4-star OT Isaiah Hookfin signs with Texas over Baylor

Yet another high-level interior talent is now on board with Tom Herman’s 2019 class, as Sugar Land Dulles offensive tackle Isaiah Hookfin brought his recruitment to a close on Friday morning to cap the early signing period and signed with the Texas Longhorns.

Hookfin sided with Texas over a collection of 20 other offers, with invitations stemming from the likes of Auburn, Mississippi State, Baylor, Texas Tech, Illinois, Arizona State, and Duke.

However, it was Hookfin’s most recent offer from the Longhorns that ultimately loomed the largest for the late-rising recruit. After officially notching a Texas offer while on the Forty Acres for the West Virginia game, Hookfin’s recruitment almost immediately swung in the Longhorns’ favor.

After arriving on campus with just one Crystal Ball pick to Texas, three more came in during the day of his first tour of the Forty Acres, and then another three rolled in throughout the next three days. By the time it was all said and done, each of Hookfin’s 14 industry projections picked the Longhorns.

Nevertheless, despite some belief that Hookfin would bring his recruitment to a close sooner than later, his rapid rise prompted a more thorough look at the options on his list.

After officially touring Illinois weeks before picking up his Texas offer, Hookfin utilized his second official visit on a trip to Arizona State on Nov. 10. Weeks later, he opened the final month of the early signing period with an official visit to Baylor on Dec. 1, and then an official to Minnesota the following weekend on Dec. 8.

But, of course, the team that was the last to offer got the last official visit, as Hookfin officially toured the Forty Acres over the Dec. 14 weekend, and after being considered the far-and-away favorite since putting an offer on the table, Texas closed the door and secured Hookfin’s commitment on Friday morning.

The decision clearly wasn’t easy for the Dulles product, as Baylor trended heavily for him in the days before he was set to sign on Wednesday. Although Hookfin planned on officially ending his recruitment that afternoon, he decided to put off his decision, which gave Texas a chance to surge once again. And the staff took advantage, gaining momentum late Wednesday and throughout Thursday before landing Hookfin on the final day of the early signing period.

Hours before Hookfin was set to decide, for real, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule added another dimension to the wild recruitment by retweeting the trademark silent commitment tweet from Texas Director of Recruiting Bryan Carrington.

Earlier, there was this.

After attacking Carrington with his false equivalence, that Editor in Chief of SicEm365.com moved on to conspicuously sermonizing about the nature of truth after tweeting and then deleting a thinly-veiled accusation of Texas lying to Hookfin.

Longhorns Twitter reacted predictably.

So, yeah. Quite a recruitment.

With Hookfin in the mix, the Longhorns, and more specifically, offensive line coach Herb Hand’s haul features a trio of four-star offensive tackle talents, as Hookfin joins four-star prospects Tyler Johnson and Javonne Shepherd.

Burnt Orange Nation’s Joe Hamilton detailed what Hookfin brings to the table:

Hookfin is a gifted player that is equipped with astonishing qualities that will translate to the college level exceedingly. The newly Texas commit is well-versed within his technique at the offensive tackle position. Hookfin plays with a solid base and active feet while in pass protection, and is able to use his long arms with a combination of his quick hands while run blocking. His towering size, skilled athleticism, and production on the field are just a few indicators of what type of player Hookfin can be during his tenure at Texas. There’s obviously a lot of work to be done, but if Hookfin can continue to pack on a substantial amount weight and strength (particularly to the upper body), continue to evolve his technique, and develop a consistent mean-streak; he could be a player that makes a lot of noise while wearing burnt orange.

The addition is hugely important for the Longhorns. Not only because Hooking is a high-level athlete with significant upside, but because Texas only signed one offensive lineman on Wednesday and will have to fight to hold on to the commitment of Houston North Forest’s Javonne Shepherd, who elected not to sign during the early period.

Ranked as the nation’s No. 370 player and No. 32 offensive tackle, per the 247Sports Composite, the 6’5, 270-pound Hookfin now becomes the 22nd signee in the 2019 class, which currently ranks No. 9 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12.

• Tyler Johnson — 4-star OT
• Jordan Whittington — 4-star WR
• De’Gabriel Floyd — 4-star OLB (California)
• Jake Smith — 4-star WR (Arizona)
• Kenyatta Watson II — 4-star CB (Georgia)
• Brayden Liebrock — 4-star TE (Arizona)
• Marcus Washington — 4-star WR (Missouri)
• Tyler Owens — 4-star S
• Chris Adimora — 4-star S (California)
• Roschon Johnson — 4-star QB
• Derrian Brown — 4-star RB (Georgia)
• David Gbenda — 4-star ILB
• Isaiah Hookfin — 4-star OT
• Marcus Tillman Jr. — 3-star OLB (Florida)
• Myron Warren — 3-star SDE (Louisiana)
• Jacoby Jones — 3-star SDE (JUCO)
• Caleb Johnson — 3-star OLB (JUCO)
• Kennedy Lewis — 3-star WR
• T’Vondre Sweat — 3-star SDE
• Marques Caldwell — 3-star CB
• Peter Mpagi — 3-star WDE
• Jared Wiley — 3-star TE