Five-star DL Dominick McKinley commits to Texas A&M over Texas, others

The Texas Longhorns hit a roadblock in continuing to build an SEC-ready roster consensus five-star defensive lineman Dominick McKinley pledged to the Texas A&M Aggies on Friday in a ceremony at McKinley’s high school.

It was a tight race for the talented defender from Louisiana, with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, the Texas A&M Aggies, and the Longhorns all receiving official visits during the busy June window. Home-state LSU was also a finalist for McKinley.

Texas seemingly made the most of getting the last visit of the summer, taking the lead in McKinley’s recruitment in early August, according to some reports. However, the 6’5, 290-pound lineman from Lafayette (La.) Acadiana, ultimately chose the Aggies, dealing a blow to the efforts of Longhorns position coach Bo Davis to build an elite class.

With the miss on McKinley, Texas remains at 16 pledges in a 2024 recruiting class that ranks No. 18 nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. But don’t expect Davis and the Horns to stop recruiting McKinley as the recruitment of 2023 No. 1 linebacker Anthony Hill last cycle gives fuel to the hopes that Texas can once again pull off the rare feat of flipping a Texas A&M commit.