Texas Football Recruiting 2018: 5 most important commits for Longhorns

With National Signing Day 2018 just weeks away, we look at the five most important commits in the Texas recruiting class.

The Texas Longhorns are finally moving in the right direction. Head coach Tom Herman guided the Horns to a bowl game in his first season at the helm, and won, giving Texas offseason momentum for the first time since 2012.

Herman led the Longhorns to a 33-16 victory over Missouri in the Texas Bowl, which was important for several reasons. First of all, Texas largely shut down one of the most explosive offenses in the nation despite missing three talented starters on defense, scoring nine points on defense and forcing four turnovers. The offense also did its part, scoring three touchdowns despite being outgained by 110 total yards. The win helped Texas finish a respectable 7-6 overall, which included three wins in its final four games, four losses by fewer than six points – three of them to ranked opponents.

The positive momentum Herman brought to the field in 2017 carried over into recruiting, as Texas has built a 2018 class that currently ranks No. 3 in the nation in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings. If everything goes according to plan on the traditional Signing Day, the Longhorns would have their first Top 5 recruiting class since, again, 2012.

So, what should you know about the best Texas recruiting class in over half a decade? Frankly, though we intended to outline the five most important commits for the Longhorns, the class is so packed with talent we had to cram nine players into those nine spots.

5. Junior Angilau/Rafiti Ghirmai, Tackle

Every college football program hopes to sign multiple offensive linemen in each recruiting class regardless of how many players are expected to return from the previous year’s starting lineup or two-deep depth chart. Texas, who must replace senior starter Tristian Nickelson, backup Garrett Graf and early NFL Draft entrant Connor Williams, is no different.

The Horns signed four offensive linemen in the early signing period, three of which were four-star prospects ranked in the Top 350 in the 247Sports Composite, and the other a junior college transfer ranked No. 52 overall and ninth among JUCO tackles.

The two highest-rated linemen in the 2018 Texas recruiting class are Salt Lake City native Junior Angilau, a 6-foot-6, 297-pound tackle ranked No. 133 overall and No. 10 at his position, and 6-foot-4, 290-pound tackle Rafiti Ghirmai, who comes in No. 291 in the 247Sports Composite, and No. 19 among high school offensive tackles. Angilau is unique because Herman and his staff traveled to Utah to get him, instead of simply relying on the wealth of in-state talent available. That signals the staff is particularly high on him.

The offensive line is the most difficult position to evaluate at the high school level, and college coaches take more risks on signees based on physical attributes and projection over production. That makes it difficult to forecast who will be a longtime starter, and who will disappoint. However, because the Longhorns were able to land four players, odds are one of the top two will be a standout performer for years to come.