5-star OT Walker Little commits to Stanford over Texas

The long-term future of the Texas Longhorns offensive line suffered a large setback on Friday when Houston Episcopal offensive tackle Walker Little committed to the Stanford Cardinal over the ‘Horns in a ceremony at his school.

The decision marked another significant recruiting win for head coach David Shaw’s program over Texas less than a year after Southlake Carroll cornerback Obi Eboh flipped to Stanford.

In the final moments, the industry consensus held that the Cardinal would pull out another victory against the Longhorns despite some hope that an in-home visit from new head coach Tom Herman and his staff almost 10 days ago might have swung Little’s recruitment in favor of Texas.

Ultimately, the combination of academics, on-field success, and the appeal of the Bay Area won out for one of the best offensive linemen to emerge from the state in recent years.

Little is a consensus five-star prospect ranked as the No. 18 player nationally, the No. 4 offensive tackle, and the No. 4 player in Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

None of the eight pledges in the current Longhorns recruiting class are offensive linemen, leaving Herman and Derek Warehime in pursuit of top targets like uncommitted Aledo product Chuck Filiaga and Colorado commit Grant Polley, a recruit out of Denton.