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Big 12 Recruiting: National Signing Day 2016 winners and losers

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Feb 3, 2016; Aldine, TX, USA; Jeffrey McCulloch announces that he will be attending the University of Texas to play football at Benjamin Davis High School. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 3, 2016; Aldine, TX, USA; Jeffrey McCulloch announces that he will be attending the University of Texas to play football at Benjamin Davis High School. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong celebrates with the golden hat trophy after a victory against the Oklahoma Sooners during Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Texas beat Oklahoma 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong celebrates with the golden hat trophy after a victory against the Oklahoma Sooners during Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Texas beat Oklahoma 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

Winner: Texas Longhorns

With the possible exception of Alabama, which jumped from No. 8 overall to No. 1 during a 24-hour period, there wasn’t a bigger winner in the nation on National Signing Day than the Texas Longhorns.

Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns /

Texas Longhorns

Coming off a largely disappointing 5-7 season, Texas struggled to land a 2016 recruiting class ranked by most analysts among the top 40 in the nation. However, with a flurry of activity Wednesday, the Longhorns jumped all the way to No. 11 in the nation and moved to the front of the pack in the Big 12. Texas jumped more than 20 spots in a single day.

Overall, 20 new signees, including 11 four-star prospects all ranked among the nation’s 320 best high school players, joined Texas’ four early enrollees already on campus.

The star of the group is safety Brandon Jones, who is considered to be the nation’s top safety.

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Ranked No. 40 overall and the sixth-best player in the state of Texas, the 5-foot-11, 193-pound Nacogdoches native chose the Horns over Texas A&M. Texas also nabbed No. 4 outside linebacker Jeffrey McCulloch – one of the most highly coveted uncommitted players to sign Wednesday – and flipped No. 7 outside linebacker Eric Fowler from LSU.

Such a strong finish on National Signing Day was exactly the boost Texas head coach Charlie Strong needs heading into the 2016 season as he prepares to right the ship in Austin.

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