AUSTIN, Texas — Being a top-tier program in college football is two-fold: recruiting top high school talent and developing those prospects into premier college athletes.
Texas Longhorns Head Coach Tom Herman set out to achieve both of those things when he took over at the University of Texas. Texas had the No. 3-ranked recruiting class in the country in 2018 and 2019, according to 247Sports. The most recent class (2020) came in at No. 8 in the nation.
The 2022 class was trending in a positive direction, but on Wednesday night, five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers announced his de-commitment from the Longhorns.
Ewers said he came to realize he didn't explore all of his options and cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a complication to the recruiting process.
"Given the COVID-19 pandemic facing us, this has been a challenging year for all students like myself," he said. "With the support of my family, I tried to navigate the recruiting process the best way I could. With the process being abnormal this season, I tried my best to keep an open mind to all possibilities. However, the more I've considered, the more I've come to realize I didn't explore all options as thoroughly as I would've liked. Therefore, I've decided to de-commit and reassess the situation before making such an important decision on my future."
Ewers was not only the top-ranked recruit in Texas – 247Sports also lists him as the top recruit in the country.
Ewers is only the third five-star quarterback from Texas since 2000.
Less than 24 hours later, four-star wide receiver Phaizon Wilson announced he was de-committing as well.
Here is an updated look at the commitments for the next two classes in 2021 and 2022 (rating/star based on ESPN.com ranking).
The de-commitments of Ewers and Wilson shrink the 2022 Texas class down to just one verbal commit for the time being.
2021
Committed:
- Ja'Tavion Sanders, 4-star ATH, Billy Ryan High School
- Billy Bowman Jr., 4-star WR, Billy Ryan High School
- Ishmael Ibraheem, 4-star CB, Justin F. Kimball High School
- Derrick Harris Jr., 4-star OLB, New Caney High
- J.D. Coffey, 4-star S, Kennedale High School
- Jordon Thomas, 4-star DE, Memorial High School
- Hayden Conner, 4-star OL, James E. Taylor High School
- Jamier Johnson, 4-star CB, John Muir High School (CA)
- Morice Blackwell, 4-star OLB, James Martin High School
- Jaden Alexis, 4-star WR, Monarch High School (FL)
- Michael Myslinski, 3-star C, Bishop Kenny High School (FL)
- Jonathan Brooks, 3-star RB, Hallettsville High School
- Juan Davis, 3-star ATH, Everman High School
- Max Merrill, 3-star OL, Strake Jesuit College Prep
- Gunnar Helm, 3-star TE/H-back, Cherry Creek High School (CO)
- Casey Cain, 3-star WR, Warren Easton High School (LA)
- Charles Wright, 3-star WR, Austin High School
- Issac Pearson, K (not ranked), ProKick Australia
2022
Committed:
- Jaylon Guilbeau, 4-star CB, Memorial High School
Decommitted:
- Quinn Ewers, 5-star QB (pro-style), Carroll High School
- Phaizon Wilson, 4-star WR, Lancaster High School
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