Priority Five-Star Texas Longhorns Target Narrows Final List to Three

Texas continues its impressive stretch into the summer for recruiting, pulling multiple prospects in the past month who rank as a four or five-star. Though they've found success as of late, there is one position in the 2026 class that Texas still hasn't found, a tight end, something that may change with one five-star's decision.

According to Rivals' Sam Spiegelman, five-star tight end in the 2026 recruiting class, Kaiden Prothro, has narrowed down his decision to three schools: the Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns. Prothro is reportedly set to make his final college decision on July 12th.

Prothro, who stands at 6-foot-5 and 216 pounds, is ranked the No. 2 tight end in the 2026 recruiting class by On3.

A three-sport athlete, Prothro excels as a competitor, especially on the gridiron, helping Georgia's Bowdon High School to its third straight Peach State Class A Division II Championship this past year. In 2024, Prothro caught 56 passes for 1,203 yards and 22 touchdowns in 15 games. Through those 15 games Prothro was averaging 21.5 yards per catch according to 247sports.

Prothro now decides between three SEC schools, but only Texas is looking for its first tight end commit in the 2026 class. Florida currently holds a commitment from three-star Kekua Aumua, a tight end for IMG Academy. Georgia, meanwhile, has a commitment from four-star tight end Lincoln Keyes, the No. 13-ranked tight end in the nation.

Texas got pretty used to having a good tight end on the field on Saturdays after an impressive season from former Longhorn Gunnar Helm in 2024. Helm, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, accounted for 786 receiving yards and seven touchdowns for the Longhorns last season.

Inheriting another great tight end would be big for Texas and the new starting quarterback, Arch Manning. Fighting for reps at tight end behind Jack Endries this season are sophomores Spencer Shannon and Jordan Washington. Neither player saw any snaps last season at the position, but will hope to fill the shoes of Gunnar Helm in the fall.

Texas, though, continues to pursue big prospects at the position in hopes of a difference maker like Helm out of the 2026 recruiting class. With Prothro's decision only a few weeks away, and Texas finding itself in the top three, the Longhorns could be the destination of yet another high-ranking prospect.