5-star WR Jordan Whittington commits to Texas over Texas A&M, UCLA, Florida

One of the top talents in the entire nation is now a Texas Longhorn.

On Saturday afternoon, five-star Cuero wide receiver Jordan Whittington brought his storied recruitment to a close, announcing his commitment to Texas over Texas A&M, UCLA and Florida.

Along with the Longhorns, Aggies, Bruins and Gators, Whittington held a slew of offers from programs such as Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, TCU and USC, among numerous others.

Landing Whittington represents another important head-to-head win over Texas A&M, which is seemingly losing some momentum on the recruiting trail after a fast start.

In committing to Texas over 29 other offers, though, not only does Whittington become the second pledge in as many weeks for the Longhorns, but since he’s ranked as the nation’s No. 26 prospect, he provides Tom Herman’s 2019 three-man class with a new headliner.

Whittington is also the type of prospect who should quickly become a leader in the class — he has relationships with many of the other top players in the state and a charismatic personality.

Although Texas has technically been considered the frontrunner for Whittington’s services since last summer, per his Crystal Ball, his recruitment has been one that’s been difficult to pinpoint at times.

Prior to Texas A&M firing Kevin Sumlin, Whittington’s recruitment was essentially a toss up between the Longhorns and their in-state rival, but contact there has fallen off a bit since Jimbo Fisher and his staff took over. Whittington did visit College Station for the A&M Junior Day prior to visiting Austin in early February, and was set to return to Aggieland a couple weeks ago, but cancelled. More recently, Whittington did visit UCLA, which he called the best campus he’s ever been to, but there was little evidence indicating he would head that far from home.

Instead, Whittington will take his talents to Austin, where he’s visited on numerous occasions throughout the past year or so, and ultimately, join his cousin Joshua Moore, who signed to Texas as part of the ‘Horns 2018 class.

A do-it-all star for Cuero, along with hauling in 73 receptions for 1,457 yards and 16 touchdowns, Whittington rushed for 227 yards and five scores, and notched three interceptions at defensive back en route to District 15-4A-II MVP honors as a junior. Whittington could play wide receiver or safety at the next level, but prefers playing wide receiver. With four touchdowns on special teams in the last two seasons, he’s also a dynamic force on punt returns and kickoff returns.

247Sports provided an evaluation on Whittington’s expansive skill set:

“Whittington does a bit of everything for his high school team and the jury may be a bit out on what he will be once he arrives in college, but whether he ends up on offense or defense he is a take. A true athlete who stars and dominates the smaller school level in Texas. He is an electric player when he has the ball in is hands on offense. He will at times line up as the Wildcat quarterback and he has the open-field running skill of a running back, but the size and skill of an elite outside receiver.”

With Whittington now in the fold after pushing back several previous commitment dates, the Longhorns significantly bolster their current class and add even further momentum on the recruiting trail after numerous key targets have named Texas as a finalist as of late.

As for now, by adding a pledge from Whittington, the Texas class ranking improved from No. 37 nationally and No. 7 in the Big 12 to No. 19 nationally and No. 4 in the Big 12.

A 6’1, 198-pound prospect, Whittington is ranked as the nation’s No. 4 receiver and the No. 3 player in Texas.