Justin Wells: Tom Herman's Biggest Recruiting Wins at Texas
1 Quinn Ewers, QB, Southlake Carroll Class: 2022
The August 14th commitment from the nation's No. 1 ranked 2022 prospect instantly became the biggest win in the Tom Herman era in Austin. The reasons are obvious — quarterback from Lone Star State power Southlake Carroll wanted badly by rival Oklahoma, No. 1 overall in the country, hails from D/FW where top 2022 wide receivers are plentiful, and with Hudson Card solidifies the quarterback position in Austin until 2025. Not to mention more in terms of helping create momentum with positive national buzz. - GH
2 Caden Sterns, S, Cibolo Steele Class: 2018
I'll never forget that weekend. I believe most of the staff was out of town, but Craig Naivar hung around just in case a four-star safety from down the road made his secret journey to UT's campus. When he arrived, Texas could not have done a better job with the LSU pledge. Less than 24 hours later, and I was preparing a commit story that would rock this region. It was one of Herman's first big scores on the Forty Acres, and it also contributed to the massive 2018 momentum that cultivated into a top three recruiting class.- JW
3 Cam Rising, QB, Newbury Park (CA) Class: 2018
The flip of Cam Rising in late April 2017 was considered a massive win for Herman and staff due to a top flight national quarterback prospect flipping to the Longhorns from hated rival Oklahoma and Lincoln Riley. The commitment by Rising helped set the tables for a top 5 class. After a rough 2017 class in short order for Herman and staff, the 2018 class proved that Texas would become a recruiting force under Herman. - GH
Anyone remember the quote? It went something like "Then I got to Texas..." Rising could spin it with ease but Sam Ehlinger would be entrenched at quarterback. - JW
4 Bijan Robinson, RB, Salpointe Catholic (AZ) Class: 2020
Another roller coaster of a ride, but in the end, well worth it. Texas was on the Arizona high school star early and made a strong impression when he visited for the spring game. But Ohio State started pushing, and he hung out with a chunk of the Buckeyes' C/O 2020 at the Rivals Camp and some thought he'd be a Buckeye. But not Stan Drayton. He'd built a great relationship, and soon after Robinson remembered how much he enjoyed Austin. At that point, it was just get to National Signing Day. Mission accomplished. - JW
5 Junior Angilau, OG, East High (UT) Class: 2018
Pulling top talent out of the state of Utah over the likes of Oregon, UCLA, USC, Utah, and Washington isn’t exactly what the Texas program has been known for over the years. Add in that Angilau was one of the nation's top offensive guard prospects at a huge position of need at the time, and this immediately became one of Herman and staff’s biggest wins since arriving in Austin. - GH
Props to recruiting assistant/player personnel analyst Jake Langi in this pursuit. He was vital. - JW
6 Bru McCoy, WR, Mater Dei (CA) Class: 2019
Where do I begin? Let's start in the summer before his senior year. Texas had made a great impression on McCoy and his family, but he still seemed destined to stay closer to home at USC. Then the Army All American Bowl week arrives and he's very quiet about where he'd end up. He signed with Southern Cal and enrolled in January. Less than a week later, and he's thinking he made a mistake. Texas was his other choice, and after the big Sugar Bowl win over Georgia, had some serious mojo on the national level. McCoy would then turn the recruiting world upside down when he entered the NCAA Transfer Portal only weeks after becoming a Trojan. He arrived in Austin, went through spring ball, and was looking at minutes as a true freshman wideout. But in typical Bru style, he changed his mind, again. He went back home, re-enrolled at USC, and one of Herman's biggest wins became the poster child for the portal. - JW
7 Alfred Collins, DT, Bastrop Cedar Creek Class: 2020
Sure, Texas had connections with Collins being a legacy recruit, but that meant Collins was a “must win” and "can’t lose” prospect. He was coveted by Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and nearly every top program in the country. And with Texas being in the process of building the defensive line to the level needed to be a consistent top 10 program again, winning out for Collins was a huge win in football office. - GH
8 Joseph Ossai, DE/LB, Oak Ridge Class: 2018
The four-star outside linebacker from Conroe was another must-get for that vaunted 2018 cycle. Texas A&M was pushing and had similar success in that region, but Texas found a loophole - NCAA just approved the 10th assistant - that allowed recruiting director Bryan Carrington to get on the road and make home visits. Game-changer. Carrington attended Ossai's basketball game that night and visited with his folks for hours, which allowed Oscar Giles and the staff to close on one of the most important pieces of the 2018 class. - JW
9 Jake Smith, WR, Notre Dame Preparatory (AZ) Class: 2019
The Gatorade National Player of the Year out of Arizona had his pick of Pac 12 and national programs. While the Longhorns have dabbled in the state for years in recruiting, pulling one of the nation's top prospects from the state wasn’t considered likely with Texas not having inked a prospect from the state since the 2012 class (Connor Brewer). - GH
10 Anthony Cook, CB, Houston Lamar Class: 2018
This one was big for Herman because it was an early battle with his nemesis, Urban Meyer and Ohio State. Cook had offers from virtually everyone, but those two programs really stood out in the beginning. Herman couldn't let his former boss come into Houston and take the prized corner. After an interesting scene between Herman and Meyer at Texas Southern's satellite camp, Cook took a visit to Columbus. It was underwhelming at best, and this became a Texas-LSU fight. In the end, Cook inked with the good guys, but not after some serious work by the staff. - JW
Others receiving votes: BJ Foster, De’Gabriel Floyd, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Billy Bowman and Vernon Broughton
