Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian reacts as he heads to the locker room after the Longhorns' 28-14 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semi-final at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Jan. 10, 2025. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Five-Star OT Trolls Texas Longhorns During Commitment

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Fourth of July is normally a time to celebrate, but it's been a rough day for the Texas Longhorns.

On Friday afternoon, five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo, the No. 1 recruit in the state of Texas who had been on the Longhorns' radar for a while now, made the shocking decision to commit to the Texas Tech Red Raiders and spurn Steve Sarkisian's squad. The Longhorns' 2026 recruiting class is already ranked No. 13 in the nation, down from No. 1 in 2025, and letting a five-star recruit slip through their fingers is a massive blow.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Ojo rubbed some salt in the wound while he made his decision.

Felix Ojo Trolls Texas Longhorns While Announcing Commitment

At his big announcement at Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield, Ojo briefly got Texas fans' hopes up when he donned a burnt orange hat. However, he then dashed those hopes by taking it off and putting on a black Texas Tech hat instead.

Here's a look at the moment, courtesy of Greg Riddle of the Dallas Morning News:

Mansfield Lake Ridge 5-star offensive lineman Felix Ojo first puts on a Texas hat, and the crowd goes wild, then he pulls a surprise and says he is actually committing to Texas Tech.#txhsfb @SportsDayHS @dctf @MISDathletics @247sports @TexasTechFB @TexasFootball @Rivals pic.twitter.com/WwbhCpjS3S
— Greg Riddle (@DMNGregRiddle) July 4, 2025

Ojo, who's also the No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 6 overall player in the 2026 class, previously discussed how positive his visit to Texas Tech was back in April, which could've been a warning sign for what was to come.

“The OV to Texas Tech was great,” Ojo told On3’s Steve Wiltfong in April. “The facilities were beautiful. Probably the biggest one in college football. And what excites me about the program is the feeling that they’re building something special that nobody really sees.”

However, that doesn't take away the pain of losing a five-star recruit to an in-state rival, especially when said rival reportedly offered a $5.1 million deal to land him.

Looking ahead to this season, the Longhorns' offensive line is going to look very different than it did during the 2024 season. Left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., left guard Hayden Conner and right tackle Cameron Williams all departed for the NFL, leaving significant holes up front for Texas.

However, the Longhorns still have a ton of talent up front. new left tackle Trevor Goosby looks to be the new leader of the unit , and he has some good experience at the position. Keeping Arch Manning upright will be paramount to success, though, and this group will have to be up to the test.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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