A Texas recruiting move that should have set off alarm bells barely made a ripple.
Four-star safety Greedy James, who committed to the Longhorns almost exactly seven months ago, has flipped to LSU after weeks of buzz around his recruitment. On3 and Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett first reported the change, and the reaction from some Texas fans was pure disbelief - or at least a good dose of sarcasm: "What????
NEVER saw this coming. The writing wasn’t on the wall," one fan wrote on X.
The timing mattered. Texas was in the middle of a surge on the trail, with blue-chip additions like five-star interior offensive lineman Ismael Camara helping keep the momentum rolling. In that wave of commitments, James’ departure from Steve Sarkisian’s 2027 class slipped past a lot of people.
The flip itself had been building for a while. Recruiting insiders, including Fawcett, had already been pointing toward James eventually backing off his Texas pledge before he made it official. He had originally chosen the Horns in December over Notre Dame and other major programs, but the LSU move finally closed the loop.
James is ranked as the No. 28 safety in the class of 2027 and the No. 47 overall prospect out of Texas, so this was a meaningful win for LSU even if it didn’t completely reshape Texas’ board. The Longhorns have added nearly two dozen prospects since James first committed, and the class still has plenty of defensive back talent in place.
Still, the Tigers weren’t done using James as a bridge to other targets. His comments about five-star Texas wide receiver Easton Royal stood out, especially because Royal has been committed to Texas since November of last year.
When asked about who he’s trying to bring with him to LSU, James said, "Definitely my dog Easton Royal, for sure. We've already been talking," James said about players he's going to recruit to join him at LSU.
Even with James gone, Texas’ 2027 class remains loaded in the secondary with five-star cornerback John Meredith III, four-star cornerbacks Brandon Sherrard and Montre Jackson, and four-star safety Junior Tu'upo. The Horns still sit fifth nationally and second in the SEC, while also holding a national edge over LSU by five spots and a three-spot lead in the conference rankings.
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