From our Rivals Texas staff:
With Texas looking to dip into California again in the 2025 cycle (there are currently eight players from the Golden State scheduled to take OVs to Texas), we checked in with some West Coast sources to get updates on those targets …
* WR Marcus Harris (Texas OV June 21) – There was a time early on that it looked like Texas might be the team to beat for the Mater Dei product. The Longhorns are still heavily involved, but the race apparently has evened out a bit. With the potential success of in-state receivers in addition to a guy like Jaime Frenchh, one source we spoke with wondered if Texas would still aggressively push for Harris’ commitment.
“I think Oregon and Texas are probably the standouts right now. You could maybe put Bama in there too. Bama emerged more with that new offense and what they did at Washington,” the source said.
* Apparently, QB play is big for Harris. Texas obviously has Arch Manning but Oregon can sell transfer QB Dante Moore, and Harris is apparently very fond of Oregon WR coach Junior Adams.
* TE Kaleb Edwards (Texas OV June 7) – In talking to two sources, Edwards is a bit of a mystery. Nobody seems to have a good feel on what he’ll wind up doing. “I’ve never gotten a sense that he’s set to stay close or go far away. Not sure he knows what he wants to do,” one source said.
* OL John Mills (Texas OV June 14) – I have my FutureCast pick on Texas for this one. Sources out West think I’m on the right path. “I think Texas is definitely up there because of his recent visit there. He loves it on and off the field. And he loves Kyle Flood,” one source said.
* Another source said Mills has a bit of a chip on his shoulder because he feels he’s underrated (I agree, btw). Because of that, this person said he wants to play on the biggest of stages. Where better to do that than Texas? “There’s some pull to Washington, to Nebraska and Florida is interesting. But I feel like Texas is where he winds up,” that source said.
* DT Josiah Sharma (Texas OV June 7) – One source scoffed at Sharma’s current low 3-star rating on Rivals. Expect that to change in the next update, btw. Sharma is another that wants to play on the big stage. “He’s always talked about playing in the SEC. He’s talking about Bama and Georgia and Oklahoma. He’s not a kid tied to playing on the West Coast,” the source said.
* He is close to his mother, per a source, so that could be a draw to keep him out West. If he does stay close to home, keep an eye on Oregon. The source I spoke with wasn’t sure about his interest level in Texas, but noted that if he’s taking a UT OV you cannot count the Longhorns out, especially with Texas moving to the SEC.
* DE Hayden Lowe (Texas OV June 14) – The sense with Lowe, per one person I spoke with, is that he likely stays out West. I was told that Lowe doesn’t talk recruiting very much, but has given off a vibe that he might be favoring schools like UCLA, Oregon or Washington. Lowe does have OVs set to Miami, Georgia and Texas so we’ll see if the proximity thing holds true.
* LB Madden Faraimo (Texas OV June 21) – One person told me that early in his recruitment, Faraimo seemed like a lock to go to USC but he has opened up his options of late. Ohio State and Notre Dame are believed to be the current leaders. “But if he visits Texas, that’ll definitely be big,” the source said.
* LB/DE Marco Jones (Texas OV June 21) – Was told he’s a big baseball player too, so “that could play into his decision. One person said he has “ambitions” of going nationally with his recruitment, but the sense from people out West is that he’s more likely to stay local. “He’s never given me a big Texas vibe, but baseball will be a big thing so maybe that could help,” the source said.
* Rivals had a report this week that Texas is trying to make a push for 2026 five-star WR Chris Henry Jr., who is currently committed to Ohio State. I asked about him as well. “He definitely wants to visit Texas this summer. If (Brian) Hartline stays at Ohio State, it’s almost definite he’ll staying at Ohio State. But he wants to visit Texas.”
With Texas looking to dip into California again in the 2025 cycle (there are currently eight players from the Golden State scheduled to take OVs to Texas), we checked in with some West Coast sources to get updates on those targets …
* WR Marcus Harris (Texas OV June 21) – There was a time early on that it looked like Texas might be the team to beat for the Mater Dei product. The Longhorns are still heavily involved, but the race apparently has evened out a bit. With the potential success of in-state receivers in addition to a guy like Jaime Frenchh, one source we spoke with wondered if Texas would still aggressively push for Harris’ commitment.
“I think Oregon and Texas are probably the standouts right now. You could maybe put Bama in there too. Bama emerged more with that new offense and what they did at Washington,” the source said.
* Apparently, QB play is big for Harris. Texas obviously has Arch Manning but Oregon can sell transfer QB Dante Moore, and Harris is apparently very fond of Oregon WR coach Junior Adams.
* TE Kaleb Edwards (Texas OV June 7) – In talking to two sources, Edwards is a bit of a mystery. Nobody seems to have a good feel on what he’ll wind up doing. “I’ve never gotten a sense that he’s set to stay close or go far away. Not sure he knows what he wants to do,” one source said.
* OL John Mills (Texas OV June 14) – I have my FutureCast pick on Texas for this one. Sources out West think I’m on the right path. “I think Texas is definitely up there because of his recent visit there. He loves it on and off the field. And he loves Kyle Flood,” one source said.
* Another source said Mills has a bit of a chip on his shoulder because he feels he’s underrated (I agree, btw). Because of that, this person said he wants to play on the biggest of stages. Where better to do that than Texas? “There’s some pull to Washington, to Nebraska and Florida is interesting. But I feel like Texas is where he winds up,” that source said.
* DT Josiah Sharma (Texas OV June 7) – One source scoffed at Sharma’s current low 3-star rating on Rivals. Expect that to change in the next update, btw. Sharma is another that wants to play on the big stage. “He’s always talked about playing in the SEC. He’s talking about Bama and Georgia and Oklahoma. He’s not a kid tied to playing on the West Coast,” the source said.
* He is close to his mother, per a source, so that could be a draw to keep him out West. If he does stay close to home, keep an eye on Oregon. The source I spoke with wasn’t sure about his interest level in Texas, but noted that if he’s taking a UT OV you cannot count the Longhorns out, especially with Texas moving to the SEC.
* DE Hayden Lowe (Texas OV June 14) – The sense with Lowe, per one person I spoke with, is that he likely stays out West. I was told that Lowe doesn’t talk recruiting very much, but has given off a vibe that he might be favoring schools like UCLA, Oregon or Washington. Lowe does have OVs set to Miami, Georgia and Texas so we’ll see if the proximity thing holds true.
* LB Madden Faraimo (Texas OV June 21) – One person told me that early in his recruitment, Faraimo seemed like a lock to go to USC but he has opened up his options of late. Ohio State and Notre Dame are believed to be the current leaders. “But if he visits Texas, that’ll definitely be big,” the source said.
* LB/DE Marco Jones (Texas OV June 21) – Was told he’s a big baseball player too, so “that could play into his decision. One person said he has “ambitions” of going nationally with his recruitment, but the sense from people out West is that he’s more likely to stay local. “He’s never given me a big Texas vibe, but baseball will be a big thing so maybe that could help,” the source said.
* Rivals had a report this week that Texas is trying to make a push for 2026 five-star WR Chris Henry Jr., who is currently committed to Ohio State. I asked about him as well. “He definitely wants to visit Texas this summer. If (Brian) Hartline stays at Ohio State, it’s almost definite he’ll staying at Ohio State. But he wants to visit Texas.”
