3-star TE Landen King decommits from Texas

Less than a month after Humble Atascosita tight end Landen King pledged to the Texas Longhorns, he’s back on the market after decommitting from the Horns on Friday afternoon.

The 6’5, 210-pounder picked home-state Texas on April 26 after an unofficial visit on Feb. 1 produced an offer for King.

Now he’ll consider his other options, which include nearly 30 offers, including Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, and Texas A&M. The Tigers might be the current leader in the immediate aftermath of King’s decision to decommit — there’s already two 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions in favor of Auburn.

Expect a lot of decommitments in this cycle, especially from prospects who haven’t been able to visit the schools to which they’re pledged because of the recruiting dead period necessitated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Consider this:

So there are well more than twice as many pledges right now compared to last year, creating the potential for an unprecedented decommitment season, especially if or when visits resume.

King has visited Texas, so he doesn’t fit into that group committed to schools they haven’t visited yet, but the quickness with which he reversed his decision does seem like a sign of the times.

A consensus three-star prospect, King is ranked as the No. 531 player in the country and the No. 23 tight end, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He’s also the second decommitment at the position for the Longhorns in the 2021 class — Lake Travis product Lake McRee decommitted in February.

Texas does still hold a pledge from Everman athlete Juan Davis, as well as nine other commitments in the nation’s No. 11 class overall and the best class in the Big 12.