The Texas Longhorns in the Steve Sarkisian era will have a strong recruiting footprint in the state of California. And the 2025 cycle may end up defining that more than any other since Sarkisian has been in Austin. 

On Monday, 4-star EDGE Hayden Lowe (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian) told OnTexasFootball that he has a pair of visits to Texas set up, including an official visit in June. 

Lowe, 6-4 and 240, told OTF that he will be in Austin April 6 for the big visit weekend around Texas spring practice. And that will be the first of two visits. 

The Oaks Christian standout defender also informed OnTexasFootball that he has an official visit locked the weekend of June 14-16. 

Texas has been in contact with Lowe for months, and offered February 16 of 2023. 

Lowe enters the spring with 26 offers. That list includes SEC programs Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma. The offer list also includes USC, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Michigan, Notre Dame and Miami (Fla.). 

The Los Angeles area prospect enters his senior season with 100 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He posted 29 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two interceptions in eight games in 2023. 

McCutcheon has sporadically been in contact with the Texas staff, though communication has begun to increase over the last month, and as a result, he will officially visit the Longhorns during June 14-16 weekend.

The top-100 prospect per the 247Sports composite has four officials locked in at the moment: Ohio State May 31, USC June 7, Texas June 14 and Florida State on June 21.

Winter workouts were a busy time for McCutcheon who received visits from Mike Norvell and Ryan Day in consecutive days. As a result, this to me has the makings of a Ohio State-Florida State battle at the moment. However, there has been plenty of interest in the Longhorns in the past and an official visit to Texas might be able to swing things a bit.

Of course it certainly does not hurt Texas' chances having former Lovejoy teammate Parker Livingstone in the fold and on roster at the moment as well.

QB - 1

RB - 1

WR - 7

TE - 3

OL - 7

DL - 5

LB - 3

DB - 4

The Horns actually have more than 31 official visitors lined up, but 31 is the current public number.

For example, running back Jordon Davison of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei and receiver DK Moore of Duncanville are both expected to visit but have yet to announce their specific dates, so they are not included in the total number as yet.

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How many scholarships will Texas use this year? It depends on roster attrition, some to the NFL and some to the transfer portal.

A good rule of thumb is to start with the number 20 and work your way up or down from that number based on attrition.

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The plan for DT recruiting seems pretty clear.

Cast a much wider net.

Texas is not only canvassing the state of Texas for the top players, including the most recent offer to Chace Sims of Richmond Randle, but the Horns have put their hook in the water across the entire country.

The Horns currently have DL offers out to players from: Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Tennessee, California, Illinois, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as Texas.

In other words, Steve Sarkisian is making sure that new DL coach Kenny Baker takes a vastly different approach than Bo Davis.

The Texas Longhorns will compete in more national recruiting and regional rivalry battles in the 2025 cycle than ever before. Some of that is Texas continuing to expand the national recruiting footprint, and some of it is the top tier national talent in state at several positions. 

OnTexasFootball looks at a dozen recruiting battles in the 2025 cycle that will cover both scenarios.

Michael Fasusi, OT, Lewisville (Texas) High 

The OnTexasFootball 5-star left tackle will be one of the key recruiting battles for Texas in the cycle. Is Fasusi a "must win"? Nope, not with John Turntine III right behind him in the 2026 cycle at the same position. Make no mistake though, Texas wants Fasusi badly. And so does Oklahoma and Texas A&M. And that alone makes for a tremendous recruitment to follow. Texas and Oklahoma is where the decision will likely come from ultimately. They have been the top two for months. The Aggies have ample pressure in the 2025 cycle to win key in-state battles on the offensive line as it's the position in need of the most help in the program. 

Brandon Brown, DL, Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie

The OnTexasFootball 4-star and Texas pledge will make the visit rounds nationally with California Power 7v7 program. That includes a Texas visit March 22 prior to a June official visit (14-16). The Longhorns will have to play keep away against powerful recruiting programs in USC, Tennessee, Florida (multiple family members played at UF), Miami and others. These are the battles one signs up for on the defensive line in SEC land. 

Dakorien Moore, WR, Duncanville (Texas) High

The OnTexasFootball 5-star and LSU pledge will be back in Austin April 20 for the Texas Spring Game. The day that the news hit that Keelon Russell was planning to attend the Spring Game with Jeff Banks making the invitation, it was expected that Moore would also be in Austin. There will be visits and flirting with Ohio State, USC and a couple of others, but make no mistake this is a Texas vs. LSU recruiting throw down. 

Dorian Brew, CB, Conroe (Texas) High

Dorian Brew has all the makings of a true national recruiting battle. His father ran track at LSU, and was an Olympian. His mother is in the Ohio State Hall of Fame (track). He has Texas all in on wanting to keep him home. USC is in it. Texas A&M is working to be truly in the hunt. He was expected to commit to Ohio State January 24 before backing off that date and slowing the process down. All the makings of a big time national recruitment. And Texas fully understands it. 

Jordon Davison, RB, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei

Texas has been in a good position for the SoCal running back for about a year. With that said, this is a national battle with Alabama, Ohio State and Oregon taking mighty swings. Steve Sarkisian and Tashard Choice will have Texas in position to ultimately win, but the spring and June visits will very much be a national recruiting battle. 

Jaime Ffrench, WR, Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin

Texas has won some key and big recruiting battles in Central Florida and at IMG Academy in the last two classes. The 2025 cycle and Jaime Ffrench is something different, however. This is an area, Jacksonville, where Texas hasn't had success to date in the Sunshine State. And Ffrench is a Sunshine State receiver with Ohio State trying to beat out Florida State and Miami, with Texas trying to pull the upset. This is a gird up your loins type recruitment for fan bases locked into Ffrench. 

Zion Williams, DL, Lufkin (Texas) High

A Lufkin High/East Texas recruiting battle for a defensive lineman with SEC size. That means Texas and Texas A&M will swing away at each other. And then there is LSU, having former Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis adding more intrigue. This is a stick the chest out recruitment, without question. And what is the role of Jamarkus McFarland at TCU. He's distantly related to Williams, and was one of the most memorable Texas vs. Oklahoma recruitments of the Mack Brown/Bob Stoops era. 

Riley Pettijohn and Elijah Barnes, LB's from DFW

Riley Pettijohn putting a 10.98 FAT 100 meters on the board at 210'ish pounds amped up his recruitment even more. All the national players will battle it out. Texas vs. USC vs. Ohio State vs. FSU vs. Texas A&M for Pettijohn. Barnes will be Texas vs. Alabama vs. Ohio State vs. LSU vs. Texas A&M vs. FSU. Texas enters the spring in a pretty good position for both. If Texas won both, that would be a serious DFW recruiting flex by Sarkisian and staff. 

Jonte Newman, Jackson Christian and Tyler Thomas

Texas is locked in a trio of offensive line battles that are very key in the region. As mentioned above, Texas A&M has little margin for error in the 2025 cycle on the offensive line. The Aggies need to walk away with two of the three mentioned above. Texas would like to do the same, as of today. Oklahoma has serious interest in in Jonte Newman, and LSU is going to make a run at Tyler Thomas. 

Texas Longhorns ended the regular season in style Saturday with a convincing beat down of arch-rival Oklahoma 94-80 behind a career-high 30 points by junior guard Tyrese Hunter. 

Texas (20-11, 9-9) also earned the No. 7 seed in this weeks Big 12 Tournament with the win Saturday coupled with TCU's upset home loss to UCF. That means Texas will take on No. 10 seed Kansas State (18-13, 8-10), who has a hint of NCAA Tournament life with a Big 12 Tournament run after a home win over Iowa State Saturday. 

Should Texas beat Kansas State Wednesday at 6 p.m. central, the Longhorns will take on No. 2 seed Iowa State Thursday. 

The Longhorns head into the Big 12 Tournament playing their best ball of the season, arguably. Texas is for sure playing the best offensive ball of the season having scored 80 or more points in four straight games - 81 in win at Texas Tech, 81 in win over Oklahoma State, 85 in loss at Baylor and 94 in win over Oklahoma. 

OnTexasFootball takes a look at the rankings and scenarios headed into the Big 12 Tournament. 

Texas NCAA Tournament seeding scenarios

The Longhorns are going to be a No. 7 or No. 8 seed barring a run to the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game. The majority of bracketology projections have Texas as a No. 8 seed, currently. 

Joe Lunardi has Texas a No. 8 seed. One projection (Jerry Palm), has Texas a No. 9 seed. 

NCAA Men’s Basketball NET Rankings (March 1)
Texas is No. 25 in NCAA NET after the weekend college games The Horns moved up 15 spots in the last two weeks from No. 40 prior to the win in Lubbock.

The Longhorns are 5-9 in Quad 1 games, 3-1 vs. Quad 2, 5-1 vs. Quad 3 and 7-0 vs. Quad 4. 

T-Rank 
Texas is No. 20 in Bart Torvik’s rankings currently, up from No. 23 prior to the win over Oklahoma. 

2024 Ken Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings
Texas checks in at No. 23 after being No. 25 prior to the Saturday win, and action in college basketball. 

Spring (Texas) High defensive tackle Floyd Guidry has locked in one visit to Texas with a second soon to follow.

Guidry, 6-1 and 285 pounds, told OnTexasFootball Sunday he will make an unofficial visit April 6 after a conversation with Kenny Baker last week. The addition of Guidry is yet another OnTexasFootball 4-star prospect scheduled to be in Austin for the big visit weekend.

Guidry is also in the finalizing stages for an official visit to Texas, which is expected to be June 14-16.

The Houston area quick and powerful DT has a number of visits set up this spring and summer.

Spring unofficial visits 
March 23 - TCU 

April 6 - Texas

April 20 - Texas A&M 

Official visits

May 3-5 - TCU 

June TBD - Houston

June TBD - Texas

June TBD - Texas A&M 

The fifth school Guidry continues to lightly consider is Pittsburgh. 

Kenny Baker is tasked with signing three or four defensive lineman in his first class at Texas. Good news is the Longhorns are in on some of the nations best. 

Texas has three defensive lineman scheduled for official visits so far. That list will triple in the coming weeks as new offers make their way to Austin in April, and June official visits are scheduled. 

OnTexasFootball begins the updated look at defensive line recruiting with the commitment and official visitors. 

The commitment
Brandon Brown, DL, Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie #AllGasNoBrakes
OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star
Official visit schedule: Tennessee June 7-9, Texas June 14-16, USC June 21-23

Official visits locked in
Ethan Utley, DL, Nashville (TN) Ensworth
OnTexasFootball ranking: 4–star
Official visit schedule: Tennessee June 14-16, Texas likely June 21-23
Note: Scheduled to commit March 28, with Tennessee likely. Utley told OTF he will not make any unofficial visits prior to his announcement.

Zion Williams, DL, Lufkin (Texas) high
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
Official visit schedule: TCU May 3-5, LSU likely June 7-9, Texas A&M likely June 14-16 and Texas June 21-23
Note: LSU is 1A and Texas 1B right now. Texas A&M 3rd and TCU 4th. 

California target
Josiah Sharma, DL, Folsom (Calif.) Folsom
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Alabama, Oregon, Washington and Utah. The Utes are locked in for a June 14-16 official visit. The Huskies will receive a May OV. 

Large human in Humboldt 
Stephon Shivers, DL,  Humboldt (Tn.) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
The competition: Georgia and Tennessee mentioned most. LSU and Texas offers have the attention of the 6-3, 355 pounder. 

Sunshine State offers
Myron Charles, DL, Port Charlotte (Fla.) High
OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star
Official visit schedule: None reported as of mid-week.
Note: Spoke with Steve Sarkisian and Kenny Baker last week. Talking with Texas about an April and/or June official visit.

Derry Norris Jr., DL, Port Orange (Fla.) Spruce Creek
OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star
Official visit schedule: Georgia Tech May 31-June 2, N.C. State June 7-9, possibly Minnesota June 14-16 and possibly Purdue June 21-23.
Note: Spoke with Tashard Choice and Kenny Baker last week when offered. April visit likely, and June official visit will happen with a Texas push.

Jarquez Carter, DL, Newberry (Fla.) High
OnTexasFootball ranking: 4-star
Official visit schedule: None reported as of early in the week.
Note: Made visits to Florida and Miami last week. A Texas visit in April in play. 

Southeast Region offers
Kevin Wynn, DL, Greensboro (Ga.) Greene County
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
Official visit schedule: None reported.
Note: Florida State, Alabama and Georgia the top 3 with the Seminoles slightly trending headed into the spring. Texas, LSU and Florida in line for spring unofficial visits. 

Malik Autry, DL, Opelika (Ala.) High - *Auburn commit
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
Official visit schedule: USC June 7-9, Florida June 14-16, and likely Auburn June 21-23. 

Sims will visit April 6
Chace Sims, DL, Richmond (Texas) Randle
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
Official visit schedule: SMU May 17-19, TCU June 7-9, Texas A&M or Texas Tech June 21-23
Spring visit schedule: LSU March 9, Texas April 6 and Texas A&M April 20 for the Aggies spring game 

In state prospects
Dilan Battle, DL, Mansfield (Texas) Timberview
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
Official visit schedule: TCU May 3-5.
Note: Visited LSU this weekend. Spoke with Kenny Baker last week, but there was not a visit locked in as of late in the week. 

DJ Sanders, DL, Bellville (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
Official visit schedule: None reported.
Note: Texas A&M receiving most mention headed into spring with Texas in the mix. 

Xavier Ukponu, DL, Denton (Texas) Guyer
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 3-star
Official visit schedule: Oklahoma State April 12-14, Florida May 31-June 2, Texas A&M June 21-23

Floyd Guidry, DL, Spring (Texas) High
Recruiting Ranking: OnTexasFootball 4-star
Official visit schedule: None reported.
Note: Texas can win this one if they make a push. TCU, Houston and Texas A&M very much in the mix.

The Texas Longhorns will take the court vs. arch-rival Oklahoma at 1 p.m. central today firmly in the NCAA Tournament. With the uncertainty around Dylan Disu's health for the remainder of the season, it would certainly be big to pull out a win today to take any potential decision out of the NCAA Committee's hands. 

If Texas loses today, and is bounced in the first game of the Big 12 Tournament and Disu's health is in doubt, that is not where Texas wants to be on Selection Sunday. 

For Oklahoma (20-10, 8-9), they are very close to being in "must win" territory. A win today 100% keeps the Sooners out of the play-in game, or being left out scenario. 

OnTexasFootball takes a look at the rankings and scenarios headed into today's game. 

Texas NCAA Tournament seeding scenarios

Win over Oklahoma today: Texas is likely locked into a 8/9 seed in the Big Dance barring a run in the Big 12 Tournament. 

With a loss to Oklahoma today: Texas slides very close to the play-in game scenario in Dayton, and could be in trouble if they lose the first game of the Big 12 Tournament following a loss today - even though NCAA NET suggests otherwise. 

Texas’ Remaining Regular Season Schedule
3/9 Oklahoma 

NCAA Men’s Basketball NET Rankings (March 1)
Texas is No. 26 in NCAA NET headed into the game tonight. The Horns moved up 13 spots last week from No. 40 with wins at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in Austin.

The Longhorns are 5-8 in Quad 1 games, 1-2 vs. Quad 2, 5-1 vs. Quad 3 and 8-0 vs. Quad 4. 

Quad 2 game remaining:
No. 40 Oklahoma 

T-Rank 
Texas is No. 22 in Bart Torvik’s rankings headed into Monday games.

2024 Ken Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings
Texas checks in at No. 25 headed into this week. 

Dallas (Texas) Skyline 4-star linebacker Elijah "Bo" Barnes informed OnTexasFootball that he has locked in his official visit date to Texas. 

Barnes, 6-2.5 and 225 pounds, will make an official visit June 21-23, adding to a huge visit weekend for the Longhorns. 

Barnes will also make an unofficial visit Texas to April 6. That is the Longhorns' big visit weekend prior to the spring game. 

https://texassports.com/sports/football/roster