Star corner Obi Eboh commits to the Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns will take some recruitng momentum into the monumental match up with the Notre Dame Fighting irish on Saturday evening, as Southlake Carroll cornerback Obi Eboh pledged to the Horns via Twitter just more than an hour before the game:

Proud to announce that I will be furthering my education and my football career at the University of Texas!! #HookEm pic.twitter.com/N2maglirCx

— Obi Eboh (@Obi_Eboh3) September 5, 2015

Under evaluation by the Texas staff for months, Eboh finally picked up his long-awaited offer on Tuesday, sparking a flurry of 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions -- nine came in over recent days to give the Horns a significant lead. It didn't take long for The Opening Finals alum to make his decision after that.

The 6'1.5, 184-pounder is a consensus high three-star prospect and the No. 407 prospect overall, the No. 36 cornerback, and the No. 65 player in the state of Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Other schools to offer included Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Washington, and Wisconsin, among others. In total, Eboh held 30 offers.

Oklahoma was thought to be the major contender for Eboh, though the Sooners made him wait for an offer, as well -- Eboh visited for a Junior Day in Norman back in February, but didn't pick up the official offer until early June. A trip back to Norman followed in early Augut.

At The Opening Finals back in July, Eboh posted solid testing numbers, running a laser-time 4.58 40-yard dash, 4.13 shuttle and 32.6-inch vertical leap. Since he's also an extremely long athlete at nearly nearly 6'2, he looks like a prototypical Charlie Strong cornerback recruit.

Capable in zone coverage, Eboh has good ball skills because of his height, length, and solid leaping ability. However, though the Southlake Carroll product as the physical tools to play in press coverage, he's not asked to do so playing boundary corner and safety in high school. How quiclkly he can adjust to playing some man coverage and jam opponents at the line of scrimmage could determine how quickly he plays for the Longhorns. Or perhaps Strong and his defensive staff will merely ask him to keep doing the same things well that he did in high school -- drive on the ball in zone coverage, make plays on jump balls in the red zone, and show a willingness to tackle.

Eboh plays the ball well in the air when he can look at the opposing quarterbacks, but can he find and track the ball over his shoulder when playing in man coverage? Even if he can't, it's a major positive that he has the body control to avoid causing pass interference penalties when he can't get to the football. And there are a few flashes of him showing quick feet in flipping his hips and changing direction. His shuttle times certainly suggest excellent ability to re-direct without losing much speed.

Still, Eboh is a highly talented player with ideal size and excellent measurables -- it's a bit surprising that he's not a low four-star prospect, but he certainly provides that amount of upside. Other than the question marks about his abilty in man coverage, there's really nothing to dislike about his game.

The commitment reduces the pressure on Texas to land other cornerback targets like Waco's Eric Cuffee, who will watch the Horns play as a visitor of the Fighting Irish on Saturday evening.

Now the ninth pledge in the 2016 class, as well as the second pure defensive player, Eboh joins Louisiana defensive tackle Gerald Wilbon -- Gilmer athlete Demarco Boyd could end up playing fullback or linebacker. The group now ranks No. 47 in the country and No. 6 in the Big 12, according to the 247Sports Composite team rankings.