After quarterback Arch Manning, the top-rated recruit of the high school class of 2023 and prodigal nephew of Peyton and Eli, committed to the Texas Longhorns, a string of highly-touted recruits have followed in announcing plans to join him in Austin.
Following Manning’s commitment last Thursday, eight other high school football prospects have announced their plans to play at the University of Texas, including five that announced on Sunday alone.
Four-star Linebacker Liona Lefau, from Kahuku High School in Hawaii, announced his commitment to Texas on Saturday.
Three-star offensive linemen Andre Cojoe from Mansfield Timberview High School, Connor Stroh from Frisco-Wakeland High School, and Trevor Goosby from Melissa High School all committed to Texas on Sunday.
Four-star offensive lineman Jaydon Chatman from Harker Heights High School and four-star wide receiver Jonah Wilson from Dekaney High School in Houston also committed to Texas on Sunday.
Then on Monday, five-star safety Derek Williams, the No. 37 overall prospect in the nation of the 2023 class according to 247Sports, committed to Texas.
Williams told ESPN he was sold entirely on attending Texas after Manning made his announcement.
“That kind of shocked me,” Williams said. “I knew [Manning] was [likely] going there, but I was just making sure. That impacted my decision going [to Texas].”
Williams, who attended Westgate High School in New Iberia, LA, chose Texas over Alabama, Miami, Texas A&M, Louisiana State University, Clemson, and Oklahoma.
His commitment vaulted Texas’ recruiting class into the top three of 247Sports’ recruiting class rankings for the 2023 cycle.
On Tuesday, the Longhorns landed another commitment from the 2023 high school class from three-star defensive end Billy Walton out of South Oak Cliff High School.
Walton was verbally committed to attending Oklahoma State but now becomes the second Longhorns recruit to flip from a rival Big 12 school.
Goosby had been committed to TCU before announcing his switch to Texas on Sunday.
Walton has an impressive list of scholarship offers, including from the likes of Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Louisville, and Tennessee.
He was a crucial part of the South Oak Cliff team that completed a 16-0 state championship-winning season in 2021.
Longhorns’ head coach Steve Sarkisian is happy with the recent run of commitments but still says there is more work to do on the recruiting front.
“This has been a great run,” Sarkisian told ESPN on Monday. “Hopefully, it’s not over. I don’t think it is. We may have a few more to go here this week. Hopefully, we can continue to capture some of the momentum that has been created.”