Texas’ 2026 recruiting class is loaded: a deep dive into all 25 Longhorn commits

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Steve Sarkisian’s 2026 recruiting haul for Texas has evolved beyond a group of promising prospects into a strategic roster framework. With 25 commitments secured — featuring elite five-star talents and strategic late additions — the class demonstrates depth at every position and reflects a distinct SEC mentality. While still a work in progress, this collection of recruits signals why Texas views its current success as built to last.

Texas Longhorns 2026 Commits

Dia Bell — QB-PP — Plantation, FL — American Heritage HS
Richard Wesley — DE — Chatsworth, CA — Sierra Canyon HS
Derrek Cooper — RB — Hollywood, FL — Chaminade-Madonna Prep
Tyler Atkinson — OLB — Loganville, GA — Grayson HS
John Turntine III — OT — Fort Worth, TX — North Crowley HS
Jamarion Carlton — DE — Temple, TX — Temple HS
Samari Matthews — CB — Cornelius, NC — Hough HS
Jermaine Bishop Jr. — ATH — Willis, TX — Willis HS
James Johnson — DT — Miami, FL — Miami Northwestern HS
Chris Stewart — WR — Pearland, TX — Shadow Creek HS
Corey Wells — DT — Petal, MS — Petal HS
Vodney Cleveland — DT — Birmingham, AL — A.H. Parker HS
Nicolas Robertson — OG — Klein, TX — Klein HS
Hayward Howard Jr. — CB — New Orleans, LA — Edna Karr HS
Kosi Okpala — OLB — Houston, TX — Mayde Creek HS
Jett Walker — RB — Georgetown, TX — Georgetown HS
Kohen Brown — WR — Waxahachie, TX — Waxahachie HS
Toray Davis — S — Boulder, CO — Fairview HS
Rocky Cummings — OLB — Carlsbad, CA — Carlsbad HS
Kaden Scherer — OT — Georgetown, TX — Georgetown HS
Mikey Bukauskas — K — Prosper, TX — Prosper HS
Yaheim Riley — S — Austin, TX — LBJ HS
Jake Collett — K — Ringgold, GA — Heritage HS
Charlie Jilek — TE-Y — Portage, MI — Portage Central HS
Trott O’Neal — LS — Plano, TX — Prestonwood Christian Academy

Dia Bell and the offensive centerpiece

The American Heritage quarterback is the son of former NBA guard Raja Bell and one of the most talked-about passers in the 2026 cycle. He threw for 1,929 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore while completing nearly 65 percent of his passes and guiding American Heritage to the state semifinals. He is also a legitimate basketball prospect, as evidenced by his pocket movement and body control.

Bell gives Sarkisian a long, twitchy quarterback to follow Arch Manning, and he will walk into Austin with more than 30 Power Four offers behind him, including Ohio State, Oregon, and Tennessee. When you look at the rest of the class, you can see the staff recruiting for that skill set.

Skill talent around the future QB1

Derrek Cooper might be the most important name after Bell. ESPN ranks the Chaminade-Madonna star as the No. 2 running back and a top-10 overall prospect nationally. He ran for 905 yards and 13 touchdowns last fall while adding production as a receiver and defender, then followed it up with a splash senior opener that reminded everyone why he is viewed as a potential Bijan-style weapon.

In state, Georgetown’s Jett Walker gives Texas another workhorse profile. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound back just earned District 8-5A Division I MVP after piling up 1,486 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns, and some outlets list him even higher at over 2,300 total yards. Pair Cooper’s explosiveness with Walker’s volume production and you can see the outline of a deep future backfield, especially when you factor in recent flip Jett Walker already knows how to carry an offense in Texas high school football.

On the perimeter, Texas has layered wideouts and multipurpose threats. Jermaine Bishop Jr. is the headliner, a five-star athlete from Willis who wants a Travis Hunter-style two-way role and already owns a 1,500-yard, 18-touchdown receiving season with impact numbers at corner. Chris Stewart out of Shadow Creek and Kohen Brown from Waxahachie bring different body types and skill sets at receiver, while Miami Northwestern defensive tackle commit-turned-Longhorn James Johnson hints that the staff is not done raiding South Florida for size and speed.

Building an SEC front seven

If the offensive skill group feels like vintage Sark, the front seven looks like a conscious attempt to win November in the SEC.

On the edge, five-star Richard Wesley and Temple pass rusher Jamarion Carlton headline a room that also includes Carlsbad’s late flip, Rocky Cummings. Cummings is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound linebacker who ran 4.65 in the 40, recorded 29 tackles and three sacks in seven games last season, and initially helped vault Cal’s class into the national top 10 before flipping to Texas after a visit to Austin.

Inside, Texas has quietly assembled one of the deeper defensive tackle hauls in the country. Johnson is rated as the No. 1 defensive tackle in the 2026 class and flipped from Georgia after a detailed pitch from new defensive tackles coach Kenny Baker. He joins fellow big bodies Vodney Cleveland from Birmingham Parker and Corey Wells from Petal, Mississippi, both ESPN 300-level interior linemen. Add in Tyler Atkinson, the top outside linebacker in Georgia who chosand in-state edge pieces like Jamarion Carlton, and the front looks like a group built to rotate waves of length and power.

Kosi Okpala, an attacking outside linebacker from Mayde Creek, fits that mold too, giving co-defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen another rangy hybrid who can play in space or blitz.

Rebuilding the secondary with length and versatility

The back end might be the most interesting positional group in the class.

Samari Matthews, a four-star corner from Hough High in North Carolina, is a top-100 national recruit with offers from Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State. He pairs with Louisiana standout Hayward Howard Jr., a 6-foot-2 corner from Edna Karr who told On Texas Football he was “built for pressure” and wants to be one of the freakiest athletes in the country. Together, they represent the kind of long, physical outside corners Texas needs against SEC passing attacks.

Behind them, recent flip Toray Davis might be one of the quiet steals of the cycle. The Boulder Fairview star left a crumbling UCLA situation for Texas after visiting for the A&M win. He is expected to play safety and comes with true two-way production: 769 receiving yards, 11 touchdown catches and four interceptions last season. Yaheim Riley from Austin LBJ gives the class another versatile defensive back who can grow into multiple roles.

The big guys and the specialists

No SEC class is complete without offensive line bulk, and Texas has stacked it with John Turntine III at tackle, Nicolas Robertson at guard and Kaden Scherer, a recent flip from Stanford who becomes part of the answer to Max Wright’s decommitment to SMU. That trio joins local prospects like Trott O’Neal at long snapper and Mikey Bukauskas and Jake Collett in the kicking game to round out the class.

Not every commit has a full stat line in the public record yet, and that is fine. Classes like this are judged by tiers: the five-star pillars, the top-100 glue pieces, the evaluation wins and the late flips.

Right now, Texas has examples of all four. And if the Longhorns keep winning on the field, this 2026 group will look less like a spike and more like the new baseline for what Sarkisian expects out of his recruiting board.

This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Dec 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos