Looks like Steve Sarkisian’s only diet is Gatorade now. After all, the Texas Longhorns have been having back-to-back busy weekends. Sarkisian had to be in his best version to woo the high school stars who had been visiting 40 Acres. Last weekend (June 13), they welcomed several highly-touted prospects. Some of the notable ones were five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin and four-star edge rusher Bryce Perry-Wright.
Even after that, Sarkisian is in no mood to hit the ‘SNOOZE’ button yet when it comes to the recruiting trail. After all, he has reeled in the best praise recently. Former Boston College star Matt Ryan sounded too confident about the Longhorns’ head coach. He confessed, “I believe he’s the guy to bring a national championship to UT.” So, Sarkisian has got the red carpet out for the next weekend (June 20-22). And about whom are the Longhorns most excited? More than the players, Sarkisian is excited about the probable Arch Manning heir and their 5-star quarterback commit, Dia Bell.
Now, you must be wondering, Bell has already anchored his ship in Austin and should have no business with the recruiting weekend. Out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he has put on display his strong arm on Tuesday for those in attendance at Mira Costa High School. Now, wait. Bell thought of lending his helping hand to Sarkisian to push the Longhorns their way back to No. 1 for a second-straight cycle. As per On3’s 2025 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings, Texas stands at No.1 with 25 recruits. When it comes to their 2026 class, they are yet to catch up with the pace of the front-runners like USC Trojans, who have already locked in 29 recruits. Cut to Texas, they now hold the No.17 rank with 13 recruits as of now. So, who are the hot targets that Bell is looking forward to wooing?
“There’s a couple for sure, guys like Jalen Lott, guys like Kaydon Finley, guys like Malakai Lee, Felix Ojo, we’ve got Vodney Cleveland.” Sarkisian’s quarterback then continued, “From what I can see I feel like Felix is feeling us, I feel like Vodney is there as well. I’m going to work Kaydon as much as I can this weekend. I feel me and him can do big things at Texas. I feel like he already has that connection with his dad going there. I’ve been trying to work Jalen Lott as well.” Well, Sarkisian can deploy Bell to serve as a catalyst in the recruiting race. But somebody is already doing it.
That’s none other than Sherrone Moore. The Michigan Wolverines head coach is also banking on his quarterback, Bryce Underwood. And apparently, Sarkisian would not have business with the Underwood threat. But turns out that Underwood is already exchanging cryptic messages with Ojo on social media. Hayes Fawcett reported on June 12, “Michigan QB & 2025 No. 1 Recruit Bryce Underwood is recruiting Five-Star OT Felix Ojo to Michigan .” While Michigan has Underwood to turn the luck in their favor when it comes to the recruiting trail, Sarkisian is already soaring above all this. He has brought out the big guns.
Steve Sarkisian’s NIL flex with horsepower
Talking about the wooing game? Well, Sarkisian is a PRO at it. Yes, the development prospects in Texas must be irresistible for the high school recruits. But for the last weekend, something else stole the show. Sarkisian counted on the $600,000 stars to make the call. And who are they? On June 14, Orangebloods.com gave a glimpse of the recruiting weekend in Austin. The caption read, “The Lambos are Out in Austin .”
A video recorded by Texas linebacker Elijah Barnes started to do the rounds on social media. That’s when not one, not two, but EIGHT different Lamborghinis were spotted lined up on the sidelines of the Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium. The beasts belonged to the Lamborghini Revuelto, the Lamborghini Huracán, and a couple of others from the Lambo family. Yes, by now, Sarkisian has made it a tradition to be the biggest attraction for the recruiting weekend.
Since the beginning of the NIL era in 2021, Lamborghini Austin has been a key partner of Texas football and has signed a handful of players over the years. Earlier, they had locked in the All-American safety Michael Taaffe. Now, whether the beasts will be present in the upcoming weekend, we are yet to know. But they better be. After all, here come some predictions in favor Sof teve Sarkisian’s Texas. Rivals.com recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman predicts five-star OT Felix Ojo (Mansfield, TX) will commit to Texas. “There is a sense that Texas closed strong on this official visit and left a big enough impression on the elite OT ahead of his July commitment. There is a strong sense that Ojo wont leave the state to play college football.” Time to find out if Sarkisian can finally scale the recruiting mountain with the 2026 class.
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