Key 2020 targets returning to Texas this weekend for Orange-White spring game

The spring session is set to come to a close on the Forty Acres, and the Texas Longhorns are aiming to go out with a bang, hosting dozens of prospects this weekend for unofficial visits.

As is always the case entering a major recruiting weekend, the visitor list is one that features some of the most notable names on Texas’ big board, and with that opportunity at hand, the Horns can continue to make headway with some must-land targets as summer decision dates draw nearer.

Chad Lindberg — 4-star OT — League City Clear Creek

Texas is well on its way to potentially constructing a dream offensive line class this cycle, but that can’t come to fruition without League City Clear Creek tackle Chad Lindberg. The good news to that end is Texas is widely considered the team to beat, and the spring game will provide the Horns to create even greater cushion with the nation’s No. 8 offensive tackle, per the 247Sports Composite.

The spring game will serve as Lindberg’s fifth trip to the Forty Acres throughout the past year, with his most recent coming for in mid-January. Between then and now, Lindberg told SB Nation’s recruiting director Bud Elliott that Texas, Texas A&M, and LSU are recruiting him the hardest, and as far as the Horns are concerned, offensive line coach Herb Hand, wide receiver coach Corby Meekins, offensive coordinator Tim Beck, and head coach Tom Herman each have their hand in this recruitment.

The fact that much of the Texas staff is actively involved with Lindberg shouldn’t come as a surprise given that he’s not only a key target, but that Stanford is considered to be the biggest threat to lure him away from the Lone Star State, just as the Cardinal have successfully done in recent years with elite-level talents such as Walker Little and Branson Bragg. In Lindberg’s case, though, as noted, the Longhorns are the perceived frontrunners, owning each of his six Crystal Ball projections, and it can only help that his older brother is a sophomore at Texas.

In addition to Texas, the nation’s No. 75 player is considering programs such as Georgia, Texas A&M, and, of course, Stanford. Lindberg is eyeing a possible summer decision timeline, though that isn’t set in stone.

Prince Dorbah — 4-star OLB — Dallas Highland Park

Dallas Highland Park star Prince Dorbah is set to return to Austin for the second time this offseason and the third time since last September, and he enters the trip with Texas as one of his top teams. Just weeks ago on March 22, Dorbah named the Longhorns in his top five, alongside Arkansas, LSU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, but yet again, Texas is the only team with a Crystal Ball projection to date, owning all three.

The consensus is likely due to Dorbah ideally wanting to stay closer to home, and Texas is doing what it can to make him feel welcome in Austin as evident by Dorbah recently telling BON that Beck and Texas defensive line coach Oscar Giles are the two coaches currently recruiting him the hardest.

Dorbah does have some ties to Arkansas, but at this point, this recruitment is the Longhorns’ to lose, and this weekend should serve as a huge opportunity to Texas to ensure that doesn’t become the case.

Ranked as the nation’s No. 230 player and No. 15 outside linebacker, per the 247Sports Composite, Dorbah is aiming to announce his commitment in September.

Princely Umanmielen — 4-star SDE — Manor

Princely Umanmielen lives approximately 20 miles from UT’s campus, so it isn’t a surprise that the Manor star edge rusher has been a mainstay on the Forty Acres throughout the past year. This weekend will mark Umanmielen’s fifth Texas visit list last June and his third of the offseason, as he visited in mid-January and then again in February for Junior Day, as well.

That interest is certainly reciprocated from Texas’ side.

“They’re really pressing me and telling me that they really, really want me,” Umanmielen recently told BON’s Joe Hamilton. “Coach Herman tells me that ‘he’ll be damned if he let a kid from Austin go to any other school in the nation.’”

To that end, the Horns do have their work cut out for them, as unlike with the other prospects on this list, the Longhorns aren’t a clear frontrunner. Umanmielen is high on Oklahoma, which holds the edge in his Crystal Ball, and the nation’s No. 14 strong-side defensive end is giving a strong look others such as Texas A&M, TCU, and Oklahoma State.

As is, Umanmielen has been to Texas more than each of those programs — more than any other program, for that matter — and that tour count will only increase on Saturday. The task at hand for Texas is to make sure this trips count towards keeping the fairly local product close to home.

Vernon Broughton — 4-star DT — Houston Cy Ridge (Maybe)

The nation’s fourth-best defensive tackle prospect isn’t entirely sure if he’ll be able to make it to Austin on Saturday, but if that trip does come to fruition, it would mark yet another opportunity for the Horns to make further headway in a recruitment in which they’re considered the headliner.

Thus far, Broughton has made multiple trips to the Forty Acres with his most recent coming in mid-January. Shortly thereafter, Broughton named Texas in his top 10 in early February, alongside programs such as Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU, and Ohio State. The plan in place for the four-star Houston Cy Ridge star is to cut his current list in half in the coming weeks — a list the Longhorns are all but certain to make — so a decision isn’t too imminent, but Texas is in an ideal position entering what should be the final few months of his recruitment, courtesy of his relationship with the staff.

“They’re recruiting me pretty hard,” Broughton recently told BON. “Coach Giles and Coach Herman, they hit me up. I’ve really been making a relationship with them. But yeah, they’re recruiting me pretty hard.”

Save for any setbacks, Broughton is eyeing a summer decision and when that time comes, Texas is the consensus pick with each of his eight Crystal Ball projections favoring Herman’s program. Getting the 6’5, 286-pound interior talent back on campus this weekend would only help the Horns’ odds entering the summer, and in any case, Broughton is tentatively scheduled to return to Austin in the coming weeks on May 4.