The Texas commit visited campus Monday where he was able to spend time with Steve Sarkisian and the staff after taking in a spring practice during the morning hours.

While programs like Oregon, Auburn and Ole Miss have continued to recruit Lacey over the last six months, Lacey reaffirmed his commitment status to me. Lacey added he has three trips planned for the spring and summer months – all of which to Texas (April 6, April 20, June 21-23 OV). No visits planned anywhere else at the moment and Lacey said he hopes to keep it like that.

"My commitment is still really strong," Lacey said. "I have been talking to them all the time, getting everything right about the official visit part and when I am going to visit, plus who I need to be recruiting."

Lacey has put on his recruiting hat a bit for the Longhorn 2025 class. He mentioned three wide receivers that he will be courting to Texas as the cycle progresses: Dakorien Moore, Jaime Ffrench and Kaliq Lockett.

As for the commits in the class, Lacey said he is beginning to build a strong relationship with Emaree Winston as well. The two talk and text often throughout the week.

The next time Lacey does make it to campus, his recruiting skills will be put to the test. Wide receivers Kaliq Lockett, Jaime Ffrench and Kelshaun Johnson will all be in attendance. Plus guys like John Mills and Tyler Thomas as well on the offensive side of the ball.

All in all, a good visit to Austin for Lacey. 

I won't say there is nothing to worry about because Texas will need to continue recruiting through the whistle, but Texas is where Lacey wants to be at the moment and he reiterated that to me on Sunday.

A name that might be familiar to the board is one that Texas fans should certainly keep an eye on now. Katoa, a 6-foot-5 and 375-pound trench monster is slated to be on campus April 13 for what is turning into a bit of a 2026 day on campus.

Texas is officially in the game for Katoa, though the Longhorns have been high on him prior to the extended offer. This will be a recruitment to keep a close eye on.

The Texas Longhorns hosted a number of unofficial visitors over the weekend, and are scheduled to host a big time target in the near future. 

OnTexasFootball bring Texas fans some Monday afternoon nuggets, and you don't have to wait in a long line to get them. 

Josiah Sharma and Texas
OnTexasFootball spoke again today with a source in California on 4-star defensive tackle Josiah Sharma (Folsom, Calif./High). OnTexasFootball reported last week that we expected the one-time Washington verbal to be on campus in the next two or three weeks. OTF can now say we expect Sharma on campus this weekend, barring a scheduling change. 

Sharma, 6-4.5 and 300 pounds, has family ties in Texas including the Austin area. He lived in Arlington for a while before moving to California. Johnny Nansen and Kenny Baker are in contact with Sharma on a regular basis. Sharma has official visits scheduled to Washington and Utah currently. Alabama, Texas, Oregon and Georgia are in line for official visits. Texas is confident that a June official visit will happen. 

WIll Keiundre Johnson make an official visit?

Terrell (Texas) High TE/EDGE Keiundre Johnson was on campus Saturday for an unofficial visit. While he doesn't have plans to return in April as of today, tight ends coach Jeff Banks is in talks about a June official visit date. 

Johnson, 6-3 and 230 pounds, has three official visit dates locked in. Johnson will make an OV to SMU May 17-19, LSU June 7-9 and Texas A&M June 21-23. Texas is talking about a June 14-16 date. Texas is recruiting Johnson at tight end, while Texas A&M is talking EDGE. 

D.J. Sanders has two visits scheduled

Bellville (Texas) High defensive lineman D.J. Sanders is expected on campus April 6 according to a source close to the recruitment. OnTexasFootball also expects the 6-4, 290 pounder to make an official visit June 21-23, as of today. 

Nick Brooks and a Texas OV

OnTexasFootball 4-star IOL Nick Brooks (Cedar Rapids, Ia./John F. Kennedy) is scheduled to talk to offensive line coach Kyle Flood early this week to finalize an official visit date. That date is expected to be June 14-16. An unofficial visit is also expected April 20 for the spring game. 

Brooks, 6-7 and 345 pounds, has to official visit scheduled. Georgia is locked in for May 31-June 2 and Iowa June 21-23. Georgia, Iowa and Texas were the first three schools mentioned by Brooks in two recent conversations. 

Of course, the big name in attendance was Texas commit KJ Lacey who received an invitation to the Elite 11 Finals in California later this summer. 

Elite 11 Finals invites: KJ Lacey, Kevin Sperry, Keelon Russell

Lacey of course stuck around in Austin Monday morning for the spring practice. 2027 Shreveport (LA) QB Peyton Houston also stuck around to view practice this morning. Houston holds six offers at the moment – Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, TCU, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Grambling State.

But here are my biggest takeaways from the day of throwing:

***

KJ Lacey

I really enjoy watching KJ Lacey in action. He has a smoothness to his game that is evident when you watch him in person. More so than anything, when Lacey is outside of the pocket he really has a natural release on passes down the field when he rolls to either side of the field. Lacey is a pure thrower and displayed plenty of arm talent. Like Quinn Ewers, I question his fast ball, but when he gets in a rhythm you rarely see misses on passes down the field.

On top of anything else that happened on the field Sunday for Lacey, he confirmed he is locked in with the Longhorns and is looking forward to his three additional trips to Austin this spring/summer.

Keelon Russell – SMU Commit

The drills yesterday really allowed for me to get an idea of Russell as a thrower of the ball. I know he is a playmaker and can create explosive plays as a QB. Russell did well yesterday, well enough to earn MVP of the Elite 11 festivities.

I will add I think there is a bit more life on passes thrown by Russell than others in attendance. He has a big arm and certainly uses his frame to his advantage as a quarterback. Russell has some fine tuning to do on the technical side of things, but he has plenty of potential. 

2026 Jake Fette – Del Valle (El Paso) HS

For my money's worth, Fette had the most impressive arm of anyone in attendance. The El Paso native debuted as a 5-star on the initial On3 2026 recruiting rankings. The ball truly zips out of his hand upon release. 

Fette told me he is very high on TCU and Texas Tech for the time being. The Tech staff has done a fine job of evaluating early and prioritizing him so far. Fette told me Texas did not stop by in the winter, however he is expecting AJ Milwee to make the trek west this spring to see him throw in person.

2027 Weston Nielsen – Bastrop HS

I was able to watch Nielsen in person for a weight session earlier this offseason where I got a first glance at his athleticism. This might sound a bit out of the blue, but Nielsen reminds me of former Westlake QB Cade Klubnik, just a notch or two lower on the athleticism scale. Nielsen will need to improve his footwork in the pocket, but his arm talent is undeniable at this age.

Nielsen will camp with the Longhorns on June 1 – Milwee stopped by Bastrop this winter and will return in the spring to see him throw. He currently holds 11 offers. 

https://youtube.com/live/bRWIkMNvZrE

- Manny Muhammad left practice early with what appeared to be a tweaked hamstring.

- Neto Umeozulu worked at first team LG with Hayden Conner at second team C. Cole Hutson also worked in some with first team at LG.

- Second team OL (left to right): Trevor Goosby, Malik Agbo, Hayden Conner, Connor Stroh, Jaydon Chatman

More to come...

There will be a 30-minute viewing window for media. CJ and Gerry will both be there for OTF. We'll also be hosting a livestream immediately following practice so please stop by around 9:45 or so for more.

*

Heading into the second week of practice, there are a couple of things to watch.

1. Movement at wide receiver, edge, tight end and safety. Those are the primary places where portal entries have currently been running behind others.

Only Isaiah Bond has cracked the starting lineup as of Saturday afternoon.

That leaves us to see exactly what happens this week with Trey Moore, Andrew Mukuba, Matthew Golden, and Amari Nibalck.

A year ago at the same time, during the second week of practice, is when newcomers started moving around on the depth chart.

2. Another depth chart move that could be forthcoming is Alex January. We'll see if he moves up and surpasses Sydir Mitchell. Same can be said for Brandon Baker at right tackle over Andre Cojoe. Both are possible, if not likely, moves.

3. The health of the team is key. Texas was lucky much of last off-season and into the early season of 2023 to remain relatively healthy. That will again be something to be on watch for. Freddie Dubose and Colton Vasek have been dealing with some lingering issues. Mitchell has also been under the weather to a degree. If Texas wants to have a big 2024, then health is going to be something to monitor every step of the way.

The 6-foot-3 gunslinger was mighty impressive today in the throwing circuit the Elite 11 puts quarterback prospects through. In fact, Russell earned an invitation to the Elite 11 Finals in California.

Russell will attend the Texas spring game April 20 which raised some eyebrows considering the current verbal commitment from KJ Lacey to Texas. While the face time with the Texas staff will wait until April, Russell did update his recrutiment a bit with a focus on where Texas sits in his recruitment.

Steve Sarkisian went by Duncanville for a game in the fall to see Colin Simmons, Alex January and Dakorien Moore though that provided the first opportunity for the Texas head coach to see Russell as well. While the two sides have chatted at times in the past, the first real communication did not come until recently.

Russell added Sarkisian and the Texas staff called him the other day – a development on the front of Texas in this recruitment.

"When the Texas staff called me the other day, they were saying all of the boxes are checked for me," Russell said. "Only thing left was to come see them in person so they could see what kind of guy I am."

When Russell does get to campus for the spring game April 20, it will be very interesting to see if Texas does in fact extend an offer. If it does, it could indicate a number of things in the larger 2025 QB picture. But more specifically with Russell, it would create quite the opportunity for his recruitment.

"I am looking forward to building a relationship with all of the staff," Russell said. "I am looking forward to getting an offer from them, it would change a lot."

Russell said he and KJ Lacey have spoken previously and the two have thrown together in camps in the past. The topic of a two quarterback class has not been brought up too often this cycle, though if that is the direction the staff wants to go in, Russell said he would be open to competing in a two QB class.

If and when Texas offers, expect the Longhorns to skyrocket up the list of programs for Russell.

"Texas, like I said, was one of my dream schools," Russell said. "I feel like them (offering) is going to set (a standard). But they have KJ, so I don't know how much that will play a part. I say that because, I would go to Texas realistically. It is my dream school."

Russell wants to get out to Oregon and Alabama this summer. He has an official visit to Ole Miss set for next weekend as well.

All eyes in this recruitment turn to April 20 and whether or not the Longhorns end up extending an offer to the Duncanville QB.

It's time for the latest edition of the Best Class Scenario for the 2025 class. 

The Texas Longhorns are in search of a fourth straight top 5 ranked recruiting class. Based on the 30 plus prospects that have scheduled official visits, and the remainder expected to announces visit date, Texas has at least a 50-50 shot at reaching the 

There are 29 names currently on the list with a combination of 24-25 creating a near lock scenario for a fourth straight top 5 class. There is one newcomer to the list on the defensive side of the ball. This list will shift and move once the March and April unofficial visitor returns are known.

*Note: This list is my opinion on the BCS for 2025.

Quarterback (1)

K.J. Lacey, Saraland (Ala.) High #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Ole Miss and Auburn

Running back (1-2)

Jordon Davison, RB, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Ohio State, Alabama and Oregon

Rickey Stewart, RB, Tyler (Texas) Chapel Hill
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Baylor, SMU and Oklahoma State

Wide receiver (3-4)

Dakorien Moore, Duncanville (Texas) High - *LSU commit
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 5-star
Note: Texas will recruit the LSU pledge #throughthewhistle. 

Kelshaun Johnson, WR, Hitchcock (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: USC, Texas Tech and Texas A&M

Kaliq Lockett, WR, Sachse (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: LSU, USC, Ohio State and Texas A&M

Jaime Ffrench, WR, Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Ohio State, Florida State, Miami and Alabama

Tight end (2)

Nick Townsend, TE, Spring (Texas) Dekaney
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Texas A&M, USC, Arizona State and Notre Dame

Emaree Winston, TE, Calhoun (Ga.) High #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star

Offensive line (5)

Michael Fasusi, OT, Lewisville (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 5-star
The competition: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Oregon and Missouri

Jonte Newman, OT, Cypress (Texas) Bridgeland
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Mississippi State

Tyler Thomas, IOL, Dickinson (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 3-star
The competition: Texas A&M and LSU

John Mills, IOL, San Francisco (Calif.) St. Ignatius
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Washington, USC, Michigan and Florida

Jackson Christian, IOL, Port Niches (Texas) PN-G
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Texas A&M

Defensive line (4)

Brandon Brown, DL, Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: USC, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Miami and Tennessee

Zion Williams, DL, Lufkin (Texas) high
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: LSU, Texas A&M and TCU

Josiah Sharma, DL, Folsom (Calif.) Folsom
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Alabama, Oregon, Washington, Georgia and Utah

Chace Sims, DL, Richmond (Texas) Randle
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Texas A&M, LSU, TCU and SMU

EDGE (2-3)

Lance Jackson, Texarkana (Texas) Pleasant Grove #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: MLB Draft 2025

Hayden Lowe, Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian - *New addition March 24
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Miami (Fla), Ohio State, USC, Oregon, Notre Dame

Linebacker (3-4)

Riley Pettijohn, McKinney (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: USC, Ohio State, Florida State, Auburn and Texas A&M

Elijah Barnes, Dallas (Texas) Skyline
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Florida State, Nebraska, Ohio State, SMU and Texas A&M

Anthony Williams, Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek #AllGasNoBrakes
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 3-star

Matai Tagoa'i, San Clemente (Calif.) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Washington, Utah, USC and Oregon

Defensive back (3-4)

Dorian Brew, CB, Conroe (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: LSU, Ohio State, USC, Michigan and Texas A&M

Kade Phillips, S, Missouri City (Texas) Hightower
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: LSU and Texas A&M

Jonah Williams, S, Galveston (Texas) Ball High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Oklahoma (leader), LSU, Ohio State and Texas A&M

Cobey Sellers, CB, Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Oklahoma (leader) and Texas A&M

Adonyss Currie, CB, Lancaster (Calif.) Quartz Hill
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Washington, Utah, Miami, Texas A&M and Oregon.

Some notes from practice this morning.

***

Starting with a pair of early enrollee freshmen – Daniel Cruz and Alex January. The two provided some really intense battles with one another in the 1-on-1 portion of practice in the trenches. Both are advanced for their age and experience, which leads to some really exciting back and forths. Both have had their moments with January avenging a rep with a smooth swim move.

January's athleticism is quite noticeable after losing 10+ pounds since the conclusion of HS ball.

Sticking with a newcomer in the trenches, Brandon Baker has been tremendous in pass protection. That was a strength of his during his high school evaluation and that has transferred almost instantly to the field in college.

Transfer safety Andrew Mukuba is going to have some work in the box this year. With Derek Williams expected to be the field safety this fall, there is going to be some responsibility for Mukuba near the line of scrimmage, which he has plenty of experience doing. Don't mistake this for the nickel spot, though that is not out of the realm of possibility eventually.

Safety Jelani McDonald has made tremendous noise on special teams. McDonald as a gunner on punt dusted a double team and drew praise from teammates and coaches in the process.

Michael Taaffe made a really impressive play on an out route thrown by Quinn Ewers today.

Texas was without EDGE Colton Vasek for a bit during practice. Vasek was suited out though spent time with the training staff when the team moved into the live team periods. I won't speculate on what the reason was, but he was absent for a period or two.

To the quarterbacks:

The deep ball has been a hit this spring thus far. Not too often is ball hitting the turf on throws 30+ yards down the field – probably could not say the same thing a year ago.

Trey Owens is doing well through three practices. He is at his best when he has a clear idea presnap with where he wants to go with the rock. That is to be expected as he gets acclimated to the system and adjusted to the speed of the college game. What he has done well with thus far is finding his checkdown. Though as we saw with Quinn early on, the development for Owens will come from a second to third read before hitting a RB out of the backfield.