No. 5 WR Brennan Eagles commits to Texas

After delaying a planned July 17 decision because of “technical difficulties,” Alief Taylor wide receiver Brennan Eagles committed to the Texas Longhorns on Monday:

The nation’s No. 5 wide receiver, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, is now the second key 2018 target to decide in favor of the ‘Horns since Houston Heights cornerback Jalen Green committed on Friday evening, as well as the third prospect overall in that timeframe.

Eagles is similar to Green in that he’s a relatively quite and low-key personality off the field — he rarely tweets, for instance — and he was considered a strong Texas lean for so long that it’s hard to feel the same excitement about his pledge as one that is more unexpected.

However, the lack of drama around his recruitment and eventual decision shouldn’t blunt the reality of how much his commitment means to the class.

For position coach Drew Mehringer, landing Eagles is his biggest recruiting coup to date, as the 6’3.5, 214-pounder is one of the top players in the state and one of the top wide receivers in the nation.

In fact, the Composite ranks Eagles as the No. 28 player nationally and the No. 3 player in the state of Texas. And though he’s just missing his fifth star in those rankings — only two players in front of him are four-star prospects — it’s quite possible that a big senior season would boost Eagles into that range.

Regardless of those rankings, college coaches around the country had been fighting for his commitment, including Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas A&M, and USC, among many others.

A look at the testing numbers Eagles has put up in the past illustrates why he is so highly coveted. In February at the Houston The Opening Regional camp, Eagles ran a 4.51 40-yard dash, recorded a 3.99 shuttle time, and posted a 37-inch vertical leap.

When placed in the context of his height and weight, he’s one of the most gifted athletes in the country. In the national rankings, all of the other wide receivers to run a faster shuttle time are 5’10 or shorter, with Nebraska commit Joshua Moore standing as the lone exception.

On the field, Eagles averaged over 19 yards per catch last season and scored 13 touchdowns.

Like recent commitment Al’vonte Woodard, Eagles is an excellent deep threat because of his combination of size and speed, but there is some room for improvement with his overall route-running ability.

With the addition of Eagles, the Texas recruiting class now totals 14 pledges and ranks No. 4 nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12, according to the 247Sports Composite team rankings. To put those rankings in context, however, it’s worth noting that Texas has much higher average rankings than Tennessee and Penn State, the two schools directly in front of the ‘Horns.

#RevolUTion18 is about the best of the best.