How to follow along with all the Texas Early Signing Day news

Entering Wednesday morning, the first day of the December signing period that is now known as Early Signing Day, the Texas Longhorns had the nation’s No. 7 recruiting class overall and the top group in the Big 12, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, with 22 pledges.

With the early signing period now serving as the biggest day in college football recruiting on the Forty Acres and across the country, head coach Tom Herman and his staff are expected to sign the vast majority of the 2019 recruiting class.

Three key targets are set to announce their respective decisions.

Three other prospects made their respective decisions in the hours before Early Signing Day, as the Horns landed junior college linebacker Caleb Johnson and three-star wide receiver Kennedy Lewis while missing on Austin wide receiver product Elijah Higgins.

So this is your one-stop shop for all of the developments on what should be another successfully Early Signing Day for Herman and his staff. The bolded prospects indicate the players who have signed, with a link to their signing piece.

The early enrollees

• Port Neches-Groves QB Roschon Johnson — 7:28 a.m. CT
• Cuero WR Jordan Whittington — 7:04 a.m. CT
• Temple TE Jared Wiley — 7:29 a.m. CT
• Conroe Oak Ridge OT Tyler Johnson — 8:17 a.m. CT
• Butler CC DE Jacoby Jones — 8:09 a.m. CT
• Westlake (Ca.) Westlake Village LB De’Gabriel Floyd — 9:12 a.m. CT
• Orlando (Fla.) Jones LB Marcus Tillman Jr. — 8:48 a.m. CT
• Fullerton College LB Caleb Johnson — 9:42 a.m. CT

The early signees

• Buford (Ga.) RB Derrian Brown — 6:20 a.m. CT
• Scottsdale (Az.) Notre Dame Prep WR Jake Smith — 8:18 a.m. CT
• St. Louis (Mo.) Trinity Catholic WR Marcus Washington — 8:38 a.m. CT
• Melissa WR Kennedy Lewis — 8:11 a.m. CT
• Chandler (Az.) TE Brayden Liebrock — 8:13 a.m. CT
• Many (La.) DE Myron Warren — 8:06 a.m. CT
• Huntsville DE T’Vondre Sweat — 8:01 a.m. CT
• Richmond George Ranch DE Peter Mpagi — 7:37 a.m. CT
• Katy Cinco Ranch LB David Gbenda — 7:34 a.m. CT
• Loganville (Ga.) Grayson CB Kenyatta Watson II — 6:18 a.m. CT
• Alvin CB Marques Caldwell — 7:14 a.m. CT
• Plano East S Tyler Owens — 7:30 a.m. CT
• Lakewood (Ca.) Mayfair S Chris Adimora — 7:24 a.m. CT

The commit not expected to sign

• Houston North Forest OT Javonne Shepherd — Expect the big offensive tackle to take a couple visits before National Signing Day. And expect the Texas staff to attempt to convince him not to do so, as the Horns only hold one other pledge along the offensive line. In other words, Shepherd is a major piece to this recruiting class and it would be a major blow to lose him over the coming weeks.

The Early Signing Day announcements

• Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy RB Trey Sanders — The nation’s top running back will make his announcement at 12:20 p.m. Central on ESPNU. The Longhorns are in the mix with Sanders, but he’s expected to choose the Bulldogs or the Crimson Tide. Update: Sanders sided with Alabama once again.
• Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy RB Noah Cain — The longtime key Longhorns target will make his announcement at 10:00 a.m. Central on ESPN2. There’s been plenty of buzz in recent days about Penn State, but it makes sense that Cain would return to Texas to play his college football. Update: Cain is headed to Penn State.
• Sugar Land Dulles OT Isaiah Hookfin — From the time that Texas offered until recent days, the Horns were considered the heavy favorite with the lean, high-upside prospect who saw his stock skyrocket in late October and early November. However, Baylor has surged and is considered the favorite with Hookfin set to decide at some undetermined point on Early Signing Day. Update: Hookfin was originally set to decide at 3:00 p.m. Central on Wednesday, but later decided to push back his decision.
• Katy Taylor OT Andrew Coker — Despite a surprise official visit to Texas over the weekend, Corker signed with TCU early on Wednesday morning.

There will also be plenty of coverage in other places. The @TexasFootball Twitter account with announce the new signees as the National Letters of Intent roll in. The Longhorn Network will have three hours of live coverage starting at 8 a.m. Central. Herman will have his press conference at 4 p.m. Central, which will air on Longhorn Network and TexasSports.com. Once the craziness is complete, the Longhorn Network will recap the big day at 7 p.m. Central.