Five-star WR Ryan Wingo commits to Texas over Missouri

After missing out on the services of multiple game-changing receivers, the Texas Longhorns were finally able to add one of their own with the addition of St. Louis (Mo.) University High’s Ryan Wingo to the 2024 class on Wednesday in an upset over the Missouri Tigers.

“I think just the Sarkisian offense and how they utilize receivers because it’s different, they get the ball out to their receivers and you want to go play somewhere they get receivers the ball. And they’ve got the quarterbacks,” Wingo said after his decision.

Texas was looking to add another top-end pass catcher in the class with a few in-state options that did not materialize for position coach Chris Jackson’s first season in Austin and needed to look outside of the Lone Star State for options. The staff kept plugging at the players on the top of their board and found their top-end playmaker in the Show Me State.

During the June official visit window, Wingo visited the Michigan Wolverines, the Longhorns, and the in-state Missouri Tigers, who became a legitimate threat to keep the talent in-state. In fact, the Tigers seemingly took a commanding lead in the weeks before Wingo’s announcement, which came earlier than his longtime planned decision date in December.

“In the beginning, I thought this would happen on Dec. 20,” Wingo told On3. “I took visits, I have been to all of those schools and I just had a change of heart. I talked it over with my family and got that feeling, so I decided to commit sooner. This is happening earlier than I expected, but things just changed.”

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz already managed to land one five-star talent in defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri, who spurned the Oklahoma Sooners for his services, but Jackson and company managed to hold off the Tigers, in spite of their momentum and NIL advantages.

Wingo silently committed to Texas when he visited for the Wyoming game in September, according to 247Sports Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong before Missouri surged. On Wednesday morning, however, Wingo’s father informed Wiltfong of his son’s change in plans.

Adding the 6’2, 205-pound receiver with a verified 10.55 100-yard time gives Jackson a top-end, potential Day 1 player, adding to a solid room left by the previous coach.

A consensus five-star prospect, Wingo is the No. 24 player nationally and the No. 7 wide receiver, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Wingo is the third wide receiver in the class, joining Smithson Valley’s Freddie Dubose and Lovejoy’s Parker Livingstone, who was on his way to a monster senior season before a foot injury sidelined him.

With commitment No. 19 for the class, Texas continues to creep up the recruiting rankings, edging past the Clemson Tigers to join the top 15 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings to No. 13. With the potential additions of a few more five-star players, the Longhorns could soon move into the top 10 with an outside chance of another top-five class.

Analysis (by Daniel Seahorn):

Playmakers make plays. And Ryan Wingo is a playmaker, folks. Wingo is listed between 6’1-and 6’2 and weighs in around 205-210 pounds. Those are good measurables for the position and he also possesses a really solid build that will continue to mature as he transitions into college. Want some more measurables? Wingo has verified track times that show up on the film when you watch. He logged a 10.55 100m dash time as a sophomore and also logged a 21.46 wind-legal 200m time. Wingo shows the burst and explosiveness on film and has the ability to erase angles from defenders when he has the ball in his hands. Wingo already shows on tape that he isn’t a one-trick pony as a route runner and has the competency levels for running multiple routes on the tree at this stage in his development. He shows good acceleration in and out of his breaks and shows that he doesn’t have throttle down much. He is able to get on top of defensive backs in a hurry and often leads to them being in chase mode. Shows some savvy and explosiveness in his route running that consistently leads to him getting separation from defenders. Does a very good job of tracking the ball in the air down the field and does a good job of catching the ball away from his body. He is very elusive in the open field for his size and is very tough to get to the ground. He is an explosive play waiting to happen due to his ability to generate yards after the catch. Flexes his versatility and playmaking ability by lining up in the Wildcat as a ball carrier and stretching defenses horizontally by taking snaps on jet sweeps. Adds additional value as a plus punt returner and it wouldn’t surprise me if he is able to get on the field early in his career on special teams. Overall, Wingo is the kind of talent that will not have to wait long to see the field once he transitions to college. Steve Sarkisian has done well when it comes to assembling talent at the skill position and he now has another high-end talent on the way.