4-star 2021 QB Jalen Milroe lists Longhorns in top 8

Nearly a dozen programs now find themselves on the outside looking in with elite 2021 Katy Tompkins quarterback Jalen Milroe.

On Monday afternoon, the top-75 national prospect trimmed his list of 19 offers to eight finalists, and the Texas Longhorns are still standing, as are Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Houston, Northwestern, Oregon, and Texas A&M.

The inclusion of Texas in Milroe’s top list comes just weeks after the four-star talent camped with the Horns on June 16.

“This offer means a lot,” Milroe told BON’s Joe Hamilton. “I have watched Texas ever since I was in youth ball. I always threw up the Hook’Em sign to my parents because I loved the program. I have family members who went to Texas and I grew up in Texas so I have that Texas background in my family.”

Just days after earning his Texas offer, Milroe made a return trip to Austin for the Heat Wave pool party.

Though Milroe has held an offer for only a few weeks, he’s been on the recruiting radar for quite some time, building a relationship with the staff dating back to last season, thanks in large part to the efforts of Director of Recruiting Bryan Carrington.

“I’ve been talking to the Director of Recruiting at Texas,” Milroe said earlier this spring. “Because he went to St. Pius, he’s familiar with the Houston area and he’s just been talking to the coaching staff about me, so I’ve built a relationship with him.”

A soon-to-be junior, Milroe is currently on the rise after flashing some intriguing attributes in his first year on varsity as the starter. In his efforts as a true dual-threat signal caller, Milroe helped transform a Tompkins program that was winless during his freshman year into a playoff-bound promising squad that went 10-3 last season.

Milroe finished the season with 1,420 yards through the air, another 609 yards on the ground, and 20 total touchdowns.

Milroe is one of just three 2021 field generals on the Texas big board, alongside Parish Episcopal’s top-ranked dual-threat quarterback Preston Stone and California gunslinger Jake Garcia. He’s currently ranked as the nation’s No. 3 dual-threat quarterback, per the 247Sports Composite.

What will it take to ultimately earn his signature?

“I’m hoping to go to a program that’s like family and that has that close like environment,” Milroe said. “That’s what my parents want for me, because they’re going to have their son go off to college, so they want a program that’s going to be right for me.”