Texas pulled off a stunning coup during the early signing period with the pledge from five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry, who chose the Longhorns instead of the home-state favorite Georgia Bulldogs. Terry’s decision bolsters Texas’ strong 2025 class, which ranks No. 1 in the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings.
247Sports believes Texas will end the cycle with the No. 1 overall class, which would be the first time in the company’s history (2010 —) the Longhorns ink the nation’s top class. It’s the 17th consecutive season an SEC team has finished with the No. 1 class. Texas netted two prospects in the top 10 nationally and seven top-50 signees.
The No. 9 player in the nation, Terry’s commitment comes after a dramatic recruitment that saw Terry flip from Georgia to USC before eventually reopening his commitment. Terry, who plays high school football less than three hours away from Athens, Georgia, took an official visit to the Bulldogs over the summer, and Georgia even received five 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions to land Terry.
But Texas kept working in the background and hosted Terry on an official visit the weekend of Oct. 19 — when Georgia walked into Austin and handed the Longhorns a 30-15 loss. Despite the result, Texas’ staff did enough to sway Terry and hold off momentum from a late official visit to Auburn.
Terry’s decision is especially relevant since it comes one day before No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Georgia are set to meet again in the SEC Championship Game. The Longhorns went 7-1 in conference play in their first season in the SEC.
Texas received signatures from 16 Top247 prospects, tying Oregon for the most during the 2025 cycles. Including Terry, the Longhorns inked four five stars during the early signing period. Terry also caps an eventful week for Texas. On Tuesday, Sarkisian’s staff flipped top-40 cornerback Kade Phillips from LSU, and on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, five-star athlete Michael Terry III made his pledge to the Longhorns.
Here’s what Horns247 recruiting analyst Hank South tells us about Texas’ class:
“Steve Sarkisian and his staff stayed the course throughout the entirety of the 2025 cycle. I think their persistent effort, coupled with a strong 2024 season, helped the Longhorns get past the summer slump and surge towards its No. 1-ranked finish.
Sark told us in the summer he wasn’t worried about recruiting in June and July and that Texas generally closes strong under his watch. Well, that again was the case.
The staff didn’t panic, they didn’t reach, they just continued conveying their message to their guys whether they committed elsewhere or not.
“And I’m not naive enough to say NIL isn’t a big factor, but it’s legal for all schools now, and Texas has put together both its relationship-based operation with its wealth of resources to put itself back on the forefront of college football.”
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