A day before Texas and Georgia played in the Southeastern Conference championship game, the Longhorns scored a surprising win over the Bulldogs on the recruiting front.
Justus Terry, a defensive lineman from Manchester, Georgia, announced on Friday that he would leave his home state to play for Texas next year. Terry, who was also considering Georgia and Auburn, was the top remaining uncommitted 2025 prospect in the country.
With Terry’s commitment, Texas now has the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, according to rankings compiled by 247Sports.
“We’re super pumped about this recruiting class,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said on Thursday, before Terry made his decision. “This is a very talented group of players that I think not only fit the physical characteristics of what we’re looking for by position in our program, but I think meet the character and are going to fit nicely into our culture.”
Though there will be another signing period in February, 247Sports officials said Texas is expected to maintain its No. 1 spot. Most recruits from the Power Four conferences had already made their college choices this week.
As of Friday afternoon, the top 11 classes included eight Southeastern Conference schools and three Big Ten programs.
Alabama ranks second, Georgia is third, Oregon is fourth, and Ohio State is fifth. Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M, Michigan, and Tennessee complete the top 10, with Florida at No. 11.
Outside of the SEC and Big Ten, the highest-rated classes are Notre Dame at No. 12 and Miami at No. 14.
Terry is the second-ranked defensive lineman in the nation and the No. 10 overall prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite. With his commitment, Texas now has nine of the top 66 recruits in the 247Sports Composite.
Other Texas recruits ranked 66th or higher include safety Jonah Williams (No. 8), wide receivers Kaliq Lockett (No. 22) and Jamie Ffrench (No. 32), defensive lineman Lance Jackson (No. 25), all-purpose athlete Michael Terry III (No. 43), cornerbacks Kade Phillips (No. 54) and Graceson Littleton (No. 65), and linebacker Elijah Barnes (No. 66).
“I think it’s a really versatile class with a variety of positions, highlighted by high-level players,” Sarkisian said. “As always, we really pride ourselves on recruiting the high school ranks.
We think when we can get players in here young, then immerse them into our culture, into our off-season conditioning program, develop them as we go throughout their career, that’s when we really reap the benefits of having these guys in our program. This class is no different.”
With the early signing period ending on Friday, attention will now shift to roster building through transfers. The transfer portal window opens on Monday, though many college players have already made their intentions to transfer public on social media this week.
The early signing period was moved earlier this year to allow high school seniors to finalize their decisions before the transfer portal window opened.
This was the first signing period since the national letters of intent were replaced by financial aid agreements, which can include details about name, image, and likeness deals along with standard tuition and room and board agreements.
