Texas Longhorns and HC Steve Sarkisian are fading quickly with elite in-state recruit, another Lone Star program is big reason why

The Texas Longhorns have been recruiting on an extremely high level under head coach Steve Sarkisian. Considering that the program is in the middle of arguably the biggest high school recruiting hotbed in the country, they have a big advantage when trying to attract talent. While the Longhorns are going to get more than their fair share of talent from their backyard, there are always going to be recruiting misses from time to time.

It appears that there may be one on the horizon in the 2027 class with Waxahachie (Texas) High School safety JayQuan Snell. A priority in the class, Texas has been viewed to be right near the top of the list for some time now. In a recent prediction piece from Rivals, national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman gave the latest with Snell and how the Texas A&M Aggies are the ones who are leading as of today.

Here is what Spiegelman wrote in that piece.

4-star S JayQuan Snell

Elite safety JayQuan Snell has a national offer sheet, but is heavily coveted by the heavyweights inside Texas. The Longhorns were standing tall over the likes of LSU, SMU and Oklahoma into the spring; Texas A&M has leapfrogged their in-state rival and have currently jumped into the lead with Rivals’ No. 4 S. “They are being aggressive,” an informed source said of the Aggies, who have hosted Snell consecutive weekends.

“Another weekend back in the Station … the atmosphere was crazy in the best way,” Snell told Rivals over the weekend. “The energy around the program just feels different right now… You can really sense the belief and excitement building up. Being around the coaches, players, and fans again just reminded me why it’s such a special place. Every time I go back, it feels more and more like home.”

It is still early, so even if Snell does opt for the Aggies sometime in the near future, I doubt that Sarkisian and his staff will give up. That is especially true for a talent like Snell, considered a four-star and Top-50 overall recruit in the 2027 class by multiple platforms. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, the 6-3, 198-pound defensive back currently sits as the No. 39 overall player, the No. 4 safety, and the No. 7 player from the state of Texas. This is an elite talent on the back end of a defense.

It shouldn't be much of a surprise that a long list of impressive suitors has shown interest in Snell. Outside of the Longhorns and Aggies, some other top programs that have offered the Texas native include Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, Michigan, Miami, and Florida State among many others. Snell is a long and explosive athlete who could potentially play a lot of different roles for a defense.