After a Few Misses, Sarkisian, Longhorns Secure Two Key 4-Star Commitments

AUSTIN – This past week, head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns secured a commitment from 4-star LB Kosi Okpala and followed that up with a commitment from 4-star IOL John Turntine III, giving Texas the No. 13 ranked recruiting class.

A series of Texas targets announcing their commitments began on June 27, but it has not been an entirely great run for the Longhorns up to this point as the Horns have missed out on some recruits as of late. That sequence began with S Chace Calicut on June 27, who picked the Georgia Bulldogs. His commitment was followed up by highly coveted 5-star LB Xavier Griffin, who committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide two days later.

A three-day period went by before it was time for 4-star DL Kendall Guervil to announce his commitment, and he ultimately chose Florida over Texas and others. Later that day, 4-star EDGE Trenton Henderson chose LSU over Texas and Florida.

Kosi Okpala

On Thursday, the Longhorns fans finally got some good news as Okpala out of Katy chose in-state Texas over Miami and Penn State.

Okpala is a 6-foot-2 linebacker standing at 215 pounds out of Mayde Creek High School. He is ranked as the No. 19 LB in the class, and No. 283 player in the nation.

As a sophomore, he stood out, earning himself 66 tackles, 12 for a loss, 2 sacks, and 8 hurries. As a senior, he played a little bit of running back too, totaling 11 carries for 76 yards. On defense, he totaled 55 tackles, 17 for a loss, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 21 hurries.

Okpala will add good depth to the linebacker corps in preparation for Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr.’s departure. He can also provide whatever Texas needs; he might need some fine-tuning, but the value is in his ability to play a true linebacker position or more of an edge.

Horns miss out on Ojo and Finley

However, Texas was also hoping to add a major piece to the class in the No. 6 player in the nation and No. 3 OT in Felix Ojo out of Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield, Texas. It had been announced that Ojo would be making his decision on Friday, choosing between Texas, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio State. But, something changed late Thursday night.

Thursday night is when the momentum changed, after Texas was seemingly favored to land Ojo, predictions by experts at On3 arrived in favor of Texas Tech to land the OT.

That was proven to be true when he announced his commitment to the Red Raiders on Friday afternoon. Questions concerning the reason why were quickly dispelled with his management team sharing that he’d be headed to Lubbock on a $5.1 million 3-year fully guaranteed deal.

Later on in the day, the Longhorns also lost out on another in-state prospect with 4-star WR Kaydon Finley committing to Notre Dame over Texas, Texas A&M, and Arizona State.

Turntine commits to Texas

However, there was still a silver lining for Sarkisian and the Horns. Texas secured a commitment from 4-star IOL John Turntine III out of North Crowley High School in Fort Worth.

Standing at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds and having helped his team to a 16-0 season after securing the Texas 6A D-I state championship as a junior, Turntine will be a solid addition to the trenches on the offensive side and will add great depth for Texas.

As the fourth of July weekend wraps up, Texas now sits with the No. 13 ranked recruiting class for 2026 with 17 commits, including two 5-stars.

Stay tuned as there are plenty more athletes yet to announce their commitments, with more coming throughout the coming week. Hook ‘Em!