Texas Predicted to Lose Nation's No. 1 DL to Rival SEC Team

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 10:19 PM ET

The Texas Longhorns have the No. 13 overall 2026 recruiting class on On3 Sports, but it does not look like it will be moving up in the coming days.

On3's Chad Simmons and Steve Wiltfong released predictions for the Georgia Bulldogs to win the race for four-star defensive lineman James Johnson.

Johnson listed Georgia, the Florida Gators, and the Texas Longhorns as his finalists on Wednesday and announced that he will commit on Saturday.

He comes in at 6-foot-2.5, 285 pounds and attends Northwestern in Cape Coral, Florida.

Johnson also has offers from the Miami Hurricanes, Florida State Seminoles, Syracuse Orange, USC Trojans and others.

Texas and Georgia played twice last season, with the Bulldogs taking both matchups.

Johnson is the top defensive lineman and No. 15 overall prospect in the 2026 class on On3 Sports.

Despite Texas being named as one of Johnson's finalists, the Longhorns have slim odds of landing him via the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. Texas has fewer than one percent chance for Johnson to commit.

On the other hand, it heavily favors Georgia, giving the Bulldogs an 88.9% chance to secure his commitment.

While it appears that Texas is going to strike out with Johnson, the Longhorns have another chance with a defensive lineman from the 2026 class.

On3's Chad Simmons predicted that Texas would land four-star defensive lineman Kendall Guervil.

The second installment of EA Sports' revived college football video games series is about to release. EA Sports College Football 26 comes out on July 10, and the toughest places to play rankings were revealed recently.

Texas' Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium came in at No. 13.

Unfortunately for the Longhorns, Texas does not open the 2025 season at home. Texas plays the Ohio State Buckeyes on August 30 at Noon ET on Fox.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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