Texas Longhorns set to host four official visitors

Just when things were going so smoothly for the Texas Longhorns in recruiting, the official visitor list for this weekend took several crucial hits.

There are still four important targets set to meet with the coaches and tour the facilities in Austin, but the bad news on Friday diminished the star power at defensive back, a position that currently only features one commit, who happens to be the only commit wavering at this time.

Here's the list:

• Obi Eboh: 3-star CB | 6'2, 190 | Southlake Carroll | Texas commit
• Kyle Porter: 4-star RB | 5'11, 208 | Katy | Uncommitted
• Parrish Cobb: 4-star CB | 5'11, 178 | Waco La Vega | Oklahoma commit
• Jordan Elliott: 4-star DT | 6'4, 305 | Houston Westside | Michigan commit
• Chris Brown: 3-star DB | 5'11, 183 | Alief Elsik | Uncommitted
• Mike Williams: 4-star DT | 6'2, 305 | Fort Worth All Saints | Stanford commit

Technically, Southlake Carroll cornerback Obi Eboh is still committed to Texas -- nothing official has come out about a decommitment following his official visit to Stanford last weekend and his Twitter profile still say that he's a Longhorns pledge. However, the recent offer from the Cardinal was a huge one and the news breaking on Friday morning that he canceled his official visit this weekend is not good. It's not yet known if he plans on tripping to Austin at all before National Signing Day.

Porter, a 2016 US Army All-American, is down to Arkansas, TCU, and Texas after a visit to Fort Worth last weekend. However, George Ranch running back Darius Anderson committed to the Horned Frogs on Wednesday and the state's No. 1 running back, Beaumont Central's Devwah Whaley, is currently pledged to his other finalist, Arkansas.

So Texas is improving its position by default here, but will almost certainly have to withstand Porter's planned official visit to Fayetteville just before National Signing Day.

Until the news of Cobb's official visit broke on Thursday after he met with Strong, the Oklahoma pledge hadn't seriously been on the Texas radar for months. But he's a highly-regarded prospect in the state and the cousin of expected Longhorns pledge Eric Cuffee, so he's an intriguing late option.

However, the family had a change of plans late Friday morning:

Just talked to Parrish Cobb's father. Said, "last minute we've decided not to go to Texas this weekend". He would not rule out next weekend.

— Super K (@SuperK_TFB) January 22, 2016

As unexpected as the Cobb news was (before he canceled), Elliott is perhaps an even more unexpected visitor, as he was adamant about the fact he had shut down the recruiting process after his late November pledge to Michigan. As things have for him frequently throughout his frequent, circumstances changed and the Wednesday news of his expected visit was truly a bombshell, as he was rumored to be a silent Texas commit for some time during the fall.

Brown is now down to Florida, Michigan, and Texas ahead of his final official visit. All three of those schools match three of the five finalists for his teammate, linebacker Dontavious Jackson, with whom he could well team in college, too. A versatile defensive back who projects favorably at nickel corner and safety, the big question is where he fits on the recruiting board at a position that still features two of the top safeties in the country, Brandon Jones and Deontay Anderson.

As for Williams, he's been on again, off again, and then on again this week, but with his recent admittance to Stanford, his visit feels more like due diligence than anything else -- in that regard, he's probably the least consequential visitor this weekend as the least likely to actually end up in burnt orange.