WNBA Draft.
And now Spears Jr. joins another Longhorn in the family. His aunt, Macaria “Cari” Spears, is a junior standout and All-American outside hitter for the Texas women’s volleyball team.
Before Marcus Spears’ son made his choice, Cari told Cory Mose of KVUE News, “My recruiting skills are really, really good. I’ve been working on it,” Cari told Cory Mose of KVUE News before Marcus committed to Texas.
“I want him to go to UT and I think it would be so fun, but I want him to go where he wants to go and where he feels will be the best experience for him.”
Spears Jr. has spent his high school career at Dynamic Prep, the program operated by former NBA player Jermaine O'Neal, since his freshman year. As a sophomore in the 2024-25 season, Marcus averaged 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, then jumped to 15.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a junior. In Nike Elite Youth Basketball League play with Drive Nation, he put up 20 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Another legacy name also made a move in early July. Paisios Polamalu, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu, had initially been linked heavily to USC, his father’s alma mater, but instead committed to Stanford football in early July.
Polamalu is a 3-star recruit and a 5-9, 190-pound safety from San Diego, California. He picked the Cardinal over Arizona and USC.
At St. Augustine in 2025, Polamalu ran for 1,530 yards and 19 touchdowns on 250 carries and added three receiving scores. On defense, he finished with 108 tackles, a sack, six interceptions, 10 pass deflections, two caused fumbles, a fumble recovery and two blocked field goal attempts.
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