Texas prioritizing top defensive targets in 2024 class

It has been a busy summer on the recruiting trail for Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas. Sixteen of Texas’ 18 commits have come since the start of June, including Duncanville (Texas) Five-Star Plus+ edge rusher Colin Simmons last week.

After reeling in one of the biggest defensive prospects in the 2024 cycle, Texas will continue to focus on the defensive side of the ball according to Texas senior recruiting analyst Gerry Hamilton.

Hamilton spoke with On3’s Josh Newberg on The Inside Scoop, detailing the most important needs for the Longhorns.

“I think corner — defensive back — is a big one for them,” Hamilton said. “They’d love to add another defensive lineman, but there’s only one guy left on the board in the interior — Dominick McKinley. But then the EDGE position with Colin (Simmons), that’s a big one — Zina Umeozulu, who Colin is also friendly with, the younger brother of Neto Umeozulu. But that EDGE position is one as well.”

Zina Umeozulu is a four-star EDGE out of Allen, Texas. As Hamilton mentioned, his older brother, Neto, is a second-year offensive lineman for the Longhorns. Texas leads in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) with an 86.3% chance to land Umeozulu’s commitment. The Longhorns also lead for McKinley at 49.7% — a very slight edge over LSU. McKinley is a five-star defensive lineman ranked No. 23 in the nation.

Defensive focus going forward for Texas

On the offensive side of the ball, Hamilton expects Texas to have to wait a bit. Saint Louis (Mo.) University five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo is not expected to commit until December. Thus, the Longhorns staff seems to be putting pressure on the defense.

“Wide receiver may take a little longer to play out,” Hamilton added. “Five-star Ryan Wingo, this one may play out a little longer. He’s going to be back in Austin September 17 — the Wyoming game — the same weekend Danny Okoye, another EDGE prospect Texas is after, is making a visit to Texas. So those positions are corner, EDGE and then probably that last defensive tackle spot. So it’s really a defensive focus now knowing the offensive guys — the wide receiver position — will take a little longer to play out.”

Missouri currently leads in the RPM for Wingo, while Oklahoma leads for Okoye.

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