4-star DE Taquon Graham commits to Texas in aftermath of big Notre Dame win

The Texas Longhorns have already generated some recruiting momentum coming out of Sunday evening’s massive, double-overtime win against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, as Temple defensive end Taquon Graham announced his commitment to the ‘Horns on Monday afternoon via Twitter:

“I’m so grateful for my family and my coaches, and all the people that supported me throughout this process,” he wrote. “Thank you to all the schools that recruited me but the process has to come to an end and it has and I’ve decided to be a LONGHORN.”

The 6’3, 255-pounder wasn’t able attend the game, but he watched it on television and decided to shut down his recruitment hours later.

“Texas has always been that childhood school,” Graham told Horns247. “I grew up watching Texas. Everything around here is all Texas. I felt comfortable there. I’ve liked them for a long time. It felt right.”

Originally set to decide back in May, Graham decided to put off his decision. He ultimately ended up taking a visit to Oklahoma, but Texas was always in the best position to land his services, as there were never any other predictions cast for other schools in his 247Sports Crystal Ball.

The Temple product held close to 25 offers, including Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon TCU, Texas A&M, and USC, among others.

Ranked as a consensus four-star prospect, Graham is the No. 189 player nationally, the No. 12 strongside defensive end, and the No. 32 player in the state of Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

As a junior, Graham recorded 62 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles.

Here’s the scouting report on Graham from Ian Boyd of Inside Texas:

How he fits at Texas: Graham is a very lithe, 6-foot-4 edge-rusher with a nice wingspan and he’s going to end up filling out to be an explosive 250+ pound edge rusher by the time he’s completed his college career. Despite a frame with big potential, he should remain as a pass-rusher and play Fox and not strongside end. His greatest strength is beating tackles off the snap with his quickness and then using his long arms to keep them off his body and get free so he can bring down the QB. At Texas, they’d want to use him more like Louisville’s Fox Marcus Smith then a more versatile guy like Naashon Hughes and send him after the QB more often than not.

The commitment of Graham gives Texas eight pledges in the 2017 class, which now ranks No. 43 nationally and No. 5 in the Big 12, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He’s the second defensive end taken by the ‘Horns so far in this cycle, joining Liberty-Eylau standout Lagaryonn Carson.