By Chris Marler
Everyone should’ve seen this coming.
The moment NIL was approved and pay for play was made legal, this was the most obvious end result. Dormant former blue bloods like Texas, Southern Cal, and Miami were going to all immediately become relevant again, especially on the recruiting trail.
There’s a reason why teams like Southern Cal are currently trending to have a top three class in the 2026 cycle despite a 7-5 season. Just like there’s a reason why Miami has once again signed arguably the top quarterback in the transfer portal despite only making the Pop Tart Bowl.
Then there’s Texas. Texas was the sleeping giant everyone should’ve been scared of.
Deep pockets. Elite facilities. A campus located in one of the best cities in America. Oh, and a pretty decent football tradition too.
Texas has finished ranked no lower than sixth in each of their last three recruiting classes, including No. 1 overall in 2025. They’ve also landed at least four five star recruits in each of those classes and currently have four more in their 2026 class.
A lot of credit should be given to Steve Sarkisian and his staff: a staff that has seen zero turnover at the coordinator position since he arrived in Austin. Texas is the only school in the SEC that can say that.
Of course, this is the SEC, so credit, kindness, and compliments to any program that’s not your own are few and far between. With Texas, it’s been nearly non-existent. Understandably so. In addition to the sour grapes and frustration of losing recruits to Texas, there’s the Lamborghinis, endless resources, and the last minute flips for players other programs felt more than confident about landing after years of recruiting.
For example, take the latest blue chip commit that Texas landed, RB Derrek Cooper. The No. 2 running back in the 2026 class from Fort Lauderdale chose Texas over UGA and Miami. Cooper is roughly the 75th player in the last two weeks that Sarkisian and company have landed over Kirby Smart. At least that’s what it feels like.
The frustration from outside of Austin is understandable. Cooper had one visit to Austin in total and didn’t take an official visit there. His official visits were to Auburn, Miami, UGA, Alabama, Florida State, and Ohio State. He visited those schools a combined 26 times, but in the end chose Texas. To Texas’ defense, Cooper mentioned he was going to a place that had “5 running backs drafted in the last three years.”
Cooper also said, “Terry Black’s, here I come.” Now there’s no way to know for sure if great barbecue and a proven path to the NFL are the actual reasons for his commitment.
What is very clear is that whatever time spent complaining about it is time that could’ve been spent on figuring out a way to not get out-bid or out-recruited by Texas again.
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