Texas is the hottest team in CFB recruiting after another 5-star pledge

Texas football landed Arch Manning this past week and since then, the Longhorns have been on an insane run of commitments. 

The impact of Arch Manning continues to be felt on the recruiting trail Monday as Texas football picked up its eighth commitment in the past week in five-star safety Derek Williams, the No. 37 prospect overall in 2023 according to the 247 sports composite rankings.

Williams isn’t alone in terms of elite recruits committing to Texas football. Manning started the trend last week and since then, there have been eight total commitments to the Longhorns, who now have 15 verbal pledges in 2023 and rank No. 3 in the team rankings.

Manning and Williams are both ranked as five-star prospects, but Texas football has added three other four-star recruits since Arch committed last week and the Longhorns have more recruiting momentum than any other team in college football.

Williams sided with UT after also considering Alabama, Oklahoma, Miami, and Texas A&M. Out of New Iberia, Louisiana, Williams is ranked as the No. 3 safety in the 2023 class, and the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder is also ranked third in his home state.

Prior to his commitment, Williams only had one crystal ball projection and he told ESPN following his decision that it wouldn’t have happened without Arch Manning’s pledge.

“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].”

Texas football isn’t done

While Williams is another future NFL talent who is projected to be a future second or third-round pick by 247 sports, the Longhorns are far from finished.

Five-star wide receiver Johntay Cook also visited Texas football last weekend and the experts are all projecting him to commit to the Longhorns, along with top-50 running back Cedric Baxter.

Another five-star, linebacker Anthony Hill, the No. 14 recruit overall in 2023, and the No. 2 player in the state of Texas was also in Austin for an official visit last weekend.

So the Longhorns are the mix for a bunch of elite recruits and with Arch Manning in the mix, the momentum doesn’t seem like it will be slowing down anytime soon.