If "It Just Means More" in the SEC, 2026 recruits from the Lone Star State didn't get the memo.
As Rivals' Keegan Pope points out, the top five overall prospects from the state of Texas's 2026 recruiting class all spurned the Longhorns and the TAMU Aggies, choosing the Big 12's Houston Cougars and Texas Tech Red Raiders, and the Big Ten's Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans.
"In a bit of a shocker, neither Texas nor (TAMU) signed any of the top five players in the class. And the two combined to only land six of the top 25 prospects in the Lone Star State. Instead, led by NIL, revenue-sharing and increased efforts on the recruiting trail, a host of other in-state schools and out-of-state foes have landed some of the state’s best," Pope wrote.
UH signed the No. 1 overall recruit in the state, Legacy SSS Titans quarterback Keisean Henderson. Texas Tech landed Lake Ridge Eagles offensive tackle Felix Ojo. Oregon got Panther Creek Panthers receiver Jalen Lott. USC reeled in both DeSoto Eagles WR Boobie Feaster and Richardson Eagles defensive tackle Jaimeon Winfield.
It looks like the NIL game in the Longhorn State is wide open. That's dire news for the SEC's two Texas-based powerhouses.
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Texas and TAMU in trouble with modern NIL landscape
When NIL was first beginning, no one was better than TAMU. The Aggies' 2022 recruiting class is still the highest-ranked recruiting class by Rivals' metrics. Meanwhile, the Longhorns just had the No. 1 overall class in 2025.
And yet, they're not the in-state programs hoarding the best of the best. There's a school from California racking up multiple top-five recruits in the state of Texas.
What's happened?
Well, for one, Cody Campbell has spent the Red Raiders into contention, and the former Texas Tech offensive lineman clearly has an eye for talent. Spending is one thing, but spending on a defense that can set a culture of accountability and on skill position threats who look levels above Big 12 defenders is another.
For another, Houston's collective NIL efforts as an athletic department have been aided by Cougars basketball coach Kelvin Sampson's forward-thinking.
Another? USC has seen GM Chad Bowden, coach Lincoln Riley, and AD Jennifer Cohen come together to run the Trojans' NIL efforts like a well-oiled machine of a corporation.
These programs have people leading the charge and figuring out how to spend, but they're also creating an atmosphere that's resonating with kids.
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Texas and TAMU were getting the best of the best, but too many of those players didn't live up to their reputation in Austin or College Station. There's more pressure coming from the best high schools in Texas when you end up with the Longhorns or Aggies than the Red Raiders or Cougars.
These new kids know that brands aren't everything, though. Not when the most popular players in the sport played in the Big 12 for the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder, CO, during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Why play in front of unforgiving fanatics when you can lower the bar ever so slightly and get even more glory under less pressure?
That secret getting out rocked Texas and TAMU this cycle. We'll see if their standing in the Lone Star State recovers.