Two Texas Longhorns commits are locked in but Power 4 programs have not stopped calling

Orangebloods' Jason Suchomel said as much when remembering a recent conversation.

"I remember years ago a college coach told me you have to recruit out-of-state commitments as if they’re uncommitted until they send in their letter of intent, whereas in-state guys are more likely to lock in."

This is going to be the case for Texas as it continues to court Cooper to stick with his commitment and sign in December. He spoke with 247Sports’ Gabe Urrutia about his interest in nearby Miami.

“I’m approaching it like I always have–staying in contact with coaches,” Cooper said. “I’m probably going to go to a few games just to experience it. I’m probably going to go to two Texas games.

“Everything is great about Miami. It was coming down to a hard choice,” Cooper said. “That was probably the hardest choice I’ve had to make in my life to this point.”

James Johnson is another commit who is still hearing from several coaching staffs.

"In an interview with Swamp247 over the weekend, Texas defensive line commitment James Johnson mentioned that he’s remained in contact with both Florida and Miami, and he’s planning to see games of both of those programs," Suchomel said. "Not the most ideal news if you’re a Longhorn fan, but not totally surprising either.

"In Johnson, we have a prospect who flipped his commitment from Georgia to Texas about two weeks after giving the Bulldogs a pledge, so there is a sampling of a young man who has had a rather sudden and abrupt change of heart.

"The four-star Johnson is a member of a four-man defensive tackle class for Texas that features prospects who are all from locations outside of the Lone Star State. It has always felt like if Texas was going to suffer a decommitment at some point in the 2026 cycle, defensive tackle might be the most likely," Suchomel said. "To be clear, I’m not predicting a(nother) flip by Johnson – as things stand right now, I’d still pencil him in this class – but his visiting other programs, especially those in his home state, is another situation worth monitoring closely."