The Texas Longhorns own a top five recruiting class as of July 10. Landing five-star talents John Meredith (cornerback), Easton Royal (wide receiver), and Ismael Camara (interior offensive line) sparked the ranking. But now it appears the Longhorns are eyeing flipping a high-profile linebacker currently committed to a Big Ten powerhouse.
Texas owns 22 verbal commits that help fuel its top five ranking per On3/Rivals, plus No. 4 rating on 247Sports. Yet coach Steve Sarkisian and his coaching staff don’t have a linebacker commit for this current class.
Now one insider dropped new intel regarding a potential flip attempt from the Longhorns. Which would impact another highly ranked College Football Recruiting class.
Insider Reveals Who Texas is Eyeing
Longtime national recruiting insider for Rivals Adam Gorney revealed new summertime recruiting nuggets out west.
Gorney revealed that “Texas is not going down without a huge fight” for this star west coast linebacker: Three-star and USC verbal pledge Josiah Poyer of St. John Bosco in Bellflower, California.
“According to a source, inside linebackers coach Johnny Nansen – who has considerable West ties – is making a serious run at Poyer with his NIL checkbook coming in hot,” Gorney shared.
Nansen indeed knows the pacific coastline and the prep talent in California well. Nansen spent 2014 and 2015 on Sarkisian’s staff with USC. They were also together at Washington before “Sark” left Seattle for USC. Nansen also has made his west coast rounds during the NCAA Spring Evaluation Period, including making stops at college showcases featuring St. John Bosco or other prep powers in that region.
Could Texas Pull off Massive Flip Here?
Poyer is one of USC’s and coach Lincoln Riley’s prized local commits for what’s been a smaller class compared to 2026.
The latter Trojans class leaped to No. 1 overall in the recruiting rankings by signing 33 commits. Including flipping a pair of Oregon recruits in four-star quarterback Jonas Williams plus four-star defensive tackle Tomuhini Topui. But the 2027 class falls under 20 verbal pledges.
So USC isn’t anticipated to repeat at the top of the recruiting rankings come December. Yet now they must hold off other powers from plucking from the Trojans’ recruiting class.
Gorney, though, believes Texas won’t have an easy time winning over Poyer.
“There is some serious doubt that the Longhorns could flip Poyer because of his USC connections but Texas is definitely trying with him,” Gorney said.
Recruiting changes constantly between the summer and early signing period in December. Hence why the Poyer-to-Texas possibility is worth monitoring.
Texas History at Landing West Coast Talent
Nansen isn’t the only one with deep ties to the Golden State. Same with Sarkisian from his time with the Pac-12. But Texas has delivered a string of success in pilfering California talent.
The 2026 class witnessed this major flip: Oregon five-star edge rusher Richard Wesley choosing Texas over the summer of 2025. Now his past Sierra Canyon teammate, defensive tackle Kasi Currie, is Austin bound after committing on June 11.
Interior offensive lineman and three-star from Orange Lutheran High Lucas Rhoa is another California talent on board with Texas. Of course, the biggest California gem the Longhorns landed was past five-star wide receiver Xavier Worthy out of Fresno, who’s now with the Kansas City Chiefs as a first round selection.
Texas clearly isn’t through raiding the Golden State with Poyer staying on its radar.
Texas is Attempting ‘Serious Run’ at Linebacker Committed to Big Ten Power